This thesis investigates the current crisis among pension funds and concentrates on the one hand on how to recover and on the other hand on what the future of the Dutch pension sector should look like.

This paper investigates the causal effects of the announcement of an increase in the statutory pension age on employee retirement expectations. In June 2010, the Dutch government signed a new pension agreement with the employer and employee organizations that entailed an increase in the statutory pension age from 65 currently to 66 in 2020 for all inhabitants born after 1954. Given the expected increase in average life expectancy, it was also decided that in 2025 the pension age would be further increased to 67 for those born after 1959.

Avtalen om et mer inkluderende arbeidsliv (IA-avtalen) i Norge ble undertegnet i 2001. Samme år ble arbeidet med å reformere pensjonssystemet igangsatt. I denne rapporten har vi sett på hva Danmark, Sverige og Finland har gjort for å redusere tidligpensjoneringen og øke yrkesdeltakelsen blant eldre.

Much as in previous recessions, the number of applications to public disability insurance programs increased sharply during the Great Recession. We find that the composition of applicants also changes across business cycles. For example, applicants during economic downturns, and especially during the Great Recession, are younger, better educated, higher income, and more likely to have recent work experience. However, we find only mixed evidence supporting the theory that the increase in applications in downturns is caused by healthier applicants who apply to disability programs only because they are unemployed.

Defined contribution plans, predominantly 401(k)s, are the primary source of personal retirement savings for American workers, making the investment decisions within these accounts a salient policy concern. These decisions are a result of two separate actions: the mutual fund options selected by the employer’s plan administrator and the specific funds chosen by the participant.

Avtalen om et mer inkluderende arbeidsliv (IA-avtalen) i Norge ble undertegnet i 2001. Samme år ble arbeidet med å reformere pensjonssystemet igangsatt. I denne rapporten har vi sett på hva Danmark, Sverige og Finland har gjort for å redusere tidligpensjoneringen og øke yrkesdeltakelsen blant eldre.

Defined contribution plans, predominantly 401(k)s, are the primary source of personal retirement savings for American workers, making the investment decisions within these accounts a salient policy concern. These decisions are a result of two separate actions: the mutual fund options selected by the employer’s plan administrator and the specific funds chosen by the participant.

While considerable research has examined 401(k) participant decisions in isolation, surprisingly little attention has been focused on the choices made by plan administrators. The administrator’s role is clearly influential, particularly if, as indicated by prior research, 401(k) participants themselves do not make good choices. This brief, based on a prior study, addresses this research gap by focusing on the fund choices of 401(k) plan administrators and participants’ reactions to these choices.

1. mars vil det avholdes møte i Pensjonsforum med temaet "Levealder", med bidrag fra Aslaug Foss(SSB), Dennis Fredriksen (SSB) og Sissel Rødevand (Actecan). Neste møte avholdes 15.mars med temaet "Fripoliser", med bidrag fra Pål Lillevold (Aktuar), Runa K. Sæther (Finanstilsynet), Jan Otto Risebrobakken (Storebrand) og Mikkel Berg (Silver).

Workers over age 55 with chronic health conditions must choose between applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits or continuing to work until their Social Security retirement benefits become available. Previous research has investigated the influence of macroeconomic conditions on disability application and, separately, on retirement claiming.

In this paper we analyze the trends in labor force participation and transitions to benefit programs of older workers in relation to health trends as well as recent Social Security reforms.

A classic defined benefit scheme delivers a real annuity at retirement, which is considered to be the optimal pension provision for individuals. The unsustainability of these schemes combined with new regulation is driving a worldwide shift towards defined contribution solutions, which do not deliver a guarantee and thus a suboptimal pension.

Banklovkommisjonens forslag til nytt tjenestepensjonsprodukt i privat sektor tilfredsstiller alle behov en arbeidsgiver måtte ha. Bedriften kan spare mye eller lite til de ansattes pensjoner. Arbeidsgiver kan videre fri seg fra en hver garanti, velte all risiko over på arbeidstakerne og dermed styre unna balanseføringen av framtidige forpliktelse. Motsatt kan arbeidsgiver garantere de ansatte lønnsregulering av pensjonskapitalen og dermed sikre et visst nivå på pensjonene. I notatet vises det bl.a. at forslagene til maksimalsatser er satt for lavt til å gi like gode pensjoner som dagens ytelsesordninger. Kommisjonens forslag på 7 pst må økes til minst 8,5 pst for å kunne sikre pensjoner på to tredeler av sluttlønn innenfor standardmodellen.