This workshop has already taken place.
King's College London
7th November 2025. 10:00-18:00
Council Room, KCL Strand Campus
This workshop is the second of two events to mark the release of the Main Public Output for project ``Collective Pensions with Investment Choice: Making Collective Defined Contribution work for the UK'' sponsored by the Nuffield Foundation.
The first will be held on November 6th at King's College London and is co-organised with the UK Pension Policy Institute (PPI).It is aimed at members of the UK pension industry and pension policy community. If you wish to attend the industry event, please contact john.armstrong@kcl.ac.uk.
This second event is a workshop aimed at an interdisciplinary academic audience. It will begin with a focus on international experiences of innovations in pension design. After lunch, the we will move to finding solutions to the academic and technical challenges faced in pension design.
The event is open to all, but you must register by completing this short form. If you have any accessibility requirements please email john.armstrong@kcl.ac.uk.
| Time | Talk |
|---|---|
| Arrival | |
| Pierre Devolder - Opening Remarks | |
| Catherine Donnelly - Challenges and Opportunities in the UK Pension System | |
| Coffee | |
| Hans van Meerten - Dutch CDC and the DB/DC reform in the Netherlands | |
| Jennifer Alonson Garcia - Australia: the current state of affairs | |
| Lunch break | |
| Introductory Remarks - Catherine | |
| Carmen Boado Penas - Insights from Sweden's Public Pension Reform: Lessons for the UK | |
| Alvaro Calzadilla - TBC | |
| John Armstrong - Optimal risk-sharing in CDC | |
| Coffee | |
| Pierre Devolder - Pension indexation and Intergenerational risk sharing in pay-as-you-go pension schemes | |
| Closing Remarks - John Armstrong |
The conference dinner (for invited guests) will be held at Brasserie Blanc on Chancery Lane at 19:00.
10:15-11:00
Catherine Donnelly
Challenges and Opportunities in the UK Pension System
The UK pension system faces mounting pressure from demographic shifts, economic volatility and evolving labour market dynamics. This talk provides an overview of the current structure of the UK pension system, including the state pension and occupational schemes. It explores key challenges and assesses recent policy developments including auto-enrolment, the triple lock and the introduction of collective defined contribution schemes.
11:30-12:15
Hans van Meerten
utch CDC and the DB/DC reform in the Netherlands
What lessons can the UK learn from the Dutch experiment so far? The Netherlands is unique in its approach. Should it be followed?
Slides not available.
12:15-13:00
Jennifer Alonso Garcia
Australia: the current state of affairs
The current state of the Australian pension system is examined within the context of global, asset-based retirement models. Australia operates a multi-pillar framework that combines a means-tested public pension (the Age Pension) with compulsory private savings through the Superannuation Guarantee. The presentation explores the interaction between superannuation savings and Age Pension eligibility, as well as the fiscal implications of expanding tax concessions. It also discusses the role of housing and private wealth in ensuring retirement adequacy and the system’s long-term sustainability.
Particular attention is given to the decumulation phase and the implementation of the Retirement Income Covenant (RIC), which requires funds to design retirement strategies that provide stable lifetime income. Emerging products—such as Comprehensive Income Products for Retirement (CIPR), lifetime annuities, and equity release mechanisms—are reviewed as tools to improve retirement outcomes while addressing adequacy, simplicity, and longevity risk.
14:15-15:00
Carmen Boado Penas
Insights from Sweden's Public Pension Reform: Lessons for the UK
Retirement systems worldwide are undergoing major reforms to adapt to continuously changing economic and demographic conditions. One significant innovation is the notional defined contribution (NDC) pension scheme, first implemented over two decades ago in countries such as Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Sweden. NDCs aim to replicate the logic of a financial defined contribution plan within a pay-as-you-go framework. Among these countries, Sweden stands out as the only system that combines an automatic balancing mechanism with the prior calculation of a financial solvency indicator derived from an actuarial balance sheet. This presentation examines the Swedish pension experience since its implementation, highlighting the challenges encountered and the policy responses adopted. Finally, it draws lessons from Sweden that could inform the development of the British pension system.
15:00-15:45
Alvaro Calzadilla
The economic dynamics of climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation: Challenges and opportunities
Climate change presents profound challenges and transformative opportunities for global and national economies. Understanding these dynamics requires assessing complex interactions across sectors, regions and policy domains. A global computable general equilibrium model is used to evaluate the economic consequences climate change impacts, mitigation strategies and adaptation options. The analysis highlights the dynamic feedback between the direct impacts of climate change and policies responses, and the indirect effects of climate-induced changes in competitiveness and trade. It provides critical insights for designing equitable and efficient climate policies that balance short-term costs with long-term sustainability gains.
15:45-16:15
John Armstrong
Optimal risk-sharing in CDC
In complete markets, a DC + Tontine structure gives optimal results for a collective pension design. We use this and machine-learning techniques to identify a pension design that outperforms current UK CDC proposals and to quantify the potential benefit to investors. We will also discuss the possible benefits of collective investments in incomplete markets.
16:45-17:30
Pierre Devolder
Pension indexation and Intergenerational risk sharing in
pay-as-you-go pension schemes
This workshop is funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance social well-being. It funds research that informs social policy, primarily in Education, Welfare, and Justice. The Nuffield Foundation is the founder and co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. The Foundation has funded this project, but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation. Website: www.nuffieldfoundation.org X (formerly Twitter): @NuffieldFound