Download or read book Stress Tests for Defined Benefit Pension Plans A Primer written by Gregorio Impavido and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stress testing is a useful and increasingly popular, yet sometimes misunderstood, method of analyzing the resilience of financial systems to adverse events. This paper aims to help demystify stress tests and illustrate their strengths and weaknesses. Using an Excel-based template with institution-specific data, readers are walked through the basics of liability valuation and stress testing of assets and liabilities of a typical defined benefit plan.
Download or read book Reform Options for Mature Defined Benefit Pension Plans The Case of the Netherlands written by Mr.Marc Gerard and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-01-25 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Netherlands has been operating fully funded, defined benefit second pillar pension schemes that have consistently ranked high worldwide for delivering high replacement rates while featuring strong solidarity among members. Yet the long-term sustainability of the Dutch pension funds has been undermined in recent years by protracted low interest rates and unfavorable demographic developments, exacerbating controversies over intergenerational transfer mechanisms within the plans. This has prompted a national debate over ways to move toward more individualization while preserving financial security at retirement for all. This paper draws on this experience, illustrated by stress testing simulations and assessed vis-à-vis solutions implemented in peer countries, to discuss the main policy trade-offs associated with the reform of mature pension systems in advanced economies.
Download or read book Kingdom of the Netherlands Netherlands written by International Monetary Fund. European Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2016-02-11 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper aims to contribute to the discussion by sketching ways in which the taxation equity-efficiency frontier could be shifted outward in the Netherlands. In a nutshell, we argue that significant efficiency gains could be achieved by shifting the tax burden away from labor, and toward consumption and capital—especially housing. The detrimental impact of the tax-benefit system on labor supply—in particular by mothers—and the insufficient and distortionary use of the value-added tax (VAT) as a revenue-collection mechanism is also highlighted in the paper. This paper also reviews the main features of the Dutch tax system and sketches the contours of a hypothetical tax reform.
Download or read book Recreating Sustainable Retirement written by Olivia S. Mitchell and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-10-16 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession alerted those seeking to protect old-age security, about the extreme risks confronting the financial and political institutions comprising our retirement system. The workforce of today and tomorrow must count on longer lives and deferred retirement, while at the same time it is taking on increased responsibility for managing retirement risk. This volume explores new ways to think about, manage, and finance longevity risk, capital market risk, model risk, and regulatory risk. This volume offers an in-depth analysis of the 'black swans' that threaten private and public pensions around the world. Capital market shocks, surprises to longevity, regulatory/political risk, and errors in modelling, will all have profound consequences for stakeholders ranging from pension plan participants, plan sponsors, policymakers, and those who seek to make retirement more resistant. This book analyzes such challenges to retirement sustainability, and it explores ways to better manage and finance them. Insights provided help build retirement systems capable of withstanding what the future will bring.
Download or read book IMF Engagement on Pension Issues in Surveillance and Program Work written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2022-06-15 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is increasingly involved in offering policy advice on public pension issues to member countries. Public pension spending is important from both fiscal and welfare perspectives. Pension policy and its reforms can have significant fiscal and distribution implications, can influence labor supply and labor demand decisions, and may impact consumption and savings behavior. This technical note provides guidance on assessing public pension systems’ macrocriticality, i.e., sustainability, adequacy, and efficiency; it also discusses the issues and policy trade-offs to be considered when designing responses aiming to address these dimensions of the pension system. The paper emphasizes the importance of taking a long-term, comprehensive perspective when evaluating public pension spending and providing policy advice. Where feasible, reforms should be gradual and transparent to allow individuals ample time to adjust their work and savings decisions and to facilitate consumption smoothing over their lifecycle to avoid poverty in old age. It is also important to ensure that pension systems’ design and reforms do not lead to undesirable impacts in other policy areas including general tax compliance, health insurance coverage, labor force participation among older workers, or labor market informality. The paper emphasizes the importance country-specific social and economic objectives and constraints, as well as political economy realities – factors that can determine whether a pension reform is a success or failure.
