Pension scheme redesign and wealth redistribution between the members and sponsor: The USS rule change in October 2011

Emmanouil Platanakis and Charles Sutcliffe

Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 2016, vol. 69, issue C, 14-28

Abstract: The redesign of defined benefit pension schemes usually results in a substantial redistribution of wealth between age cohorts of members, pensioners, and the sponsor. This is the first study to quantify the redistributive effects of a rule change by a real world scheme (the Universities Superannuation Scheme, USS) where the sponsor underwrites the pension promise. In October 2011 USS closed its final salary scheme to new members, opened a career average revalued earnings (CARE) section, and moved to ‘cap and share’ contribution rates. We find that the pre-October 2011 scheme was not viable in the long run, while the post-October 2011 scheme is probably viable in the long run, but faces medium term problems. In October 2011 future members of USS lost 65% of their pension wealth (or roughly £100,000 per head), equivalent to a reduction of roughly 11% in their total compensation, while those aged over 57 years lost almost nothing. The riskiness of the pension wealth of future members increased by a third, while the riskiness of the present value of the sponsor’s future contributions reduced by 10%. Finally, the sponsor’s wealth increased by about £32.5 billion, equivalent to a reduction of 26% in their pension costs.

Keywords: Defined benefit; Pension scheme; Redistribution; USS; Scheme design; Risk shifting; Risk management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G22 G23 J32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Pension Scheme Redesign and Wealth Redistribution Between the Members and Sponsor: The USS Rule Change in October 2011 (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:insuma:v:69:y:2016:i:c:p:14-28

DOI: 10.1016/j.insmatheco.2016.04.001

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