A Short Note on the Atp Fund of Denmark

A Short Note on the Atp Fund of Denmark
Author: Dimitri Vittas
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 23
Release: 2008
Genre: Debt Markets
ISBN:

Abstract: The Danish ATP (Arbejdmarkedets TillaegsPension or Labor Market Supplementary Pension) fund is a public pension fund that was created in 1964 to complement the universal pension benefit that is financed from general tax revenues and is paid to all old-age residents. When it was created, participation in ATP was compulsory on most working people. But over the last decade or so compulsory coverage has been expanded to most recipients of transfer income. Contribution amounts are set in absolute terms, but are low relative to earnings (less than 1 percent of average earnings). ATP has benefited from scale economies and compulsory worker participation and has been able to operate with high efficiency and low costs. Its investment performance has been uneven over the years, reflecting the applied investment policies and rules as well as prevailing financial conditions. In recent years, it has been a leader among Danish pension institutions in adopting innovative investment policies and has enjoyed an enviable record of high investment returns and low operating costs. In addition, it has long offered deferred group annuities with guaranteed benefits and periodic bonuses (with profits policies). However, ATP also suffers from several weaknesses and shortcomings. It has a cumbersome governance structure, rooted in labor market relations and the role of social partners, while its group annuities have been based on rather 'idiosyncratic' risk-sharing arrangements. Nevertheless, it took the lead in using long-dated interest-rate swaps in euro markets and recently created a department that specializes in hedging its pension liabilities. And it is in the process of adopting a new plan for guaranteed benefits that aims to enhance the management of both investment and longevity risks.

A Short Note on the ATP Fund of Denmark

A Short Note on the ATP Fund of Denmark
Author: Dimitri Vittas
Publisher:
Total Pages: 23
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

The Danish ATP (Arbejdmarkedets Tillaegs Pension or Labor Market Supplementary Pension) fund is a public pension fund that was created in 1964 to complement the universal pension benefit that is financed from general tax revenues and is paid to all old-age residents. When it was created, participation in ATP was compulsory on most working people. But over the last decade or so compulsory coverage has been expanded to most recipients of transfer income. Contribution amounts are set in absolute terms, but are low relative to earnings (less than 1 percent of average earnings). ATP has benefited from scale economies and compulsory worker participation and has been able to operate with high efficiency and low costs. Its investment performance has been uneven over the years, reflecting the applied investment policies and rules as well as prevailing financial conditions. In recent years, it has been a leader among Danish pension institutions in adopting innovative investment policies and has enjoyed an enviable record of high investment returns and low operating costs. In addition, it has long offered deferred group annuities with guaranteed benefits and periodic bonuses (with profits policies). However, ATP also suffers from several weaknesses and shortcomings. It has a cumbersome governance structure, rooted in labor market relations and the role of social partners, while its group annuities have been based on rather 'idiosyncratic' risk-sharing arrangements. Nevertheless, it took the lead in using long-dated interest-rate swaps in euro markets and recently created a department that specializes in hedging its pension liabilities. And it is in the process of adopting a new plan for guaranteed benefits that aims to enhance the management of both investment and longevity risks.

Upgrading the Investment Policy Framework of Public Pension Funds

Upgrading the Investment Policy Framework of Public Pension Funds
Author: Dimitri Vittas
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2008
Genre: Alternative asset
ISBN:

Abstract: Public pension funds have the potential to benefit from low operating costs because they enjoy economies of scale and avoid large marketing costs. But this important advantage has in most countries been dissipated by poor investment performance. The latter has been attributed to a weak governance structure, lack of independence from government interference, and a low level of transparency and public accountability. Recent years have witnessed the creation of new public pension funds in several countries, and the modernization of existing ones in others, with special emphasis placed on upgrading their investment policy framework and strengthening their governance structure. This paper focuses on the experience of four new public pension funds that have been created in Norway, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. The paper discusses the safeguards that have been introduced to ensure their independence and their insulation from political pressures. It also reviews their performance and their evolving investment strategies. All four funds started with the romantic idea of operating as 'managers of managers' and focusing on external passive management but their strategies have progressively evolved to embrace internal active management and significant investments in alternative asset classes. The paper draws lessons for other countries that wish to modernize their public pension funds.

Annuities and Other Retirement Products

Annuities and Other Retirement Products
Author: Roberto Rezende Rocha
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2011
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821385747

In the 1990s many emerging economies in Central Europe and Latin America initiated their pension reforms. While most analysis to date has focused on the accumulation phase, there are a number of lessons to be shared as countries start to prepare the retirement options for their contributors, with this book addressing these issues from a public policy perspective.

Denmark

Denmark
Author: International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 62
Release: 2014-12-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498338062

This Technical Note on Stress Testing the Banking, Insurance, and Pension Sectors on Denmark discusses that since the beginning of the global financial crisis, Danish banks have substantially increased their capital buffers. The banks’ capital buffers provide for substantial loss absorbing capacity in case macro-financial conditions deteriorate. Under the most severe stress scenario, the aggregate Tier 1 ratio of large Danish banks drops by almost 4 percentage points, but the solvency position would remain adequate even in such a downturn scenario—underlining the value of solid capital buffers. Under the restrictive assumptions of the stress test, the adverse scenarios have large negative effects on the solvency and profitability of life insurance companies. Nonlife insurers would see a small decline in solvency ratios in the first year of the stress test. Though starting from lower solvency levels than life insurers, the aggregated impact on solvency ratios in the adverse scenario is comparably smaller.

The World Bank Research Program 2008-2009

The World Bank Research Program 2008-2009
Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2009
Genre: Economic history
ISBN: 9780821382110

'The World Bank Research Program 2008-2009: Abstracts of Current Studies' is a compendium of research projects initiated, ongoing, or completed in fiscal years 2008 to 2009 by World Bank staff and consultants.

The Scandinavian Model

The Scandinavian Model
Author: Robert Erikson
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 270
Release: 1987
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780873323482

Part I of this book is devoted to the development of Scandanavian societies from agrarian societies to modern industrial economies and welfare states. Three of the chapters in Part II analyse particular welfare problems, those of inequality, poverty, and redistribution; the final essay deals with women's position in the welfare state. The papers included in Part III present theory and methods of welfare research.