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Netspar Thesis Awards

The Netspar Thesis Awards are given out for exceptional theses on topics related to aging and financing retirement. The goal is to motivate talented students and future researchers.

Two Academic Awards Sample Topics Call for 2026 Submissions and Registration Form Terms and Conditions and Assessment Criteria Selection Process Previous winners

There are two Netspar Thesis Awards given out for academic excellence:

  • Master’s/research master’s thesis: Netspar Thesis Award in the amount of €1,500
  • PhD dissertation: Netspar Thesis Award in the amount of €3,000

The awards are given out annually at Pension Day.

Topics around the issue of aging are growing in importance. By 2050, almost 35% of the European population will be over the age of 60. This leads to many research questions that might be addressed in a thesis or dissertation. A few examples:

  • How can we make the pension system sustainable?
  • How do people prepare for retirement and what is the most effective way to help them make the right choices?
  • How should pension funds and insurance companies sustainably invest their capital and how should they deal with risks, including climate risks, all in the interest of their members?
  • What are the implications of the rising retirement age for older workers and employment policy?
  • What is the connection between pensions and retirement savings and the need for housing and long-term care among older individuals?

Submissions for this year’s Netspar Thesis Awards are open until August 10, 2026, at 12:00 noon. Students can nominate themselves or be nominated by their supervisor, even one working in a different industry.

You can register using the following form:

Netspar Thesis Awards 2026

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Do you think you/your student might qualify for the Netspar Thesis Awards? Then it is necessary to make sure you/they meet the following conditions:

  • Students or PhD candidates must be enrolled at a university (in the Netherlands or elsewhere).
  • The topic of the thesis or dissertation must be related to the Netspar knowledge agenda.
  • The thesis or dissertation must be anchored in the academic literature and can have been written during an internship, for example, at one of Netspar’s partners.
  • The final version of the thesis or dissertation must have been/be submitted to one’s university between July 1, 2025, and August 10, 2026.

The Netspar Editorial Board uses the following criteria to assess the submissions:

  • Academic quality, including the use of the literature and methods or techniques
  • Relevance for Netspar’s research program
  • Succinct, analytical writing style
  • Originality and execution or presentation
  • The deadline for submissions is August 10, 2026, at 12:00 noon.
  • Winners will be selected by the Netspar Editorial Board.
  • Nominees will receive an e-mail regarding their submission in September 2026.
  • The Netspar Thesis Awards will be handed out at the Netspar Pension Day on November 19, 2026, in Utrecht.

2025

  • Master – Vatsal Desai – Simon Fraser University, Canada with “Generalized design framework for collective defined contribution pension plans and benefit smoothing mechanisms”
  • PhD – Jens Robben – KU Leuven with “Insights from fine-grained data for actuarial applications in mortality modelling and non-life reserving”

2024

  • Master – Christel Janssen – Tilburg University with “Comparative analysis of economic consequences of pension tax systems: EET vs. TEE in the Netherlands amid demographic changes”
  • PhD – Jeroen van der Vaart – University of Groningen with “Health Risks in Old Age. Implications for Household Savings and Insurance”

2023

  • Master – Danjun Xu – University of Amsterdam met “Time Series Analysis of Return Expectations and Asset Allocations: Evidence from Pension Funds”
  • PhD – Timo Lambregts – Erasmus University met “Consumer decisions in insurance markets: Analyzing demand for long-term care insurance and mental health care”

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

  • Bachelor: Sjoerd Timmermans (TiU) – Intergenerational risk sharing
  • Master: Bart Custers (TiU) – The added value of age differentiation in pension deals
  • Research Master: Marloes Lammers (VU) – The effects of savings on reservation wages and search effort
  • PhD: Ralph Koijen (TiU) – Essays on asset pricing

2007

  • Bachelor: Kay Mennes (TiU) – Valuation of pension entitlements in hetereogeneous populations
  • Master: Mark Schouten (TiU) – Hedging inflation risk
  • PhD: Roel Mehlkopf (TiU) – Dynamic portfolio choice with an endogenous retirement date

2006

  • Bachelor: Lisanne Sanders (TiU) – Modeling solidarity in pension funds
  • Master: Ralph Stevens (TiU) – Modeling solidarity in pension funds
  • PhD: Jérémie Lefebvre – Pricing of pension annuities in a context of decreasing mortality: assessing the Lee-Carter model