The old age: a new role for the pension sector towards more prosperity, or more well-being?
On 27 January 2020, the ninth edition of the Maastricht Pensions Seminar took place. The theme of the seminar was 'Pensions: Outside In - The old age: a new role for the pension sector towards more prosperity, or more well-being?
This question was addressed during the 9th Pensions Seminar in Maastricht by means of the Outside In approach, which looks at pensions from multiple angles: European, healthcare, trends, the individual, but also from the perspective of the supervisor and, finally, possible technological developments. Read the full report here.
Pension is welfare
Retirement is often associated and defined as the combination of contributions and investment returns. Pension funds are regarded as financial institutions. Nowadays, however, more is expected from the pension sector: responsible investment and contributing to the improvement of the labour market. The mantra of the Pensions Seminar was therefore that pension is more than prosperity, it encompasses well-being. This requires multiple forms of financing: a multi-pillar approach. The Pensions Seminar showed that this is interpreted differently and does not cover a European definition. Retirement is a national matter, but is stimulated from Europe. For example, at both European and national level, efforts have been made in recent years to improve the sustainability of pension systems and are now shifting more towards the adequacy of pension systems. The challenge for the future is also to facilitate the well-being of the new forms of work.
Awareness, action and support
The health care sector confirms once again: people know very well what is good and what is bad, but they don't do it anyway. A healthy old age and a good pension are a long way into the future, where the costs can be felt now. The health care sector has shown that advising is not effective, but facilitating and changing the default works. A case can be made for making a financial director normal, who helps the financially illiterate pension saver with his old age. Soft-compulsion in national pension laws and regulations could also be considered. The general idea behind all this: pension is for everyone, but not a matter of course for everyone. It is precisely for this reason that more attention should be paid in pension systems to personal guidance and, where necessary, the extra push in the right direction.
Save the Date: 10th Maastricht Pensions Seminar
The Maastricht Pensions Seminar takes place every year on the last Monday of January and will celebrate its 2nd anniversary in 2021: 10 years of the Maastricht Pensions Seminar. Therefore, please make a note of 25 January 2021 in your diary.
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