Publication:
Outcomes and Risk Based Supervision in Pensions: Methodology with a Case Study for Costa Rica

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (2.36 MB)
337 downloads
Published
2016-06
ISSN
Date
2016-10-17
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report illustrates a new methodology to develop an Outcomes and Risk Based Supervision (ORBS) framework for funded pensions with a case study of Costa Rica. The approach was used in a FIRST1 funded project in Costa Rica with the regulator and supervisor of pensions SUPEN. The intention is to highlight an approach that may be useful in the region, and globally, to help agencies responsible for private pensions to focus on the long run outcomes they are seeking to achieve, identify the risks to these outcomes and implement the most effective solutions to these risks. This is all done through a consistent framework that embeds the long run outcomes at the heart of the process, and so lends itself naturally to the greater focus on results, and Monitoring and Evaluation that are central to modern development projects. The focus on Costa Rica also helps illustrate the approach in a country that has not typically been used as a case study. This helps to broaden the range of case studies available for practitioners and expands the possibilities for ‘South-South’ learning. It also shows how the approach can be tailored to the specific characteristics of a country. The report starts with a description of the Costa Rican pension system. This provides the context for the case study. It helps to illustrate the variety of defined benefit and defined contribution pensions that needed to be covered. It also identifies the wide range of different institutions involved in delivering good pension outcomes, and hence the ‘eco-system’ in which the supervisor needs to operate effectively to improve outcomes for the benefits of pension savers in Costa Rica.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Price, William; Ashcroft, John; Inglis, Evan. 2016. Outcomes and Risk Based Supervision in Pensions: Methodology with a Case Study for Costa Rica. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25175 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Risk-Based Supervision of Pension Funds : A Review of International Experience and Preliminary Assessment of the First Outcomes
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-01) Brunner, Gregory; Hinz, Richard; Rocha, Roberto
    This paper provides a review of the design and experience of risk-based pension fund supervision in several countries that have been leaders in the development of these methods. The utilization of risk-based methods originates primarily in the supervision of banks. In recent years it has increasingly been extended to other types of financial intermediaries including pension funds and insurers. The trend toward risk-based supervision of pensions is closely associated with movement toward the integration of pension supervision with that of banking and other financial services into a single national authority. Although similar in concept to the techniques developed in banking, the application to pension funds has required modifications, particularly for defined contribution funds that transfer investment risk to fund members. The countries examined provide a range of experiences that illustrate both the diversity of pension systems and approaches to risk-based supervision, but also a commonality of the focus on sound risk management and effective supervisory outcomes. The paper provides a description of pension supervision in Australia, Denmark, Mexico and the Netherlands, and an initial evaluation of the results achieved in relation to the underlying objectives.
  • Publication
    Pension Risk and Risk Based Supervision in Defined Contribution Pension Funds
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-03-18) Randle, Tony; Rudolph, Heinz P.
    The main goal of any pension system is to ensure that members receive an adequate pension income when they retire. Whilst traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plans set out what that pension income will be in advance and then strive to deliver it, the growing number of defined contribution (DC) plans accumulates a sum of assets which can then be turned into a pension income on retirement. However, the amount of this retirement income is not set in advance. In the absence of a proper regulatory framework, feature n DC plans leads to a focus by not only pension providers, but also regulators and pension plan members themselves on the short-term accumulation of pension assets rather than the longer-term goal of securing an adequate retirement income. The paper is organized as follows: chapter two discusses the origins of risks based supervision and discusses the role of capital in the alignment of incentives in financial institutions. Chapter three discusses the concept of risk based supervision for pension funds, and its limitations in the case of DC pension schemes. Chapter four discusses the effectiveness of RBS schemes in DC systems in emerging economies, and the last section provides some lessons learned.
  • Publication
    Risk-based Supervision of Pension Funds : Emerging Practices and Challenges
    (Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008) Brunner, Greg; Hinz, Richard; Rocha, Roberto
    Risk-based supervision of pension funds grew out of a project that was jointly conducted by the World Bank and the International Organization of Pension Supervisors (IOPS). The project was initiated in response to the increasing interest in the development of innovative approaches to pension supervision from the member countries of both institutions. The volume provides an initial assessment of the development of risk-based supervision of pension funds in four countries that have been pioneering the development of risk-based supervision methods in various forms. The volume is comprised of a summary chapter and in-depth studies of the experience in four individual countries-Australia, Denmark, Mexico, and Netherlands. These four country studies were prepared by experts familiar with the systems in each of the countries. The studies have been edited by World Bank staff to ensure a consistent approach to the analysis of the various countries' systems. Models of risk-based supervision demonstrate the benefits of moving away from an approach based on strict compliance, specific rules, and quantitative controls toward an approach that puts more emphasis on the identification and management of relevant risks. A risk-based approach encourages supervised entities to place a greater focus on risk management in their daily operations, which promotes a stronger pension system and more effective outcomes for the members of the system. It is also expected that moving to a risk-based approach to supervision will enhance the ability of supervisors to focus resources on areas of highest risk, which will, over time, result in a more efficient use of supervisory resources.
  • Publication
    Risk-Based Supervision of Pension Funds in Australia
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-02) Thompson, Graeme
    This paper examines the development of risk-based supervision of pension funds in Australia. The large number of pension funds has meant that since the inception of pension fund supervision in the early 1990's the regulator has sought to identify high risk funds and focus its attention on these funds. However, the regulator developed a more sophisticated risk-rating model, known as PAIRS/SOARS, in 1992 in order to apply a more disciplined and consistent ratings methodology. Four reasons are given for the move towards more sophisticated risk-based supervision: 1) creation of an integrated supervisor which allowed the use of techniques used in banking and insurance to be adopted for pension fund; 2) the need to better use available supervisory resources; 3) several pension fund failures; and 4) concerns about industry weaknesses. Supervisory techniques used particularly in the banking industry, such as universal licensing, 'fit and proper' assessment, and risk management requirements were adopted for the pension sector between 2004 and 2006. The paper provides an outline of the PAIRS/SOARS risk-rating model which was also adopted. It observes that the approach provides an analytical discipline to risk assessment, strengthens the link between risk assessment and supervisory response, and allows better targeting of supervisory resources.
  • Publication
    Brazil : Risk-based Supervision of Brazilian Closed Pension Funds
    (Washington, DC, 2012-06) World Bank
    This report provides a comprehensive description of the full process for supporting the new supervisory authority for closed pension funds in Brazil, The National Superintendence for Pension Funds, supervisor of the closed pension fund system in Brazil, or PREVIC, in particular through the development of a revised approach to the risk-based supervision of closed pension funds. This report documents the first-funded World Bank project which, in conjunction with PREVIC, the supervisor of the closed pension fund system in Brazil (established in January 2010), has sought to provide guidance to implement a risk based supervision (RBS) appropriate to Brazilian environment, drawing on international experience. The project ran from January 2010 to March 2012. The key outputs of the project were specified as: i) an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the current supervisory benchmarking against best practices in RBS around the world; ii) a roadmap for the implementation of RBS under the circumstances prevailing in the industry; iii) proposals for regulations on selected critical elements for the implementation of RBS framework; and iv) training to supervisors and senior executives of closed pension funds about the main challenges of introducing RBS.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Digital Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13) Begazo, Tania; Dutz, Mark Andrew; Blimpo, Moussa
    All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.
  • Publication
    Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
    This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2006
    (Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank
    This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.
  • Publication
    Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03) World Bank
    Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.
  • Publication
    Argentina Country Climate and Development Report
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank Group
    The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.