This paper compares the current system of public sector pensions to a Madoff-style pyramid, now collapsing under the weight of insufficient contributions, rising longevity and an ageing workforce. Without reform, we are embarked upon a slippery slope to fiscal calamity. The state's capacity to...

This paper is about public sector pensions, an issue that has become increasingly contentious in a number of countries in recent years, including in the United Kingdom. In the UK the public debate has focussed on the perceived generosity of these pensions, which, it is often claimed, contrasts...

Radical changes have been implemented to pension schemes across the UK public sector from April 2015. This paper simulates how these changes will affect the lifetime pension and how the negotiated pension changes compare across six public sector schemes by level of education. Specifically, we...

This paper investigates the determinants of public sector pension plan investment and funding behavior. Its goal is to draw lessons which may be used to improve the design and governance of public pensions. Plan performance is related to characteristics of the pension systems' governance...

This paper investigates the determinants of public sector pension plan investment and funding behavior. Its goal is to draw lessons which may be used to improve the design and governance of public pensions. Plan performance is related to characteristics of the pension systems' governance...

I provide evidence that defined contribution (DC) pensions make retirement more positively correlated with stock market returns as compared to defined benefits (DB) pensions. To identify the effect, I exploit the U.S. federal government's switch in 1984 from a DB pension system (CSRS) to a...