Risk Archives - Pension Policy International

11SepSeptember 11, 2026

Pensions and Turbulence: Automatic Adjustment, Risk, and Fairness in Long-Term Pension Design

By Peter A. Diamond Public pension systems are long-term social contracts operating under persistent economic, demographic, and political uncertainty. Periods of turbulence, marked by financial shocks, changes in longevity, and shifting labour markets, test the capacity of pension institutions to adapt while maintaining adequacy, equity, and legitimacy. Building on earlier joint work on pension economics and reform with Nicholas Barr, this chapter analyses the role of automatic and semi-automatic adjustment mechanisms in public pension design. Drawing on comparative experience from...

September 11, 2026

Articles, Pension design2026, Canada, Pension design, Risk, Sweden, US

04SepSeptember 4, 2026

UK. How forestry scam drained pensions to buy ‘flash cars’

Staff at Ethical Forestry always knew when their bosses were around. Even though the business was on the top floor of a Bournemouth office block there was no mistaking their arrival. You could hear one of their "top of the range, flash cars" roaring into the parking area three storeys below, according to former staff member Susan Cox. And "flash cars" they had a plenty - between them, company founder Matthew Pickard and fellow directors Stephen Greenaway and Paul Laver bought at...

September 4, 2026

NewsInvestment, Risk

03SepSeptember 3, 2026

UK. Greater pension risk pooling could boost productive investment and saver return

The greater use of collective pension vehicles, including collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes and pension superfunds, could improve saver outcomes and unlock more long-term productive investment in the UK, New Capital Consensus (NCC) has argued. In its new report, Redistributing the Risk Burden, the think tank said that the systematic transfer of investment risk from institutions to individuals over the past 25 years has contributed to more short-term and risk-averse investment, while leaving savers bearing greater responsibility without sufficient support. According to...

September 3, 2026

NewsInvestment, Risk, UK

01SepSeptember 1, 2026

Milliman analysis: Competitive pension risk transfer cost increased from 99.6% to 99.7% during July

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the latest results of its Milliman Pension Buyout Index (MPBI). During July, the estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process inched up by 10 basis points, from 99.6% to 99.7% of a plan's accounting liabilities (accumulated benefit obligation, or ABO). That means the estimated retiree PRT cost is now 99.7% of a plan's ABO. During the same time period, the average...

September 1, 2026

NewsPTR, Risk, US

28AugAugust 28, 2026

Risk Sharing and Asset Pricing under Alternative Retirement Systems

By Li Wei We examine what happens to financial markets and how generations share risk when defined benefit (DB) pension plans are incorporated into an asset pricing model with imperfect markets. We look at how important it is for pension fund growth, changes in asset demand, and return-driven volatility channels to use an adjusted macroeconomic asset price model and past data on financial markets and the pension sector. We use scenario models to look at what would happen to the...

August 28, 2026

Articles, Pension design2026, Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, Risk

26AugAugust 26, 2026

BlackRock overhauls $1bn high-yield ETF duo for Nordic pension fund

BlackRock has switched the indices of euro and US dollar high yield corporate bond ETFs in favour of softer ESG credentials to suit the updated sustainability targets of a Nordic pension fund. The $582m iShares € High Yield Corp Bond ESG Paris-Aligned Climate UCITS ETF (HYPE) and the $423m iShares $ High Yield Corp Bond ESG Paris-Aligned Climate UCITS ETF (HYDP) will switch from tracking their respective versions of the Bloomberg MSCI Corporate High Yield Climate Paris-Aligned ESG Select index...

August 26, 2026

NewsPension Management, Risk

25AugAugust 25, 2026

Look beyond funded ratios for hidden pension risks

Pension funding risk has evolved into a structural debt obligation — akin to an obligor's bonded indebtedness from a secondary credit consideration — having minimal impact on yield levels. Public pension fund risk assessment stands at the intersection of investment management practices and a municipal credit evaluation process for governments and revenue enterprises that prioritizes funding discipline and fiscal capacity. While funded ratios remain a key barometer of pension funding risk, they do not tell the full story. Beyond simply...

August 25, 2026

NewsFunding, Pension Management, Risk

21AugAugust 21, 2026

Lessons for Retirement Security from Well-Regulated Pensions

By Andrew G. Biggs The near disappearance of traditional defined benefit pensions is often treated as a loss for retirement security. This paper asks a different question: whether workers and employers value guaranteed pension benefits enough to bear their full economic cost. ERISA made private pensions more secure but also more expensive, after which traditional plans declined sharply. Meanwhile, workers with defined contribution accounts generally do not recreate DB features through higher saving, conservative portfolios, or annuitization. These patterns do...

August 21, 2026

Articles, Pension design2026, Defined Benefit, Investment, Retirement Planning, Risk, US

20AugAugust 20, 2026

UK. Standard Life launches £2bn pension risk transfer partnership

Standard Life announced Thursday a pension risk transfer partnership backed by investments of up to £2 billion ($2.72 billion) with a consortium led by CVC and Prudential Financial to target large UK pension schemes. The partnership, called Standard Life PRT Solutions, will be funded through capital commitments of up to £2 billion over five years. Standard Life will contribute £500 million, while CVC committed £400 million. Other consortium members will provide the remaining funds. The consortium includes Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), MS&AD...

August 20, 2026

NewsPension Management, Risk, UK

19AugAugust 19, 2026

Nigeria. Risk management must become the pension industry’s competitive advantage

Nigeria’s pension industry has earned its reputation as one of the nation’s most successful financial sector reforms. Since the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and the Pension Reform Act 2014, pension assets have grown steadily, millions of Nigerians have enrolled, and confidence in retirement savings has improved considerably. As the industry expands into an increasingly digital and uncertain world, merely complying with regulations is no longer sufficient. Risk management must evolve from a regulatory obligation into a...

August 19, 2026

NewsNigeria, Risk

September 2026

Pensions and Turbulence: Automatic Adjustment, Risk, and Fairness in Long-Term Pension Design

UK. How forestry scam drained pensions to buy ‘flash cars’

UK. Greater pension risk pooling could boost productive investment and saver return

Milliman analysis: Competitive pension risk transfer cost increased from 99.6% to 99.7% during July

August 2026

Risk Sharing and Asset Pricing under Alternative Retirement Systems

BlackRock overhauls $1bn high-yield ETF duo for Nordic pension fund

Look beyond funded ratios for hidden pension risks

Lessons for Retirement Security from Well-Regulated Pensions

UK. Standard Life launches £2bn pension risk transfer partnership

Nigeria. Risk management must become the pension industry’s competitive advantage