Netspar Brief 8: The Value of Customization for Pensions

Customization of pension and retirement plans can yield many benefits and should therefore play a central role in the discussions surrounding the reform of the pension system. That is the conclusion of a Netspar study of the added value of customization in pension and retirement plans. The tremendous value that can be generated for members, when combined with good management of the risks, emphasizes the importance of creating more freedom for individual differentiation in the pension system.

Read the full pressrelease and the Netspar Brief  (both only available in Dutch) and watch the video interview with Roel Mehlkopf. Read the English summary here.

Background

This Netspar Brief is part of the Communications and Choice research program. An ever-more vocal public is demanding greater transparency in their pension plans and more control. It is well established however that consumers do not always make choices that are in their best interests, especially when it comes to complicated decisions with long-term implications and risks that are difficult to oversee – any decision regarding retirement, in other words. Many people lack the knowledge and financial literacy, or motivation, required to assimilate the available information and take action as necessary. Comparative research performed at the national and international level can provide helpful information for designing choice architecture systems that guide people toward the right decisions.

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• De meerwaarde van risicodeling met toekomstige generaties nader bezien, Boeijen et al, Netspar Occasional Paper 2016
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• Keuzevrijheid in pensioen, Harry van Dalen en Kène Henkens, Netspar Brief 5, March 2016.
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• Effectieve ondersteuning van zelfmanagement voor de consument, Alwin Oerlemans, Benedict Dellaert, Peter Lapperre, Design Paper 65 – November 2016