Measuring and managing the longevity risk: An empirical evidence from the Italian pension market

Abstract

This paper deals with the problem of quantifying the longevity impact for defined contribution pension funds in a stochastic environment. In the accumulation phase it is well known that, in presence of a benefit guarantee, the investment risk dominates the demographic one. However, if the generic subscriber life expectancy increases, it is very likely that, in the decumulation phase, the wealth accrued will not be able to cover the liabilities of the fund. For this reason, the fund will be forced to set aside more resources in order to front its liabilities exposing itself to greater financial risk. In this paper we study the interaction between financial risk and longevity: based on the Italian experience for both financial and demographic factors, this work aims to measure the impact of longevity on the financial factor.