Edmund Cannon and Ian Tonks
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216994
- eISBN:
- 9780191711978
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216994.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
Governments around the world are responding to the rising ratio of elderly-to-young persons (‘The Pensions Crisis’) by shifting their pension policies away from pay-as-you-go systems towards ...
More
Governments around the world are responding to the rising ratio of elderly-to-young persons (‘The Pensions Crisis’) by shifting their pension policies away from pay-as-you-go systems towards individual savings schemes. Annuity markets convert retirement savings into an income stream for the lifetime of the pensioner, and understanding how annuity markets function is important for public policy. This book studies these annuity markets. The book starts by outlining the context of public policy towards pensions, and explains the different types of annuities available, focusing on the UK — which has the largest annuity market in the world. It examines how annuities are priced, and describes the techniques of mortality measurement. As a background, it provides a history of annuities, and the experience of annuity markets in a number of other countries. The book outlines the economic theory behind annuities, and explains how annuities insure consumers against longevity risks. It goes on to describe how annuities markets function: how they work and whether they are efficient, leading onto a discussion of the annuity puzzle, including behavioural explanations. The book concludes by discussing the regulatory framework, assets available to back annuity liabilities, and recent developments in annuity markets.Less
Governments around the world are responding to the rising ratio of elderly-to-young persons (‘The Pensions Crisis’) by shifting their pension policies away from pay-as-you-go systems towards individual savings schemes. Annuity markets convert retirement savings into an income stream for the lifetime of the pensioner, and understanding how annuity markets function is important for public policy. This book studies these annuity markets. The book starts by outlining the context of public policy towards pensions, and explains the different types of annuities available, focusing on the UK — which has the largest annuity market in the world. It examines how annuities are priced, and describes the techniques of mortality measurement. As a background, it provides a history of annuities, and the experience of annuity markets in a number of other countries. The book outlines the economic theory behind annuities, and explains how annuities insure consumers against longevity risks. It goes on to describe how annuities markets function: how they work and whether they are efficient, leading onto a discussion of the annuity puzzle, including behavioural explanations. The book concludes by discussing the regulatory framework, assets available to back annuity liabilities, and recent developments in annuity markets.
Gordon L. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199253647
- eISBN:
- 9780191719752
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199253647.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
This book is about the demographic and funding crises that threaten systems of pension and retirement income in continental Europe. The book argues that state-sponsored social security will not ...
More
This book is about the demographic and funding crises that threaten systems of pension and retirement income in continental Europe. The book argues that state-sponsored social security will not deliver promised retirement incomes for the baby-boom generation; European monetary union and the imperatives of global finance has made such promises untenable thereby undercutting nation-state social solidarity. Globalisation has set many challenges for European countries, not least of which is providing pension security for their citizens. At the same time, global finance has opened-up options for corporations and individuals seeking alternatives to the past; but exercising those opportunities will come at a high cost for European notions of social justice. Drawing upon original research, the book explores the dimensions of the pending European retirement income funding crisis, noting the economic and political forces involved in debates over possible solutions; current country-specific models of pensions provision, making the connection between social security and supplementary pensions; the allocation of risks between individuals, markets, and institutions emphasising the tensions between social solidarity and the market in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom; and finally, the prospects for a pan-European approach to retirement income provision.Less
This book is about the demographic and funding crises that threaten systems of pension and retirement income in continental Europe. The book argues that state-sponsored social security will not deliver promised retirement incomes for the baby-boom generation; European monetary union and the imperatives of global finance has made such promises untenable thereby undercutting nation-state social solidarity. Globalisation has set many challenges for European countries, not least of which is providing pension security for their citizens. At the same time, global finance has opened-up options for corporations and individuals seeking alternatives to the past; but exercising those opportunities will come at a high cost for European notions of social justice. Drawing upon original research, the book explores the dimensions of the pending European retirement income funding crisis, noting the economic and political forces involved in debates over possible solutions; current country-specific models of pensions provision, making the connection between social security and supplementary pensions; the allocation of risks between individuals, markets, and institutions emphasising the tensions between social solidarity and the market in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom; and finally, the prospects for a pan-European approach to retirement income provision.
