Many people delay joining a pension plan until well into their working lives. We use a stochastic simulation model to show the cost of this delay in terms of the higher pension contributions that must eventually be paid to ensure an adequate retirement income. We find the levels of contributions...

Most defined contribution (DC) pension plans give their members a degree of choice over the investment strategy for their contributions. Many plans also offer a 'default' fund for members unable or unwilling to choose their own investment strategy. We analyse the range of default funds offered...

In the last few years, the risk of mortality improvements has become increasingly capital intensive for pension funds and annuity providers to manage. The reason is that longevity risk has been systematically underestimated, making balance sheets vulnerable to unexpected increases in...

quot;Pyrrhic Victory? The unintended consequences of the Pensions Act 2004quot; is the first independent study of its kind on the early impact and unintended consequences of the Pensions Act 2004. The report warns that the government may win its battle with employers to ensure they pay employees...

quot;Annuities and Accessibility: How the industry can empower consumers to make rational choicesquot; was published on Thursday 16 March 2006. The report calls on the Financial Services Authority, specialist annuity advisers, trustees, and employers to respond to key recommendations that could...

quot;And death shall have no dominion: Life settlements and the ethics of profiting from mortalityquot; was published on Monday 7 July 2008. The report is the first major independent study of the ethics of investing in US life settlements (also known as traded life policies or TLPs). It analyses...

'An Unreal Number. How Company Pension Accounting Fosters an Illusion of Certainty' was published on 31st January 2008. This research paper, funded by the ICAEW's charitable trusts, is intended to be a 'state of the art' review of the ways in which companies account for their pension...

'Apocalyptic demography? Putting longevity risk in perspective' which was published on 29 April 2008 has been funded by, and produced in association with, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the only international accountancy body with a sole focus on business. This report...

In this paper we use a private dataset to examine the contribution and investment decisions made by members of a large UK-based DC pension plan. We find that many employees appear to be relatively financially-sophisticated and follow approaches consistent with economic and financial theory in...

Longevity Three: The Third International Longevity Risk and Capital Markets Solutions Conference was held in Taipei, Taiwan on 20-21 July 2007. It was hosted by National Chengchi University. Mortality improvements around the world are putting more pressure on governments, pension funds, life...