Start your future today: Developing a future self tool based on predictive knowledge for younger participants to feel more in control of their pension

Do you remember the phrase “they grow up so fast”? Personally when I hear this, I immediately get flashbacks of my grandmother smiling proudly from ear to ear while saying this about me and my siblings. Maybe for you this was a parent, a neighbour, a teacher or a family friend. Or maybe you have a different memory with this phrase altogether....

Rule-based strategies for dynamic life cycle investment

In this work, we consider rule-based investment strategies for managing a defined contribution pension savings scheme, under the Dutch pension fund testing model. We find that dynamic, rule-based investment strategies can outperform traditional static strategies, by which we mean that the investor may achieve the target retirement income with...

Hedging interest rate risk for pension schemes: Optimization and effectiveness: The case of the Netherlands

Efficiently managing hedging portfolios on behalf of pension funds is key in achieving the target hedging strategy, which can significantly impact coverage ratios. A new optimization approach to fixed income portfolio management for pension funds is proposed that finds interest rate risk hedging strategies while incorporating additional...

Dynamic Life Cycle Investing

This thesis studies the asset allocation of a DC pension investor over a long time horizon. Investors allocate their portfolio wealth between two assets: a return portfolio and a matching portfolio. Investors can adjust their allocation once a year. Several dynamic investment strategies that improve investment results compared to fixed...

Bridging the Dutch Infrastructure Gap: On the involvement of pension funds in Dutch mobility infrastructure projects

The infrastructure gap is defined as the gap between investment requirements of infrastructure and the public funds available. Due to these gaps, not enough new infrastructure is developed and this puts a constraint on economic growth. This study looks at the impact that pension funds can have on closing this infrastructure gap, and thereby aid...

Feasibility test for Defined Contribution pension schemes

In the Netherlands Dutch pension funds perform the feasibility test. This test is originally designed for DB pension schemes. Nowadays DC pension schemes are getting a more prominent role in the Dutch pension system. Therefore an improved design of the feasibility test for DC pension schemes would be beneficial. In this research we search for a...

Using the owner occupied home as a pension: attitudes towards housing equity release in 6 European countries

The ageing of European societies and increasing pressure on collective pension arrangements has sparked interest in alternative, more individualised forms of pension provision. Home ownership is regarded as one of these alternatives. Home owners can release housing equity by moving to a smaller owner occupied dwelling or a rental dwelling....

Analysis of the Carbon Bubble Risk of Oil & Gas Companies in the Dutch Pension Market

To avoid uncontrollable climate change, the increase of global temperature should not exceed 2 degrees Celsius. Taking this into account, not all fossil fuel reserves can be exploited, which will affect the oil & gas companies and their assets. This not only poses a risk on companies operating in the fossil fuel sector, but also on the financial...

Examination of insurer fees by means of life expectancy

In the Netherlands, the pension regulation consists of three pillars. The first pillar consists of the basic state pension called AOW (algemene ouderdomswet), which is meant to provide a financial foundation for every person. At the moment, the yearly AOW contribution for a retired person is somewhere between 10.000 and 15.000, depending on...

Alternative project finance structures in Dutch DBFMO projects: Enhancing the match between perspectives of financiers and applies project finance structures

Housing wealth in retirement strategies: Towards understanding and new hypotheses

What is the current role of housing wealth in household retirement strategies across the European Union member states? And could this role be extended? This question is often raised by researchers and policymakers, since governments search for ways to cut pensions expenditure in response to ageing populations and the global financial crisis....

Property-based welfare and European homeowners: How would housing perform as a pension?

Notwithstanding current market volatility, there has been exceptional expansion in owner-occupied housing sectors and increases in house prices across European countries in recent decades. In the EU, individual wealth held in housing equity, especially among older people, has been considered a substantial reserve that could be tapped into to...

Longevity Risk and the Consequences for the Actuary

The research is done at Hewitt Associates, Amsterdam. At Hewitt I investigated the consequences of longevity risk. Using the well known model of Lee-Carter, a prognosis of future life-expectancy in the Netherlands is constructed. Then the financial consequences for Dutch pension funds are examined, in particular when its participants become...