Olivia S. Mitchell and Annamaria Lusardi (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199696819
- eISBN:
- 9780191732089
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199696819.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management, Finance, Accounting, and Banking
As financial markets become increasingly complex and integrated, individuals and their families are increasingly faced with making highly sophisticated and all-too-often irreversible economic ...
More
As financial markets become increasingly complex and integrated, individuals and their families are increasingly faced with making highly sophisticated and all-too-often irreversible economic decisions. Nowhere is this more evident than with regard to retirement decision-making: a half-century ago, traditional defined benefit pension schemes were the norm in the United States, Japan, Australia and much of Europe, but these have now been largely replaced with defined contribution pensions. In the process, employer and government judgment regarding how much to save and where to invest has been replaced by individuals having to make these choices on their own (perhaps assisted by advisers they also select on their own). Additionally, participants in defined contribution plans must also decide how to spend down their pension assets and determine whether to annuitize or take their benefits in a single lump sum. The trend toward increased individual responsibility and greater financial complexity extends into other realms of life as well, for example regarding decisions over credit cards, adjustable rate mortgages, and when to claim retirement benefits. This volume focuses on key lessons for financial decision-making in the wake of that crisis, exploring how financial literacy can enhance peoples' skills and abilities to make more informed economic choices. Moreover, given the demographic forces at work and the structure of the labor markets, where workers change jobs and employers many times before retiring, the increase in individual responsibility with regard to financial security after retirement will continue to be a feature of many economies around the world.Less
As financial markets become increasingly complex and integrated, individuals and their families are increasingly faced with making highly sophisticated and all-too-often irreversible economic decisions. Nowhere is this more evident than with regard to retirement decision-making: a half-century ago, traditional defined benefit pension schemes were the norm in the United States, Japan, Australia and much of Europe, but these have now been largely replaced with defined contribution pensions. In the process, employer and government judgment regarding how much to save and where to invest has been replaced by individuals having to make these choices on their own (perhaps assisted by advisers they also select on their own). Additionally, participants in defined contribution plans must also decide how to spend down their pension assets and determine whether to annuitize or take their benefits in a single lump sum. The trend toward increased individual responsibility and greater financial complexity extends into other realms of life as well, for example regarding decisions over credit cards, adjustable rate mortgages, and when to claim retirement benefits. This volume focuses on key lessons for financial decision-making in the wake of that crisis, exploring how financial literacy can enhance peoples' skills and abilities to make more informed economic choices. Moreover, given the demographic forces at work and the structure of the labor markets, where workers change jobs and employers many times before retiring, the increase in individual responsibility with regard to financial security after retirement will continue to be a feature of many economies around the world.
Gary Anderson
Olivia S. Mitchell (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199573349
- eISBN:
- 9780191721946
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573349.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management, Pensions and Pension Management
People covered by public pensions are often the subject of ‘pension envy’, that is, their benefits might seem more generous and their contributions lower than those offered by the private sector. Yet ...
More
People covered by public pensions are often the subject of ‘pension envy’, that is, their benefits might seem more generous and their contributions lower than those offered by the private sector. Yet this book points out that such judgments are often inaccurate, since civil servants hold jobs with few counterparts in private industry, such as firefighters, police, judges, and teachers. Often these are riskier, dirtier, and demand more loyalty and discretion than would be required of a more mobile labour force in the private sector. The debate challenges traditional ideas about how the public employee labour contract is structured and raises questions about how such employees are attracted to the public sector, retained and motivated on the job, and retired, via an entire compensation package of wages and benefits. This book explores aspects of these schemes, addressing the cost and valuation debate, along with the political economy of how public pension asset pools are perceived and managed. The discussion also explores ways that public pensions can be strengthened in the US, Japan, Canada, and Germany.Less
People covered by public pensions are often the subject of ‘pension envy’, that is, their benefits might seem more generous and their contributions lower than those offered by the private sector. Yet this book points out that such judgments are often inaccurate, since civil servants hold jobs with few counterparts in private industry, such as firefighters, police, judges, and teachers. Often these are riskier, dirtier, and demand more loyalty and discretion than would be required of a more mobile labour force in the private sector. The debate challenges traditional ideas about how the public employee labour contract is structured and raises questions about how such employees are attracted to the public sector, retained and motivated on the job, and retired, via an entire compensation package of wages and benefits. This book explores aspects of these schemes, addressing the cost and valuation debate, along with the political economy of how public pension asset pools are perceived and managed. The discussion also explores ways that public pensions can be strengthened in the US, Japan, Canada, and Germany.
