Two-thirds of senior employees are confronted with chronic health issues diagnosed by a doctor, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease or sleeping problems. Although these problems do not immediately lead to an incapacity for work, they do raise concerns when it comes to working longer. Can part-time pension offer a possible solution in terms of striking a balance between continued participation in the labor force…

Today Ortec Finance, a market-leading provider of technology and solutions for risk and return management, in collaboration with Netspar, releases a report summarizing pension funds’ views on investment and management decisions towards illiquid assets. The key best practice emerging from their study is that investors in illiquid assets should have explicit policies in place to be able to fulfill immediate cash requirements at all…

The Netspar Board of Directors recently awarded grants of €250,000 each to three applications for theme projects, following scientific validation by the Scientific Council and a positive recommendation by the Partner Research Council: Work and disability in old age: restrictions & incentives (Arthur van Soest, TiU) Older individuals and individuals with occupational disability face incentives as well as restrictions that affect working longer or…

Many Dutch people accrue wealth through their pensions and home ownership, but this is largely a passive activity. The wealth piles up and cannot always be mobilized at desired points in their lifetime. Things could be different. The Dutch government encourages more active financial planning on the part of households. The possibilities afforded for taking such financial decisions, however, are still limited and, moreover,…

To facilitate the transition to a new pension contract, the Dutch cabinet wants to make it possible to combine pension rights already accrued with the amounts to be accrued under the new pension contract. At the behest of the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), Netspar researched the possibility of adopting a uniform method for converting any presently accrued pension rights to…

Due to aging, private insurance for long-term care and annuities are likely to become more important. Up to now, however, interest in such products has been very limited and less than might be expected. Negative selection due to health and longevity inequalities is seen as an important cause of this; if people with an increased risk profile in particular insure themselves, the premiums increase…

Is the solidarity in the Dutch pension system at jeopardy? A Netspar study by researchers at Maastricht University shows that, on average, people have a strong preference for solidarity, but there is a great deal of heterogeneity. The preference for solidarity is greatest among women and people with a high education. Both young people and the elderly have a strong preference for solidarity with…

The interest in part-time retirement is high among broad sections of the population and is rising as the basic retirement age rises. Many people work longer if they can make use of a part-time pension. However, about the same amount of people see part-time retirement as a means to stop working earlier (part-time). The level of the part-time pension and the wage for the…

The Netspar board of directors has awarded two new comparative research grants. The aim of this international comparative research is to learn from abroad and thus contribute to the Dutch pension debate. CRG applications are assessed by the program coordinators. With their recommendations, the following two projects have been awarded: Private pension annuities out of savings or housing wealth? A comparative study of Italy…

Promoting social cohesion in the workplace and increasing self-esteem and perseverance at work reduces the chance that employees with health problems will drop out early. The same applies to a greater variation in work activities and to minimizing repetitive movements at work. Employees with health problems who provide informal care are also more inclined to drop out early. Further research should show whether they…