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Cover of: The Optimal Portfolio of PAYG Benefits and Funded Pensions in Germany
Christoph Anders, Max Groneck

The Optimal Portfolio of PAYG Benefits and Funded Pensions in Germany

Section: Articles
Volume 73 (2017) / Issue 3, pp. 255-291 (37)
Published 09.07.2018
DOI 10.1628/001522117X14915570953903
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Summary
The combination of a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) and a self-funded pension system is studied from a portfolio perspective considering the trade-off between speculation and hedging. We analyze the German PAYG social security system and subsidized private savings (Riester pension). The return and the risk associated with a combination of both systems are simulated in a stochastic economy. Our results suggest that (1) a risk-minimizing structure of total retirement income still allows a fraction 5 percent to be financed via private savings, due to the benefits of hedging, (2) the optimal portfolio shares at a fixed total pension level imply high fractions of private savings even if agents are highly risk-averse, and (3) determining the optimal size of the total pension level under the current social security system implies only low additional private saving rates.