Report of the Investment Products for Retirement Savings Working Party: “Is there a place in the UK Defined Contribution pensions market for a guaranteed savings product?” ‐ Abstract of the London discussion

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-675
Author(s):  
Scott Eason

This abstract relates to the following paper:EasonS., BarkerP., ForoughiG., HarsantJ., HunterD., JarvisS., JonesG., KnavaV., MurphyP., MurrayK., MuthulingamJ., OdoziN., PageT., WashomaK. & WebbA.Is there a place in the UK Defined Contribution pensions market for a guaranteed savings product?British Actuarial Journal, doi:10.1017/S135732171300024X

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
IQBAL OWADALLY ◽  
RAHIL RAM ◽  
LUCA REGIS

Abstract Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pension schemes are a variant of collective pension plans that are present in many countries and especially common in the Netherlands. CDC schemes are based on the pooled management of the retirement savings of all members, thereby incorporating inter-generational risk-sharing features. Employers are not subject to investment and longevity risks as these are transferred to plan members collectively. In this paper, we discuss policy related to the proposed introduction of CDC schemes to the UK. By means of a simulation-based study, we compare the performance of CDC schemes vis-à-vis typical Defined Contribution schemes under different investment strategies. We find that CDC schemes may provide retirees with a higher income replacement rate on average, together with less uncertainty.


2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 420-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Beshears ◽  
James J. Choi ◽  
Joshua Hurwitz ◽  
David Laibson ◽  
Brigitte C. Madrian

We compare the liquidity that six developed countries have built into their employer-based defined contribution (DC) retirement schemes. In Germany, Singapore, and the UK, withdrawals are essentially banned no matter what kind of transitory income shock the household realizes. By contrast, in Canada and Australia, liquidity is state-contingent. For a middle-income household, DC accounts are completely illiquid unless annual income falls substantially, in which case DC assets become highly liquid. The US stands alone in the universally high liquidity of its DC system: whether or not income falls, the penalties for early withdrawal are low or non-existent.


Author(s):  
Áine Ní Léime ◽  
Wendy Loretto

This chapter documents international policy developments and provides a gender critique of retirement, employment and pension policies in Australia, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, the UK, and the US. It assesses the degree to which the individual country's extended working life policies have adopted the agenda (increasing pension age and introducing flexible working) set out by the OECD and the EU. Policies include raising state pension age, changes in the duration of pension contribution requirements, the move from defined benefits to defined contribution pensions, policies on caring for vulnerable members of the population, policies enabling flexible working and anti-age discrimination measures. An expanded framework is used to assess the degree to which gender and other intersecting issues such as health, caring, class, type of occupation and/or membership of minority communities have (or have not) been taken into account in designing and implementing policies extending working life.


Author(s):  
K Battle ◽  
G D T Carmichael ◽  
E Cresswell ◽  
D Morse ◽  
H Porter ◽  
...  

To satisfy a requirement within the high pressure pipework industry in the UK, PVE/10 of the British Standards Institution established a Working Party to produce recommendations on the design and application of gusseted or mitred bends. The ultimate conclusions of the Working Party were eventually published within Amendment AMD 3545 to BS 806 ‘Ferrous pipes and piping installations for and in connection with land boilers’. Prior to this amendment BS 806 provided only limited guidance on the design of such bends, based on rules derived from custom and practice. AMD 3545 provides more extensive guidance than previously, based on experimental data and analysis and provides guidance on pipework design. This paper describes the background to the amendment and provides most of the reasoning behind the conclusions drawn by the Working Party.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIKE KNOEF ◽  
JIM BEEN ◽  
ROB ALESSIE ◽  
KOEN CAMINADA ◽  
KEES GOUDSWAARD ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Dutch pension system is highly ranked on adequacy. These rankings, however, are based on fictitious replacement rates for median income earners. This paper investigates whether the Dutch pension adequacy is still high when we take into account the resources that people really accumulate, using a large administrative data set. A comprehensive approach is followed: not only public and private pension rights, but also private savings and housing wealth are taken into account. Summed over all age- and socioeconomic groups we find a median gross replacement rate of 83% and a net replacement rate of 101%. At retirement age, 31% of all households face a gross replacement rate that is lower than 70% of current income. Public and occupational pensions each account for more than 35% of total pension annuities. Private non-housing assets account for 14% and imputed rental income from net housing wealth accounts for about 10%. Some vulnerable groups, such as the self-employed, have below average replacement rates. Results are fairly similar to results found in the UK, indicating that we should be careful in evaluating the adequacy of pensions systems on the basis of fictitious replacement rates.


