Grabbing the tiger by the tail, a hybridized retirement system measured through the stakeholders' eyes

Abstract

The changing landscape of retirement systems throughout the world presents many challenges for governments, employers, and participants. The future for employees have dimmed with the retreat of pension plans, and the shifting of investment and longevity risks to ill prepared employees. A hybridized model is created to limit the risk to the employer and to improve outcomes for employees who have behavioral obstacles to purchasing annuities at retirement. The model is measured for employers in two different fashions replicating current corporate funding constraints and financial accounting measures. A $3 billion company provides the census information in which to test the model. The model is also created to simulate distribution patterns utilizing the deferred annuity. The results show that the employer's risk is reduced by approximately 90% in the cost structure as compared to a traditional pension plan. We also find that employees can reduce their probability of total ruin by 90% using a deferred annuity at retirement as opposed to the typical 4% rule used in today's financial planning world. The hybrid model is a win-win for all stakeholders.