The huge economic significance of longevity risk for corporations, governments and individuals is beginning to be recognized and quantified. The traditional insurance route for managing this risk is capacity constrained, leaving the capital markets to provide an effective solution. We consider...

This paper considers the asset-allocation strategies open to members of defined- contribution pension plans. We investigate a model that incorporates three sources of risk: asset risk and salary (or labour-income) risk in the accumulation phase; and interest-rate risk at the point of retirement....

The Myners Report will have a number of significant consequences for pension fund management and performance measurement in the UK. It changes the way in which assets are selected. The strategic asset allocation will have overriding importance in pension fund management. Asset classes will be...

Using stochastic modelling, we demonstrate that the best investment strategy for the accumulation phase of a defined contribution pension plan is one that limits the range of returns that are credited to the plan member’s account. In particular, we show that withprofit accumulation programmes...

This paper analyses the international equity holdings of a large panel of UK pension funds. We find considerable evidence of market timing activity, as illustrated by the funds' decision to scale back their investments in the US stock market during the 1990s. To explain this we model portfolio...

We portray the valuation of retirement savings in terms of a mental time travel journey in which a proposed contribution to a pension plan is projected forward to the plan member's retirement date and this projected value is then discounted back to today, thereby giving a present or personal...

We establish 16 good practice principles for modelling defined contribution pension plans. These principles cover the following issues: model specification and calibration; modelling quantifiable uncertainty; modelling member choices; modelling member characteristics, such as occupation and...

Many people find it difficult to start and maintain a retirement savings plan. We show how nudges can be used both to encourage people to save enough to provide an acceptable standard of living in retirement and to draw down their accumulated pension fund to maximize retirement spending, without...

This article re-examines key explanations of the Global Financial Crisis-product complexity, behavioural biases in decision making, systemic risk, and regulatory arbitrage and capture-and finds a common underlying cause, namely gaming by personnel at all levels in the banking sector and its...

This paper uses mortality fan charts to illustrate prospective future male mortality. These fan charts show both the most likely path of male mortality and the bands of uncertainty surrounding that path. The fan charts are based on a model of male mortality that is known to provide a good fit to...