- April 21, 2021
Which Pension System is the Best in the World? Lessons Learned from the Dutch Model
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As part of our National Pension Hub Insight series, we were pleased to host Professor Antoon Pelsser on April 21, 2021 who shared highlights from his recent work titled, “Comparison of Pension Fund Supervision”.
During his remarks, Antoon compared the regulation and supervision frameworks of Canadian and Dutch pension systems. He provided an overview of the main features of each system and some of their drawbacks.
Main Features
Dutch Pension System and Supervision
Canadian Pension System
Some drawbacks
Dutch Pension System and Supervision
Canadian Pension System
In the end, Antoon described that there are merits in both systems. Under current Dutch pension system reform, the Dutch system is transitioning to a defined contribution style system with some form of risk sharing. The Canadian system protects real benefits in real terms for pension participants, but that debt protection is only effective as long as the pension sponsor survives.
He concluded that the Canadian system may have better performances on average but when the sponsor fails, losses are worse for pension participants.
Professor Antoon Pelsser
Maastricht University and the University of Amsterdam
Other webinars in our 2021 NPH Insight series include: