Most countries have separate pension plan for public sector employees. The future fiscal burden of these plans can be substantial as the government usually is the largest employer, pension promises in the public sector tend to be relatively generous, and future payments have to be paid out...

We use a historical experiment to test whether U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans strategically use regulatory freedom to lower the reported value of pension liabilities, and hence required cash contributions. For some years, pension plans were required to estimate two liabilities -...

According to theory, institutional investors face both risk management and risk shifting incentives. This paper assesses the relevance of these conflicting incentives for Dutch pension funds and insurance firms over the period 1995-2009. Using a unique and extended dataset, we observe a...

We examine the relationship between financial literacy and retirement planning in a representative sample of Swedish adults. We find significant differences in financial literacy between planners and non-planners. Financial literacy levels are also lower among older people, women and those with...

In this paper we consider the influence of the demography on the dynamic equilibrium of an economy. More precisely, we focus on mandatory pensions, as in most Western countries except USA and Switzerland the role of ‘the third pension-pillar,' based on voluntary savings, is relatively minor....

Stand-alone collective pension schemes are an attractive third way between the extensive public pay-as-you-go schemes of continental Europe and the individual pension plans that are increasingly replacing defined-benefit plans in the Anglo-Saxon countries. If a number of further reforms are...