Download or read book A Guide to IMF Stress Testing written by Ms.Li L Ong and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-12-23 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The IMF has had extensive involvement in the stress testing of financial systems in its member countries. This book presents the methods and models that have been developed by IMF staff over the years and that can be applied to the gamut of financial systems. An added resource for readers is the companion CD-Rom, which makes available the toolkit with some of the models presented in the book (also located at elibrary.imf.org/page/stress-test-toolkit).
Download or read book Global Financial Stability Report written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Pension Reform written by Robert Holzmann and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents 25 state of the art papers on the conceptual foundations and issues surrounding Non-financial, or Notional, Defined Contribution (NDC), country implementation of NDC (Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Sweden) and case studies for countries where NDC is figured in the reform debate. This book is intended to be a handbook for academics and policy makers who want to become informed about what NDC is and to learn about the pros and cons of this attractive reform proposal.
Download or read book Risk Based Supervision of Pension Funds written by Greg Brunner and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Risk-Based Supervision of Pension Funds' provides a review of the design and experience of risk-based pension fund supervision in countries that have been leaders in the development of these methods. The utilization of risk-based methods originates primarily in the supervision of banks. In recent years it has increasingly been extended to other types of financial intermediaries, including pension funds and insurers. The trend toward risk-based supervision of pensions reflects an increasing focus on risk management in both banking and insurance based on three key elements: capital requirements, supervisory review, and market discipline. Although similar in concept to the techniques developed in banking, its application to pension funds has required modifications, particularly for defined contribution funds that transfer investment risk to fund members. The countries examined–Australia, Denmark, Mexico, and the Netherlands–provide a range of experience that illustrates both the diversity of pension systems and the approaches to risk-based supervision, and also presents a commonality of focus on sound risk management and effective supervisory outcomes.
Download or read book Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-07-29 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.
Download or read book Global Financial Stability Report April 2012 written by International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2012-04-18 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The April 2012 Global Financial Stability Report assesses changes in risks to financial stability over the past six months, focusing on sovereign vulnerabilities, risks stemming from private sector deleveraging, and assessing the continued resilience of emerging markets. The report probes the implications of recent reforms in the financial system for market perception of safe assets, and investigates the growing public and private costs of increased longevity risk from aging populations.
Download or read book A Primer for Investment Trustees written by Jeffery V. Bailey and published by . This book was released on 2011-01 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Pension Reform and the Development of Pension Systems written by Emily S. Andrews and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Formal pension systems are an important means of reducing poverty among the aged. In recent years, however, pension reform has become a pressing matter, as demographic aging, poor administration, early retirement, and unaffordable benefits have strained pension balances and overall public finances. Pension systems have become a source of macroeconomic instability, a constraint to economic growth, and an ineffective and/or inequitable provider of retirement income."
Download or read book Old age Income Support in the 21st Century written by Robert Holzmann and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past decade has brought an increasing recognition to the importance of pension systems to the economic stability of nations and the security of their aging populations. This report attempts to explain current policy thinking and update the World Bank's perspective on pension reform. This book incorporates lessons learned from recent Bank experiences and research that have significantly increased knowledge and insight regarding how best to proceed in the future. The book has a comprehensive introduction and two main parts. Part I presents the conceptual underpinnings for the Bank's thinking on pension systems and reforms, including structure of Bank lending in this area. Part II highlights key design and implementation issues where it signals areas of confidence and areas for further research and experience, and includes a section on regional reform experiences, including Latin American and Europe and Central Asia.
