How the financial crisis affects pension funds

The financial crisis is now in its second year and it is unclear how severe its future consequences will be. One of the crucial questions is: How will the downturn affect retirement income, specifically the future development of funded pensions and pension systems? The financial crisis could affect pension provision in many ways on many levels. For the purpose of this study we looked at a number of key areas.

On a systemic level, the downturn could spark political efforts to strengthen the public pay-as-you-go system, which might push people away from funded pensions. When it comes to the future of financial markets, two crucial questions are: Do pension funds play a stabilizing role and will the trend toward socially responsible investing among pension funds continue?