Stephen J. Kay and Tapen Sinha (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226801
- eISBN:
- 9780191710285
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226801.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American ...
More
Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American countries then followed suit, inspired both by Chile's reforms and by World Bank recommendations stressing compulsory government-mandated individual saving accounts. Individual accounts were subsequently introduced in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. Many are now re-evaluating these privatizations in an effort to ‘reform the reform’ to make these systems more efficient and equitable. This book assesses pension reforms in this new ‘post-privatization’ era. After a discussion on demographic trends in the foreword by Nobel laureate Robert W. Fogel, Section 1 of the book includes chapters on the role of pension system default options, the impact of gender, and a discussion of the World Bank's policies on pension reform. The chapter on the evidence from Chile's new social protection survey points to key lessons from the world's first privatization. Section 2 offers analysis of several significant reform initiatives in the hemisphere, and includes chapters on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina.Less
Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American countries then followed suit, inspired both by Chile's reforms and by World Bank recommendations stressing compulsory government-mandated individual saving accounts. Individual accounts were subsequently introduced in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. Many are now re-evaluating these privatizations in an effort to ‘reform the reform’ to make these systems more efficient and equitable. This book assesses pension reforms in this new ‘post-privatization’ era. After a discussion on demographic trends in the foreword by Nobel laureate Robert W. Fogel, Section 1 of the book includes chapters on the role of pension system default options, the impact of gender, and a discussion of the World Bank's policies on pension reform. The chapter on the evidence from Chile's new social protection survey points to key lessons from the world's first privatization. Section 2 offers analysis of several significant reform initiatives in the hemisphere, and includes chapters on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina.
Olivia S. Mitchell and Kent Smetters (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199683772
- eISBN:
- 9780191763359
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199683772.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
The market for retirement financial advice has never been more important and yet more in flux. The long-term shift away from traditional defined benefit pensions toward defined contribution personal ...
More
The market for retirement financial advice has never been more important and yet more in flux. The long-term shift away from traditional defined benefit pensions toward defined contribution personal accounts requires all of us to be more sophisticated today than ever before. But the landscape for financial advice is changing all over the world, with new rules and regulations transforming the financial advice profession. This volume explores the market for retirement financial advice, to explain what financial advisors do, and how to measure performance and impact. Who are these professionals and what standards must they abide by? How do they make money and what are their incentives? How can one protect clients from bad advice, and what is good advice? Does advice alone effect changes in personal habits? Answering these questions, along with new technology that will decrease the delivery costs of advice, will play a transformative role in helping more households receive the quality financial advice that they need. Accordingly, this volume illuminates the market and regulatory challenges so as to enhance consumer, plan sponsor, and regulator decisions.Less
The market for retirement financial advice has never been more important and yet more in flux. The long-term shift away from traditional defined benefit pensions toward defined contribution personal accounts requires all of us to be more sophisticated today than ever before. But the landscape for financial advice is changing all over the world, with new rules and regulations transforming the financial advice profession. This volume explores the market for retirement financial advice, to explain what financial advisors do, and how to measure performance and impact. Who are these professionals and what standards must they abide by? How do they make money and what are their incentives? How can one protect clients from bad advice, and what is good advice? Does advice alone effect changes in personal habits? Answering these questions, along with new technology that will decrease the delivery costs of advice, will play a transformative role in helping more households receive the quality financial advice that they need. Accordingly, this volume illuminates the market and regulatory challenges so as to enhance consumer, plan sponsor, and regulator decisions.