Download or read book Pensions in the Middle East and North Africa written by Edward Whitehouse and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first comprehensive assessment of pension systems in the Middle East and North Africa. While other regionsCentral Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, in particularhave been actively introducing reforms to their pension systems, Middle East and North African countries have lagged behind. This is explained, in part, by the common belief that, because demographics remain favorablethe countries are young and the labor force is expanding rapidlyfinancial problems are far in the future; as a result, pension reform does not have to be a priority in the broader policy agenda.However, the authors show that aging is not the only factor behind a financial crisis; the problem is the generosity of the current schemes. Moreover, badly designed benefit formulas and eligibility conditions introduce unnecessary economic distortions and make the systems vulnerable to adverse distributional transfers. The book does not present a general model that could solve the problems of all pension systems in Middle East and North Africa countries. Instead the authors focus on outlining a framework for guiding discussions on pension reform and making objective policy choices.This assessment will be useful for policy makers and government officials involved in pension reform in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Download or read book Social Insecurity written by James W. Russell and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How 401(k)s have gutted retirement security, from charging exorbitant hidden fees to failing to replace the income of traditional pensions Named one of PW's Top 10 for Business & Economics A retirement crisis is looming. In 2008, as the 401(k) fallout rippled across the country, horrified holders watched 25 percent of their funds evaporate overnight. Average 401(k) balances for those approaching retirement are too small to generate more than $4,000 in annual retirement income, and experts predict that nearly half of middle-class workers will be poor or near poor in retirement. But long before the recession, signs were mounting that few people would ever be able to accumulate enough wealth on their own to ensure financial security later in life. This hasn’t always been the case. Each generation of workers since the nineteenth century has had more retirement security than the previous generation. That is, until 1981, when shaky 401(k) plans began replacing traditional pensions. For the last thirty years, we’ve been advised that the best way to build one’s nest egg is to heavily invest in 401(k)-type programs, even though such plans were originally designed to be a supplement to rather than the basis for retirement. This financial experiment, promoted by neoliberals and aggressively peddled by Wall Street, has now come full circle, with tens of millions of Americans discovering that they would have been better off under traditional pension plans long since replaced. As James W. Russell explains, this do-it-yourself retirement system—in which individuals with modest incomes are expected to invest large sums of capital in order to reap the same rewards as high-end money managers—isn’t working. Social Insecurity tells the story of a massive and international retirement robbery—a substantial transfer of wealth from everyday workers to Wall Street financiers via tremendously costly hidden fees. Russell traces what amounts to a perfect swindle, from its ideological origins at Milton Friedman’s infamous Chicago School to its implementation in Chile under Pinochet’s dictatorship and its adoption in America through Reaganomics. Enraging yet hopeful, Russell offers concrete ideas on how individuals and society can arrest this downward spiral.
Download or read book Nonfinancial Defined Contribution Pension Schemes in a Changing Pension World written by Robert Holzmann and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-11-01 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nonfinancial Defined Contribution (NDC) schemes are now in their teens. The new pension concept was born in the early 1990s, implemented from the mid-1990s in Italy, Latvia, Poland and Sweden, legislated most recently in Norway and Egypt and serves as inspiration for other reform countries. This innovative unfunded individual account scheme created high hopes at a time when the world seemed to have been locked into a stalemate between piecemeal reforms of ailing traditional defined benefit schemes and introducing pre-funded financial account schemes. The experiences and conceptual issues of NDC in its childhood were reviewed in a prior anthology (Holzmann and Palmer, 2006). This new anthology published in 2 volumes serves to review its adolescence and with the aim of contributing to a successful adulthood. Volume 1 on Progress, Lessons, Implementation includes a detailed analysis of the experience and the key policy lessons in the old and new pilot countries and the implementation of NDCs elements in other reform countries. This volume 2 on Gender, Politics, Financial Stability includes deeper and new analyses of these issues that found little or no attention in the 2006 publication. The gender perspective includes 5 chapters with, perhaps, the most complete discussion on gender and pension issues available to date. The financial stability perspective addresses in 6 chapters critical micro- and macroeconomic aspects such as the balancing mechanism, the use of a reserve fund, the handling of legacy costs, and technicalities related to the management of the longevity risk when designing annuities. While the 2 volumes address many issues it also opens a number of new questions for which good answers are not yet readily available.