Author(s):  
Phillip A. Braun

Alice Monroe, a 30-year-old married mother of two, was an admissions officer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She was just completing her first year of service at Northwestern and qualified for the university's 403(b) retirement plan. It was early October 2017, and she had until the end of the month to decide if and to what extent she would participate in Northwestern's retirement plan–that is, how much of her salary should she put into the retirement plan, and into which mutual fund or funds should she allocate her savings? The case includes background on defined contribution and benefit plans as well as mutual funds. It goes into detail about Northwestern's retirement plan, including data on the performance of 15 of the plan's core mutual funds. The case also provides each fund's strategy, Morningstar Rating and Morningstar Category, expense ratio, assets under management, turnover rate, and historical performance for the last 10 years. Using modern portfolio theory (diversification and risk-return trade-off) and with an understanding of mutual fund fees and the tax advantages of retirement savings, students will decide how much Alice should invest and in which mutual funds.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Roseveare ◽  

Over the past three years it has become apparent to me that referring to ‘current affairs’ in these columns can be a mistake, serving only to highlight inevitable printing delays. By the time this edition arrives on your doormat Euro 2004, ‘Big Brother’ and the early summer heat wave will be nothing but a distant memory. However the ‘recent’ publication of the Royal College of Physicians document ‘Acute Medicine – making it work for patients’ cannot be allowed to pass without a mention. This report represents a significant shift in the position of the College in relation to Acute Medicine since the previous working party reported its findings in 2000. The value of consultants specialising in Acute Medicine is now clearly recognised and supported – every trust should now have one, with the minimum figure of three per hospital being proposed by 2008. Whether this is achievable will depend on the rapid development of training schemes across the UK, as well as the generation of enthusiasm for the specialty amongst junior staff. The number of applicants for our Wessex programme indicates no shortage of the latter. Although developing a training scheme takes a lot of hard work, it is vital that those already working in the specialty make this a high priority. We have already seen benefits from the appointment of high quality middle grade staff and are looking forward to a ‘flood’ of future applicants for local consultant posts, 4 years from now. This edition comprises four more important review papers on aspects of acute medicine, along with the first in our ‘Controversies in acute medicine’ series. The latter was designed to try to stir up some correspondence, for future publication. The confusion over oxygen delivery in the acute setting seems to reign fairly widely amongst junior, and indeed some more senior medical staff. Hopefully Dr Cooper’s well-written paper will serve to dismiss some of the misconceptions in this area. Our reviews cover relatively uncommon, but nonetheless important aspects of acute medicine. Tuberculosis and HIV are both on the increase in the UK. The success of anti-retroviral therapy will undoubtedly lead HIVrelated illness to be a significant part of our practice over the next decade. An understanding of the range of conditions specific to this group of immunocompromised patients is therefore crucial for physicians involved in the acute take. Hypoglycaemia and suspected bacterial meningitis are both conditions which require immediate action by medical staff. Both of these reviews comprehensively cover their respective topics with a combination of well written text, illustrations tables and algorithms. Dr Hartman highlights recent evidence supporting the use of dexamethosone in bacterial meningitis and re-iterates some of the points made in an earlier edition regarding the use (and abuse) of CT scanning prior to lumbar puncture. For a change we have no case reports this time, although Dr Macdonald’s audit of the innovative review clinic in the Emergency Assessment Area of Heartlands hospital provides a worthy substitute. Submission of similar articles in future would be most welcome. Once again, a reminder that multiple choice questions are for self assessment and ‘personal’ CPD only; I hope you will find this edition helpful in your clinical practice.


2021 ◽  
pp. 171-208
Author(s):  
Craig Berry

This chapter considers in depth some of the key elements of the new landscape of individualized pensions provision in the UK, reflecting in particular on some of the state’s emerging functions as facilitator, regulator, and provider of defined contribution pensions. It charts how the Pensions Commission’s vision for state-managed defined contribution was subtly marginalized, resulting in an approach which enables and indeed privileges privatized delivery of auto-enrolment, leaving private pensions provision caught between two radically different regulatory regimes, and rendering the state unable to act decisively to protect individual welfare. The chapter also discusses decumulation processes, including the Coalition government’s radical and highly destructive reforms to the annuities market, and the peculiar role played by pensions tax relief—providing a largely ineffective saving incentive, albeit at great expense.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 2483-2501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Robertson-Rose

AbstractMost private-sector employees in the United Kingdom (UK) are automatically enrolled into individualised defined contribution (DC) pension accounts. In a DC environment, income adequacy in retirement is highly dependent on the decisions that individuals make earlier in their lives. The ease with which they move into employment, and the pension support that they then receive from their employer, can be critical in determining outcomes. This paper discusses how employees respond to workplace pension schemes and the circumstances under which they assess the suitability of their contributions. The findings are based on an embedded case study comprising qualitative interviews with 25 employees of a large UK utility company. Participants were selected on the basis of socio-economic similarity. The research concluded that fixed-term employment negatively impacted on saving for retirement, both with respect to scheme membership and to the level of saving. Furthermore, it was found that the employment context had an influence upon retirement savings behaviour. The proactive approach of the employer in providing retirement benefits, and the trust that employees had in their employer, positively influenced membership and contribution levels. In addition to employer endorsement effects, both the encouragement of older work colleagues and workplace norms had a role to play in influencing how successfully individuals prepared for retirement.


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