Description: The abstract for a paper that focuses on default distributions and why they are important.

Description: Diverse Risks 2016 Call for Essays

Description: The is the abstract for a paper that discusses retirement planning information and the signals it provides. It focuses on the issue of communicating lump sum versus income benefits. It discusses challenges in communicating income benefits and provides some alternatives.

Description: When people retire, purchasing the annuity insurances using their retirement fund is one way against the longevity risk. However, it has some shortcoming- the annual payment may be insufficient for daily life consumption and can’t be adjusted for any urgent need [liquidity risk]. This is the abstract of a paper that investigates the adequate annuitization timing and optimal asset allocation under different investment strategies that can be found according to a time-series of safety level as a utility function for a retiree.

Description: The abstract for a paper talks about the risks of defined benefit and defined contribution plans.

Description: Abstract: A model for analyzing the probability and severity of default of sovereign entities and banks. The methodology analyzes the risks inherent in the investment of debt of sovereign governments and large financial institutions side-by-side, taking into consideration macroeconomic interactions among the sovereign fiscal and monetary authorities, the financial institutions, and the real economy. The signature aspect of the methodology is that it adapts a Merton-style default model to use explicit measures of sovereign assets and asset volatility.

Description: The abstract for the paper Pension Plan Life-Cycle Funding Approach.

Description: Abstract: Interest rate changes and volatile equity returns have contributed to significant funding and expense volatility for defined benefit plans in recent years. This paper will describe the design of an option contract with payouts that are tied to the combined impact of interest rates and investment returns on the funding level of a defined benefit pension plan. Current derivatives used by plan sponsors can limit exposure to one of these risks; however, a derivative that combines these risks may provide more targeted protection to a plan sponsor at lower cost. This paper discusses several considerations in designing such a derivative. It will also briefly discuss pricing of the option. Finally, the difference in potential outcomes between plan funding with and without option ownership will be demonstrated. As an outcome of the design work, a new way to visualize pension risk that may be useful in sponsor accounting disclosures will be shown.

Description: The abstract for a paper that talks about the Swedish pension system reform.