Document Type
Working Paper
Date of this Version
10-1-2013
Abstract
Defined Benefit (DB) pension risk management has traditionally focused on achieving a balance between the risks associated with the liabilities and the expected returns on investments. This approach does not capture the fact that a DB pension plan is part of running an overall business and must compete for capital against alternative investments the corporation can make. Pension funding strategies should be assessed against other corporate cash uses and strategies, such as investment in productive capacity, research and development initiatives, share or debt buybacks, or potential acquisitions. Considering pension funding relative to potential corporate actions within the same net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) or similar analytical framework, a company can optimise the use of available cash resources and balance alternative strategies against each other.
Working Paper Number
WP2013-30
Copyright/Permission Statement
All opinions, errors, findings, interpretations, and conclusions of this paper represent the views of the authors and not those of the Wharton School or the Pension Research Council. © 2013 Pension Research Council of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.
Date Posted: 26 June 2019
Comments
The published version of this Working Paper may be found in the 2014 publication: Recreating Sustainable Retirement: Resilience, Solvency, and Tail Risk.