March 2019

Pension Risk Transfer Volume Blows Past Forecasts

U.S. life insurers took over more pension responsibility than they might have expected in 2018. Full-year sales of group annuities used to transfer pension risk increased to about $26 billion in 2018, up 15% from the total for 2017, according to new issuer survey data from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. In June, Wayne Daniel, head of U.S. pensions at MetLife, predicted pension plan sponsors might use group annuities to transfer about $20 billion in pension risk in 2018....

Actuarial Finance: Derivatives, Quantitative Models and Risk Management

By Mathieu Boudreault, Jean-Francois RenaudA Drs. Boudreault and Renaud answer the need for a clear, application-oriented guide to the growing field of actuarial finance with this volume, which focuses on the mathematical models and techniques used in actuarial finance for the pricing and hedging of actuarial liabilities exposed to financial markets and other contingencies. With roots in modern financial mathematics, actuarial finance presents unique challenges due to the long-term nature of insurance liabilities, the presence of mortality or other contingencies...

Global Microscope 2018: The Enabling Environment for Financial Inclusion

By Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) The 2018 Global Microscope provides a unique insight into the leading practices that governments and regulators are adopting to channel the digital revolution of financial services into greater levels of financial inclusion. It sets a model for an enabling environment for financial inclusion across five domains: 1. Government and Policy Support; 2. Stability and Integrity; 3. Products and Outlets; 4. Consumer Protection; and 5. Infrastructure. Developed through expert consultation, the five-part model framework represents the...

The Feasibility of Reverse Mortgages in Japan

By Richard K. Green (University of Southern California - Lusk Center for Real Estate) & Linna Zhu (USC Sol Price School of Public Policy) This paper examines the feasibility of reverse mortgages in Japan by utilizing stochastic modeling to characterize the movements of three stochastic variables—interest rates, property values and mortality—underpinning the value of reverse mortgages. We use the yield curve to forecast future interest rates, taking into account the interest arbitrage condition and the term premium. We employ hedonic...

Defined Contribution Pension Plans: Who Has Seen the Risk?

By Peter Forsyth (University of Waterloo - David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science) & Kenneth R. Vetzal (University of Waterloo) The trend towards eliminating defined benefit (DB) pension plans in favor of defined contribution (DC) plans implies that increasing numbers of pension plan participants will bear the risk that final realized portfolio values may be insufficient to fund desired retirement cash flows. We compare the outcomes of various asset allocation strategies for a typical DC plan investor. The strategies...

Population Aging, Health Care, and Fiscal Policy Reform: The Challenges for Japan

By Minchung Hsu (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)) & Tomoaki Yamada (Meiji University - School of Commerce) We construct a transition analysis based on a general equilibrium life‐cycle model to investigate the effects of aging, and we evaluate various policy alternatives designed to lessen the negative influence of aging. In particular, we analyze reforms of insurance benefits and tax financing tools that were recently the focus of a great amount of attention and debate in Japan because of...

Perú. Congreso no aprobó proyecto para ampliar la Jubilación Anticipada al 2021

Ahora el Pleno del Congreso deberá debatir sobre el predictamen de la Comisión de economía que propone reactivar el REJA de forma permanente, aunque con diversas modificaciones. Tras un debate de más de dos horas, el Pleno del Congreso no logró aprobar por insistencia la ampliación del Régimen Especial de Jubilación Anticipada (REJA) hasta el 2021. Pese a que la mayoría de bancadas - como Nuevo Perú, Frente Amplio, el fujimorismo, así como Alianza para el Progreso -...

México. Más productos, reto de la inclusión financiera

Llegar a más personas pese a la dispersión geográfica de la población en México, aumentar el uso de productos y servicios financieros formales y mejorar la educación financiera, son los retos para la inclusión financiera, consideró BBVA Bancomer. En el video “Análisis y perspectivas de BBVA Bancomer”, el director de Evaluación y Buenas Prácticas del grupo, Guillermo Cárdenas, señaló que estos son los tres retos que enfrenta la banca para contribuir a la inclusión financiera. Con información de la...

Chile. Licitación para administrar cartera de nuevos afiliados de AFP cierra con una sola oferta

Con una sola oferta. Así terminó la licitación para administrar la cartera de nuevos afiliados de las AFP, según informó hoy la Superintendencia de Pensiones. Eso sí, este resultado es más alto que el del año pasado, cuando la licitación terminó siendo desierta, ya que finalizó sin presentación de ofertas dentro del plazo establecido en el proceso. La única oferta que llegó este año no corresponde a ninguna de las AFP que hoy operan en el sistema. Lo anterior,...

UK. Pensioners risk £68,000 shortfall as they underestimate the cost of retirement

Pensioners risk a shortfall of more than £68,000 over the course of their retirement as 33% of Brits expect to survive solely on their state pension, new research from Nationwide Building Society shows Based on today’s pensioner spending habits, those retiring in future could be close to £400 out of pocket each month due to a gap between expectations and reality. This significant miscalculation could prove to be a major setback to tomorrow’s pensioners enjoying their later life – forcing...