This paper outlines the regulatory framework within which occupational defined benefit pension plans are financed and addresses the challenges facing the funding of such plans. The Appendices include a summary and discussion of the funding regulations in twelve OECD countries plus Brazil – all of which have a long history of DB plans. The paper draws on these experiences in these countries and...
Annuities are specifically designed to cover the risk that an individual outlives their own resources by transferring such risk to an insurance undertaking. Despite an increasing need for annuity products (due to increasing longevity, decreasing state pensions, a rise in Defined Contribution pension plans etc.), these markets remains under-developed in many OECD countries. This paper attempts to...
Underfunded pension funds are in the same position as other creditors when their sponsoring firm becomes insolvent, having to join the queue claiming the remaining assets of the firm. Arguments for granting pension fund priority rights over other creditors are the same as for introducing pension benefit guarantee schemes – i.e. market failure and diversification. Arguments against such a priority...
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are pools of assets owned and managed directly or indirectly by governments to achieve national objectives. These funds have raised concerns about: (i) financial stability, (ii) corporate governance and (iii) political interference and protectionism. At the same time governments have formed other large pools of capital to finance public pension systems, i.e. Public...
The objective of this study is to analyse what the quantitative funding requirements for pension funds with defined benefit plans would be, if Solvency II (based on the QIS 3 methodology) would be applied. Also possible extensions of the Solvency II methodology that seem necessary in order to reflect the specifics of pension funds will be discussed. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar cuáles...
This paper provides a description of the risk-sharing features of pension plan design in selected OECD and non-OECD countries and how they correspond with the funding rules applied to pension funds. In addition to leading to a better understanding of differences in funding rules across countries with developed pension fund systems, the study considers the trend towards risk-based regulation. While...
This paper reviews the impact of ageing on private pensions, in particular on the payout phase, assesses the part that annuities can play in financing retirement, and examines the role of financial markets in facilitating the allocation on assets accumulated in defined contribution pension plans. A comprehensive set of recommendations for discussion is provided at the end of the paper. Este...
It is estimated that transitioning to a low-carbon, and climate resilient economy, and more broadly „greening growth? over the next 20 years to 2030 will require significant investment and consequently private sources of capital on a much larger scale than previously. With their USD 28 trillion in assets, pension funds - along with other institutional investors - potentially have an important role...
This paper examines the role of guarantees in DC pension plans, in particular minimum investment return guarantees during the accumulation phase. The main goal is to assess the cost and benefits of different return guarantees. The report uses a stochastic financial market model where guarantee claims are calculated as a financial derivative in a financial market framework (like e.g. the valuation...
Pension funds are increasingly looking at infrastructure investment with some investors actively pursuing opportunities in the sector. Different countries are at different stages in the evolution of pension fund investment in infrastructure. A survey of a sample of the most significant actors was launched by the OECD in May 2010 within the framework of the OECD Project on Transcontinental...
