Ageing, Pension Risk Management and Financial Stability

February 15, 2007

International Monetary Fund and De Nederlandsche Bank Seminar
February 15, 2007 — IMF Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB, the Dutch central bank) co-hosted a seminar on Ageing, Pension Risk Management and Financial Stability to discuss with a group of high-level policy makers, private sector practitioners, and academics key issues related to ageing and pension risk management, which are increasingly important for global financial stability.

In the first panel discussion, participants examined the impact of pension-related asset-liability management behavior on the broader financial markets and financial system, including pension risk management challenges, such as the expansion or development of certain markets, and the transfer of risk to the household sector. The second panel discussion focused on how pension funds are addressing specific regulatory, supervisory, and accounting reforms, and how their behavior can influence financial stability.

Given demographic trends around the world, the fiscal, financial market, and social challenges related to ageing are likely to increasingly dominate policy agendas, and the work outlined today by the panelists and the seminar participants will continue to influence policy decisions and financial stability analysis.

The one-day seminar was by invitation only.

Disclaimer
The views expressed in these papers are those of the authors only, and the presence of them, or of links to them, on the IMF website does not imply that the IMF, its Executive Board, or its management endorses or shares the views expressed in the papers.

PROGRAM

Thursday, February 15

9:30 a.m.

Welcoming Address
 

Jaime Caruana, Counsellor and Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department (IMF)
 

Henk Brouwer, Executive Director, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)

9:45 a.m.

Keynote Speaker
 

Demography, Capital Markets and Pension Risk Management
Adair Turner, Former Chairman U.K. Pension Commission
(Mr. Turner was unable to attend, but his presentation is included.)
Session 1: Ageing and Financial Stability

10:30 a.m.

Chaired by IMF (Todd Groome)
 

This session would provide an overview of the impact of ageing and pension-related ALM behavior on the broader financial markets and financial system, including, pension risk management challenges and the transfer of risk to the household sector.
 

Panelists:
 

Pension Liability Risks: Manage or Sell?
David Blake, Pensions Institute, Cass Business School, London
 

Olivia S. Mitchell, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
 

Annuitization lessons from the UK
Tom Boardman, Prudential plc UK
 

Seminar presentation
Dan Iannicola, Jr., U.S. Department of the Treasury
 

Challenges in Pension Asset Liability Management
Michelle McGregor Smith, British Airways Pension Investment Management
 

Financial Risk in a DC World: The Chilean Experience
Ms. Solange Berstein, Superintendent of Pension Fund Administrators' Association, Chile

1:15 p.m.

Lunch (by invitation)
Session 2: Pension Fund Reforms and Financial Stability

2:45 p.m.

Chaired by DNB (Jan Brockmeijer)
 

This session will focus on specific regulatory, supervisory and accounting reforms, how pension funds are addressing these challenges, and how their behavior can influence financial stability.
 

Panelists:
 

Recent Pension Developments in the Netherlands
Jos Heuvelman, DNB
 

Matching and Return: The Hoogovens Pension Plan Experience
Jelles van As, Hoogovens Pension Fund
 

Vincent Snowbarger, PBGC
 

Seminar presentation
George Batavick, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
 

Nigel O'Sullivan, Goldman Sachs International

5:30 p.m.

Closing Remarks
 

Henk Brouwer (DNB)
 

Jaime Caruana (IMF)

6:00 p.m.

Drinks and Dinner (by invitation)