The Oxford Handbook of Pensions and Retirement Income is the only comprehensive review available of the latest research, policy-related tools, analytical methods and techniques, and major theoretical frameworks and principles of pension and retirement income. Featuring over forty contributions from leading academic and professional experts, the handbook draws on research from a range of academic disciplines to reflect on the implications for current and future provision of pension and retirement income of demographic ageing, the changing financial circumstances of nation states, and globalization. An indispensable desk reference for researchers and practitioners in the area, it is also essential for policymakers and those with broad interests which include this very important area. Contributors: William C. Apgar, Camila Arza, Anthony Asher, Vickie L. Bajtelsmit, Armando Barrientos, Rob Bauer, Gary Burtless, John Y. Campbell, Gordon L. Clark, Adam Creighton, E Philip Davis, Johan J. De Deken, Zhu Xiao Di, Richard Disney, Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Robin Ellison, Ewald Engelen, Gosta Esping-Andersen, Teresa Ghilarducci, Tryggvi Thor Herbertsson, Roy P.M.M. Hoevenaars, Tony Hope, Yu-Wei Hu, Paul Johnson, Andre Laboul, Florence Legros, David McCarthy, Warren McGillivray, Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Marilyn Moon, Alicia H. Munnell, John Myles, David Neumark, Naohiro Ogawa, J. Michael Orszag, Hanam S. Phang, John Piggott, Eduard Ponds, James Poterba, Neha Sand, Steven Sass, Julian Savulescu, Tom B.M. Steenkamp, Annika Sunden, Noriyuki Takayama, Patricia Thane, Ian Tonks, Bart van Riel, Steven F. Venti, Luis M. Viceira, Noel Whiteside, Geoffrey Whittington, David A. Wise, and Juan Yermo.

In the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, lawmakers and regulators around the world have changed the playbook for how banks and other financial institutions must manage their risks and report their activities. The US Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) is also crafting a framework to supervise regulated financial sector institutions including banks, insurers, pension funds, and asset managers. The implosion of the financial sector has also prompted calls for accounting changes from those seeking to better understand how assets and liabilities are reported. Initially banks were seen by many as the most important focus for regulatory reform, but other institutions are now attracting policymaker attention. There is logic to this in terms of managing systemic risk and ensuring a level playing field that avoids arbitrage between institutional structures. Yet the nature of pension and insurer liabilities is so different from that of bank liabilities that careful attention is needed in drafting appropriate rules. The new rules are having both direct and spill-over effects on retirement systems around the world. The first half of this volume undertakes an assessment of how global responses to the financial crisis are potentially altering how insurers, pension plan sponsors, and policymakers will manage risk in the decades to come. The second half evaluates developments in retirement saving and retirement products, to determine which and how these might help meet shortfalls in retirement provision.

The academic literature on pension governance is sparse and this book will fill some important gaps by bringing together original contributions from around the world on subjects related to the area. The book initially lays out the main frameworks for pension fund governance and then goes on to examine global governance practice and experience and country studies on pension funds in the United States and Australia. The final section of this in-depth study discusses the role of government guarantees. The editors and contributors to this book have struck a balance between the various dimensions of the governance problem. Whilst ensuring that the theoretical frameworks are represented, at the same time, they have also recognized that it is vital to report on empirical work. Private pensions are examined closely, while also acknowledging that public pension funds are extremely important actors. Pension Fund Governance will appeal to academics and researchers of financial economics and financial management, as well as those in the fields of public finance and public sector economics. Furthermore the book will also find an audience among those in commercial and policy roles which involve pensions, including pension actuaries.