John Ameriks and Olivia S. Mitchell (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199549108
- eISBN:
- 9780191720734
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549108.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
As Baby Boomers are now in their 60s, policymaker and media attention is becoming focused on how this generation will manage during its long period in retirement. This book acknowledges that many, ...
More
As Baby Boomers are now in their 60s, policymaker and media attention is becoming focused on how this generation will manage during its long period in retirement. This book acknowledges that many, though not all, in this age group have accumulated substantial assets, so they are now asking themselves what they will do with what they have. The book explores of how people entering retirement will deploy their accumulated assets in the near and long term to meet their myriad spending, investment, and other objectives. The book studies emerging issues regarding assets and expectations on the verge of retirement, including uncertainty regarding life expectancy and morbidity. It is composed of chapters from contributors including a Nobel Laureate and a wonderful mix of academics and practitioners from the legal, financial, and economic fields.Less
As Baby Boomers are now in their 60s, policymaker and media attention is becoming focused on how this generation will manage during its long period in retirement. This book acknowledges that many, though not all, in this age group have accumulated substantial assets, so they are now asking themselves what they will do with what they have. The book explores of how people entering retirement will deploy their accumulated assets in the near and long term to meet their myriad spending, investment, and other objectives. The book studies emerging issues regarding assets and expectations on the verge of retirement, including uncertainty regarding life expectancy and morbidity. It is composed of chapters from contributors including a Nobel Laureate and a wonderful mix of academics and practitioners from the legal, financial, and economic fields.
Olivia S. Mitchell, Raimond Maurer, and P.Brett Hammond (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198719243
- eISBN:
- 9780191788505
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198719243.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
The financial crisis of the late 2000s and the Great Recession that followed it alerted many of those seeking to protect old-age security to the numerous extreme risks that are confronting the ...
More
The financial crisis of the late 2000s and the Great Recession that followed it alerted many of those seeking to protect old-age security to the numerous extreme risks that are confronting the financial and political institutions which comprise our retirement system. This volume offers an in-depth analysis of the “black swans” that threaten private and public pensions around the world. Matters such as capital market shocks, surprises to longevity, regulatory and political risk, and errors in modeling have profound consequences for various stakeholders, including pension plan participants and managers, plan sponsors, policymakers, students, and all others who are seeking to make retirement more resilient. This book analyzes such challenges to retirement sustainability, and it explores ways in which these challenges could be better managed and financed. The insights provided by this book will help to ensure that retirement systems come to be more capable of withstanding what the future will bring.Less
The financial crisis of the late 2000s and the Great Recession that followed it alerted many of those seeking to protect old-age security to the numerous extreme risks that are confronting the financial and political institutions which comprise our retirement system. This volume offers an in-depth analysis of the “black swans” that threaten private and public pensions around the world. Matters such as capital market shocks, surprises to longevity, regulatory and political risk, and errors in modeling have profound consequences for various stakeholders, including pension plan participants and managers, plan sponsors, policymakers, students, and all others who are seeking to make retirement more resilient. This book analyzes such challenges to retirement sustainability, and it explores ways in which these challenges could be better managed and financed. The insights provided by this book will help to ensure that retirement systems come to be more capable of withstanding what the future will bring.
Brigitte Madrian, Olivia S. Mitchell, and Beth J. Soldo (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199230778
- eISBN:
- 9780191710971
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230778.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
As the leading edge of the “Baby Boom” generation in the United States reaches sixty years of age, members of this unusually large cohort born between 1946 and 1966 are poised to redefine retirement ...
