8th ESPAnet Conference 2010Social Policy and the Global Crisis:
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10. Pension Policies
Private pensions and financial market crisis
Reforms of retirement-income systems in developed welfare states, among others, meant a turn towards the multi-pillar approach and more funded pensions. In order to compensate for lower public benefits, some countries have mandated individual accounts for the workforce (e.g. Sweden, Poland); others have introduced tax-favoured voluntary private pension schemes (Germany, Sweden). Both variants are based on the defined-contribution (DC) principle. At the same time, there is also an ongoing shift of employer-sponsored pension schemes towards DC-type plans. All these plans provide choice for employees/pension savers with regard to the investment of their savings and how (and when) to take out the accumulated assets, but also imply more risks. For the sake of protecting future pensioners from financial market (and other) risks, the scope of pension policy has been enlarged when regulatory interventions into emerging or extended “welfare markets” were intensified and financial education of pension savers became an issue on the political agenda. Nevertheless, those interventions remain largely insufficient to fence the risks when financial markets are globally on a downturn or even collapsing as they did in the early 2000s and 2007/08.
The objective of this stream is to analyze the consequences of the recent financial market crisis on income security of present and future retirees as private pension assets have dropped considerably in most countries. Papers are invited which deal with one or several of the following questions: Have private pension schemes been re-regulated and in what ways? Have workers close to retirement been bailed out by government money? What are the reactions of people affected by (much) lower account balances (e.g. postponing retirement)? Have pension savers lost trust in welfare markets for pensions? Has the public discourse about the proper design of retirement-income systems changed (e.g. less enthusiasm for funded pensions) and has it already led to policy changes? Papers included in this stream will mainly take stock of the effects of the crisis in a given country. However, comparative analyses will be preferred.
Convener:
Karl Hinrichs
Centre for Social Policy Research
University of Bremen
Parkallee 39
D – 28209 Bremen, Germany
Phone: +49 – 421 – 218 4063
Fax: +49 – 421 – 218 4052
E-mail: hinrichs@zes.uni-bremen.de
Friday, 14:30-16:30 Room 07, Session 10./A
Presentations
1. Aysel Yollu-Tok, Marlene Haupt: Effects Of The Current Economic Crisis On The Pension Schemes Of Coordinated And Liberal Welfare States In Europe [abstract] [paper]
2. Bernhard Ebbinghaus and Tobias Wiß: Regulating Private Pensions in Times of Crisis: Short-term and Long-term Consequences [abstract] [paper]
3. Michal Polakowski: The impact of the global crisis on pension system in Poland: towards stricter regulation of private pensions [abstract] [paper]
Contributed papers:
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Friday, 17:00-19:00 Room 07, Session 10./B
Presentations
1. Elisa Chuliá: Private pensions in Spain: scarce development and meagre public debate [abstract] [paper]
2. Marek Naczyk: Political conflict and regulatory reform: Polish pension funds during the financial crisis [abstract] [paper]
3. Daniel Fernando da Soledade Carolo: 2007 Portuguese Pension Reform: an atypical case of retreat towards the multi-pillar approach [abstract] [paper]
Important dates
17 November 2009 = Call for stream convenors
18 December 2009 = Deadline for stream convenors
25 January 2010 = Call for abstracts
29 March 2010 = Deadline for abstract submission
3 May 2010 = Registration starts
6 June 2010 = Reduced fee application deadline
21 June 2010 24:00 (CET) = Early bird registration deadline
13 August 2010 24:00 (CET) - Deadline for submission of papers
16 August 2010 - Deadline for Registrations and payments
Registration fee is 160 Euros for early birds, 210 Euros for late birds. Central and Eastern European PhD students and professionals can apply for a reduced fee of 60 Euros at info@espanet2010.net until 6th June.
Registration opens on the 3rd May, early bird registration closes on the 21th June at 24:00 (CET).
Theme of the Conference
The theme of ESPAnet’s 2010 Annual Conference is the social consequences of the global financial crisis and its differential impact across Europe. The main questions for consideration include:
How is the crisis affecting already existing inequalities? How are different social classes and groups, especially those in poverty, affected by the crisis? What are the adaptable capacities of the different “worlds of welfare”? Does the intensifying social vulnerability lead to the re-structuring of the programs to provide more security? How far have new programs been developed, and how far have new questions of social policy and welfare been opened up by the crisis?
We would like to broaden the horizon of social policy analysis and see global environmental concerns taken into account: How far are responses to the crisis re-thinking the role of the national and international/global state and the role of the European Union in creating economically, socially and environmentally sustainable societies?