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OECD Working Papers on Insurance and Private Pensions

Selected studies on insurance and private pensions policy prepared for use within the OECD and addressing such policy issues as risk management, governance, types of investments, and benefit protection. This working papers series has been discontinued; it is superseded by ‘OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions’ available via: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/20797117.

English

Pension Fund Regulation and Risk Management

Results from an ALM Optimisation Exercise

This paper provides a stylised assessment of the impact of investment-relevant pension fund regulations and accounting rules on contribution and investment strategies within the context of an asset-liability model (ALM) specifically designed for this purpose. The analysis identifies a substantial impact of regulations which, in a simplified way, resemble those in place in Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. The ALM model shows that regulations affect funding costs primarily through the choice of investment strategy. Strict funding regulations may force sponsors to make up funding shortfalls in bad economic times and lead them to invest more conservatively, which ultimately raises net funding costs. The paper also shows that fairvalue accounting standards (with immediate recognition of actuarial gains and losses) can contribute to higher funding levels than required by regulators.

English

Keywords: actuarial method, valuation method, accounting, defined benefit, asset liability management, fair value, investment, pension fund, discount rate
JEL: G23: Financial Economics / Financial Institutions and Services / Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors; J32: Labor and Demographic Economics / Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs / Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
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