All Pension Fund Management articles
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White papersAfter the Annuity: Managing the Effects of Pension Lift-Outs
Annuity purchases are popular and effective ways for U.S. corporate pensions to derisk balance sheets through a pension risk transfer (PRT). The average corporate pension has been fully funded since 2022, and plans have taken advantage of their improved funded status and higher interest rates to engage in record levels of PRTs.
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White papersPension Funds Letter 26 - Funding autonomy & accelerating reform in a ruptured world
While the world faces another international geopolitical crisis, the global Economy is moving through a structural shift. The many, continued ruptures we are seeing in trade and policy coordination, together with the fragmented approaches to the Energy transition and AI deployment, have led to persistent volatility. Volatility has become embedded in this new regime. Rupture has become the system.
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White papersEurope’s pension transition: from retirement challenge to capital-market opportunity
Europe’s pension systems are undergoing a structural change. Demographic ageing, tighter public finances and the evolution of retirement provision are reshaping the way pensions are financed and how savings are allocated. What is emerging is not only a pension challenge, but also a significant opportunity: as Europe adapts its retirement systems, it can mobilise more long-term capital to support investment, productivity and competitiveness.
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White papersPrecautionary Liquidity and Worker Decisions: Evidence from French Employee Saving Plans
This paper investigates the demand for precautionary liquidity versus commitment contracts among participants in retirement saving programs by analyzing administrative data from the largest workplace saving plan provider in France, a country in which employers have wide discretion in structuring these plans.
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VideoInvestor takeaways from today’s volatile and rapidly shifting private markets environment
Private Markets 700 research shows that institutional investor return expectations are increasing, regulation, geopolitics, and megatrends are reshaping infrastructure allocations and value add infrastructure opportunities are growing, as infrastructure appetite trends upwards.
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White papersEngineering Alpha at scale
Jon Glidden on Delta Air Lines’ pension turnaround and what alternatives can deliver
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Asset Manager NewsHeitman Recognized in Pensions & Investments’ Best Places to Work
Chicago, December 8, 2025 – Heitman was recognized in the 2025 Best Places to Work in Money Management awards announced by Pensions & Investments today. This marks the fifth consecutive year Heitman has received this prestigious recognition.
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WebinarJoin us for an in-depth look at the 2026 Investment Outlook for pension funds
Tuesday 9 December 2025, 9:00 am EDT / 2:00 pm GMT
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White papersGlobal pension trends: What to expect in 2026
The world’s pension assets are concentrated in 22 major markets and total some US$58.5trn, as at the end of 2024, with the US accounting for 65%. In all, the top seven markets – the US, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada - account for US$53.5trn.
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White papersGlobal pension trends: What to expect in 2026
Pension reforms are at an inflection point as UK and Dutch pension systems enter 2026 with high funding ratios, regulatory clarity, and the scope to re-risk in controlled ways. We expect much wider adoption of cash-flow driven investing (CDI) strategies for defined benefit (DB) plans and some re-risking for the forthcoming Dutch collective defined contribution (DC) system.
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White papersRetirement Accumulation Strategies with Real Assets and Inflation Risk
This article presents a comprehensive, dynamic asset allocation framework for retirement savings, extending the classical Merton model to include human capital. This framework reconciles the intuitive age-based glide path with financial theory, recognizing that total wealth consists of financial capital and the present value of future contributions.
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White papersLDI differentiator: the benefits of an integrated solution with credit
This mini-series of short articles shines a light on often under-discussed but important factors to think about when structuring your LDI portfolio framework. Here we look at the benefits of an integrated solution of LDI and credit.
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White papersEurozone Pension Systems: a health check
Post-war Second World War pension funds were developed on the basis of two different logics: the Bismarckian (defined contributions) in Germany and the Beveridgean system (defined benefits) in England. Today, there are hybrids of these systems but all have established minimum pension levels or social minimums.
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White papersLDI Market Update – March 2025, the new Dutch pension system and its expected market implications
The Dutch pension landscape will face a major historic change in the coming years, with approximately EUR 1800 billion of assets being transitioned from a Defined Benefit pension system to a Collective Defined Contribution pension system. The transition has consequences for the way Dutch pension funds invest – in particular their interest rate hedging profile will look different.
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White papersDoes Tax Deductibility Increase Retirement Saving? Lessons from a French Natural Experiment
This paper presents new evidence on how employees respond to tax incentives for retirement saving. Using administrative data from a large retirement plan administrator in France, we examine the voluntary saving choices of approximately 1.4 million workers before and after the implementation of the 2019 Loi Pacte, a reform that introduced tax-deductible voluntary contributions into employer-sponsored retirement plans.
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White papersOvercoming barriers to retirement savings: behavioural factors and existing schemes
Under-saving for retirement is a major issue for many economies. Benartzi and Thaler (2013) have long diagnosed a ‘retirement savings crisis’. In the US, according to the National Retirement Risk Index, 39% of working-age households will not be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
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PodcastOuterblue Conversations – Seeking returns in a disruptive era? Analysis of the 2025 pension survey
Each year, Amundi and CREATE interview pension plans to highlight topics shaping the pension ecosystem. As pension investors transition to a new regime, this year, one question is at the top of everyone’s minds: where will the returns come from? The 2024 survey takes a closer look at two of the potential answers in this search for good risk-adjusted returns: private markets and Asian emerging markets.
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White papersThe Patchwork of Eurozone Pension Systems and Budget Constraints
The issue of pension systems in Eurozone countries is significant because pension outlays represent a substantial portion of GDP. And an ageing population increases financing needs. At the same time, country deficits – and consequently debt – have deepened during the Covid period, including through higher interest rates.
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White papersWhere will returns come from? Pensions in a new economic regime
Where will returns come from? Pensions in a new economic regime
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White papersSolid equity performances keep funding ratios on a high
Despite experiencing volatility in Q3 2024, markets demonstrated resilience with largely positive returns. The decrease in liability discounting rates in Q3 compensated these good performances, and funding ratios have been mostly stable over the period, still at comfortable levels.
