We find that savers do not tend to think about risk in an integrated way, especially when it comes to long-term risk. Instead they appear to think in segmented boxes. This is very bad for long term planning, since it can lead to inconsistencies. To illustrate, it is possible for people facing a...

The objective of the research was to analyse and evaluate the role of real estate in the UK's defined contribution (DC) pensions market in relation to auto-enrollment – the new system of pension scheme provision for private sector employees in the UK, which is being phased in by all employers...

Dealing with the reluctant investor examines the governance of defined contribution (DC) schemes with reference to investment choice and, in particular, the design of the default fund. We explain where and why the current system fails to support DC scheme members and what steps can be taken to...

The UK Pensions Act 2004 has turned the defined benefit pension promise into a pension guarantee and has established the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) in order to secure this guarantee where a company becomes insolvent and the scheme is underfunded. The Act has greatly upset corporate pension...

This study examines pensions portability and the preservation of pensions rights in the U.K. We review the economic theory underlying pension schemes and the arguments for and against more pensions portability. We show that the effect of current laws and actuarial practice is to penalize young...

The purpose of this Report was to identify areas that might be considered in a full benchmarking study of the investment governance of the 34 London Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPSs). The preliminary results of our research indicated that in certain cases key decision-makers are...

This report sets out the results of an independent investigation of the UK's life company business model in the context of the dramatic changes to the private sector pensions market. The main focus is the defined contribution (DC) market, including the back books of the pre-2001 era and the...

This Report aims to identify ways in which the current compulsion to take annuities by age 75 might be amended. It examines the current provision of retirement income for members of defined contribution pension (DC) plans who are obliged to purchase such annuities, regardless of personal...

"Greatest Good 2" follows-up and repeats the findings of our earlier December 2015 discussion paper ("The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number") that 1,000 occupational defined benefit pension schemes are stressed as a result of having a financially weak sponsors. The slide of many these...

The development of new underwriting techniques for bulk purchase annuities (BPAs) brings increased potential to the defined benefit pension de-risking market. As this report explains, an enhanced bulk buy-in is where the trustees buy a bulk annuity as an investment of the scheme, where some or...