The Balance Between Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, and State Provision

We examine the possible consequences of the increasing shift from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution arrangements for private pensions. Whilst much analysis has focused on the possible distribution of investment and job tenure risk, we point out the additional role for issues relating to adverse selection and to retirement incentives. These issues are illustrated using empirical evidence from the United Kingdom, where the fact that private pensions are an alternative, as opposed to a supplement, to earnings-related state pension provision makes the effects particularly salient.