Flags of the world at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland; the WEF recently published a white paper on retirement systems. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Life expectancy may be responsible for some of the strain on retirement systems globally. But it's by no means the only problem in the system—and the problem will get larger as the years pass.

This is among the findings in the 2019 white paper “Investing in (and for) Our Future,” from the World Economic Forum's Retirement Investment Systems Reform project, which also highlights the need for inclusivity and sustainability in retirement plans as necessary to protect workers in times to come.

According to the report, the decline of government-provided and defined benefit plans will compel workers to amass more assets in individual retirement savings accounts as well as to manage those assets “effectively” throughout their retirement.

But when people have little or no access to retirement plans, as well as little education in just how to accrue and manage those assets, that can be a tall order.

The report suggests that policymakers and plan sponsors should consider two factors in the evaluation of accumulation parameters in defined contribution plans:

First, they should “[c]onsider risk from the perspective of an individual saving for retirement,” and second, they should “[d]iversify the investment of saving accounts, by geography and asset type.”

Introducing alternative asset classes can be tough, though, because of “greater complexity of the underlying investment, lower liquidity (at both the individual and plan level), a vulnerability to corporate transactions if the plan is employer-based, and potentially higher and more complex fees,” it warns, adding that the investment industry needs to step up and be more innovative “to meet the demands of the DC savings market.”

Decumulation also needs attention, and while the methods of withdrawing retirement assets from accounts varies widely from country to country, personal circumstances of retirees need to be taken into account, since their needs can be considerably more complex than they might be when people are younger.

Public policies need to include a focus on adequacy, sustainability and flexibility in order for retirees to have a good retirement outcome. This could include creation of default decumulation structures that would work much as default accumulation structures do as people save for retirement.

And last but far from least is the need for better education and even professional advice.

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