A Life-Cycle Approach in the Dutch Occupational Pension System?

Abstract

The recent global financial crisis reconfirms the importance of risk management in defined benefit pension systems. To enhance sustainability, new forms of integrating the risk profiles of assets and liabilities should be considered. Specifically, by reducing the risk profile of assets, by transferring more risk to the beneficiaries, or through a combination of the two. This article provides a stochastic analysis of different strategies that gradually switch from risky to risk-free investments over the life-cycle. While the study is set in a Dutch institutional context, its findings have broad application.

Keywords: Benefit, Cost, Investment, Pension Fund, Performance Metric