Projects (72)

Trust is a key asset for pension providers as the products and services they provide involve the act of people parting with their money in exchange for promises that cover a lifetime. Uncovering trust in pension institutions comes at a crucial point in time as the Dutch pension system is in a state of flux. The government has initiated fundamental reforms in response to…

Individuals in the developed economies worldwide increasingly are confronted with an uncertain outlook towards retirement. Consequently, individuals are faced with a greater responsibility in organizing their own pension arrangements. Pension fund managers also face new challenges as their risk-returns decisions for pension investments translate more directly in differences in pension incomes for pension fund participants. In this project, we address three important aspects related…

Climate risks (including physical risk and transition risk) are among the most important financial risks for pension funds’ and insurance companies’ investment portfolios. New EU regulations require pension funds to include climate risk in their “own-risk assessment”. Climate risks are systematic (given their pervasive effects) and difficult to measure (Knightian uncertainty). Historical data are of little use. Pension funds and insurers are developing several…

An “intrinsic” part – legally established as an obligation – of the new pension contract is a solidarity reserve for intergenerational risk sharing. According to the Main Line Memorandum on the elaboration of the pension agreement, this is a collective capital, filled with premiums and returns, with which risks are divided over age groups (current and future generations). With this solidarity, more stable and…

Netspar is commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment to carry out a research project to provide insight into the effect of the various “buttons” (instruments) in the pension outcomes (scores based on the criteria mentioned). These will be illustrated numerically by means of realistic examples for funds with different age compositions and initial funding ratios based on an ALM model that…

When switching to the new pension contract, the design of the transition will affect the pension outcomes. Funds will have to perform concrete calculations and make use of (parameter) assumptions. The state of the economy (e.g. interest, UFR) will also influence the outcome of the actual transition. In this research, we examine the question to what extent the transition variables that are considered relevant…

Knowledge about the solidarity preferences, time preferences and risk preferences (STR) of the Dutch is of great importance in formulating effective and targeted policy in the Dutch pension system. It is highly likely that the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken because of it, will affect STR and that policies will have to be adjusted accordingly. In this Topicality project, we will follow the…

In the recently concluded pension agreement, arrangements have been made about, among other things, a new pension contract (see Ministry of Social Affairs and Welfare, 2020). The aim is to ensure that participants will be able to achieve the same pension level as they can now. Obligation of pension schemes is retained and pension funds will continue to carry out and invest pension schemes…

In June 2020, the government sent an outline memorandum to the Lower House containing a proposal for the reform of the pension system. This outline memorandum is not yet a bill: important details have yet to be determined. However, the direction for the reform of the pension system is fairly clear. The reform includes a new tax framework for supplementary pensions and a draft…

After the financial crisis, financial supervisors, such as the ECB and DNB, adopted several measures in order to enhance financial stability and economic recovery. Their primary aim was to prevent financial threats that lead to economic instability, but repercussions in the pension domain are very likely and need research. Pension funds, insurance companies and banks have been subject to targeted policies, the so called…