More
As the leading edge of the “Baby Boom” generation in the United States reaches sixty years of age, members of this unusually large cohort born between 1946 and 1966 are poised to redefine retirement — just as they have restructured educational, housing, and labor markets previously. Looking ahead, their numbers and energy are sure to have a major impact on national pensions, healthcare, and social safety nets. This book notes that “Boomers” will be better off than their predecessors in many ways, having benefited from the long run-up in housing prices, dramatic improvements in healthcare, and the expanding economy. On the other hand, the generation's sheer size will surely squeeze resources and require new approaches to retirement risk management. On average, the Boomers are in better financial and physical health than prior cohorts, and they can be anticipated to fare better than current retirees in absolute terms. Yet the distribution of retiree income and wealth will be less equal than in earlier years, and in relative terms, many Boomers will be less well off than their forebears. The chapters in this book use many invaluable models and datasets, including the incomparable Health and Retirement Study (HRS) which affords unique insights into the status of mature adults surveyed at the same age and hence same point in their life cycles, but at three different time periods. Chapter contributors offer new evidence about prospects for health and income during retirement, as well as pensions and housing equity, health, portfolio allocation, and financial literacy.Less
As the leading edge of the “Baby Boom” generation in the United States reaches sixty years of age, members of this unusually large cohort born between 1946 and 1966 are poised to redefine retirement — just as they have restructured educational, housing, and labor markets previously. Looking ahead, their numbers and energy are sure to have a major impact on national pensions, healthcare, and social safety nets. This book notes that “Boomers” will be better off than their predecessors in many ways, having benefited from the long run-up in housing prices, dramatic improvements in healthcare, and the expanding economy. On the other hand, the generation's sheer size will surely squeeze resources and require new approaches to retirement risk management. On average, the Boomers are in better financial and physical health than prior cohorts, and they can be anticipated to fare better than current retirees in absolute terms. Yet the distribution of retiree income and wealth will be less equal than in earlier years, and in relative terms, many Boomers will be less well off than their forebears. The chapters in this book use many invaluable models and datasets, including the incomparable Health and Retirement Study (HRS) which affords unique insights into the status of mature adults surveyed at the same age and hence same point in their life cycles, but at three different time periods. Chapter contributors offer new evidence about prospects for health and income during retirement, as well as pensions and housing equity, health, portfolio allocation, and financial literacy.
Olivia S. Mitchell and Richard C. Shea (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198755449
- eISBN:
- 9780191816673
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198755449.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
The 1964 termination of the Studebaker Corporation’s pension plan wiped out or significantly reduced the pensions of thousands of the automaker’s employees and retirees. In response, the US Congress ...
More
The 1964 termination of the Studebaker Corporation’s pension plan wiped out or significantly reduced the pensions of thousands of the automaker’s employees and retirees. In response, the US Congress passed the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a monumental and revolutionary piece of legislation crafted to address corporate pension underfunding. The bill also set new rules regarding defined benefit (DB) and other retirement plans, and it established the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation as a government-run insurer to serve as a backdrop to US corporate pensions. Despite the bill’s far-ranging scope, in the decades since its passage, it has become evident that ERISA failed to achieve many of its intended objectives. The corporate pension scene today is in turmoil, and most private employers have terminated or frozen their traditional DB plans. In their place, employers are increasingly substituting defined contribution (DC) retirement saving plans, which pose a new set of responsibilities on employees and their firms. This volume investigates how and why traditional approaches to pension risk management have failed, and we also explore the new mechanisms required to strengthen retirement security for the future. Lessons from international experience are also included, ranging from Singapore to Switzerland, and the Netherlands to Australia.Less
The 1964 termination of the Studebaker Corporation’s pension plan wiped out or significantly reduced the pensions of thousands of the automaker’s employees and retirees. In response, the US Congress passed the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a monumental and revolutionary piece of legislation crafted to address corporate pension underfunding. The bill also set new rules regarding defined benefit (DB) and other retirement plans, and it established the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation as a government-run insurer to serve as a backdrop to US corporate pensions. Despite the bill’s far-ranging scope, in the decades since its passage, it has become evident that ERISA failed to achieve many of its intended objectives. The corporate pension scene today is in turmoil, and most private employers have terminated or frozen their traditional DB plans. In their place, employers are increasingly substituting defined contribution (DC) retirement saving plans, which pose a new set of responsibilities on employees and their firms. This volume investigates how and why traditional approaches to pension risk management have failed, and we also explore the new mechanisms required to strengthen retirement security for the future. Lessons from international experience are also included, ranging from Singapore to Switzerland, and the Netherlands to Australia.
Reorienting Retirement Risk Management
Saving for Retirement
