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The consistency of UK pension fund trustee decision-making

Author

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  • CLARK, GORDON L.
  • CAERLEWY-SMITH, EMIKO
  • MARSHALL, JOHN C.

Abstract

An important research programme in the social sciences concerns the theory and practice of individual decision-making under conditions of risk and uncertainty. At the same time, it is apparent that western governments increasingly rely upon individuals to plan and maintain savings programmes to meet their income aspirations: the long-term retirement income of those outside of the welfare state depends a great deal on the competence and consistency of individual decision-making. In this paper, we use a set of problems requiring the same techniques of judgement to test the consistency of trustee decision-making. Respondents were a group of trustees drawn from select UK defined benefit pension plans compared with a larger group of Oxford undergraduates. It was found that many respondents were inconsistent across related problems requiring the application of probabilistic judgement. It is also shown that trustees were more consistent than many undergraduates and it appears that trustee education and professional qualifications can make a positive difference to consistent decision-making. A more challenging test that depends upon understanding the relationship between demographic ageing, immigration, and the financing of pay-as-you-go social security suggests that substantive knowledge and consistency of judgement are crucial components of expertise. Implications are drawn for the trustee institution and the wider debate over the role and significance of individual decision-making with respect to income aspirations.

Suggested Citation

  • Clark, Gordon L. & Caerlewy-Smith, Emiko & Marshall, John C., 2007. "The consistency of UK pension fund trustee decision-making," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 67-86, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jpenef:v:6:y:2007:i:01:p:67-86_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Gordon L. Clark, 2014. "Roepke Lecture in Economic Geography—Financial Literacy in Context," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 90(1), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Gordon L. Clark, 2016. "The Components of Talent: Company Size and Financial Centres in the European Investment Management Industry," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 168-181, January.
    3. Ashby H. B. Monk, 2008. "The Knot of Contracts: The Corporate Geography of Legacy Costs," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 84(2), pages 211-235, April.
    4. Weiss-Cohen, Leonardo & Ayton, Peter & Clacher, Iain & Thoma, Volker, 2022. "Pension scheme trustees as surrogate decision makers," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    5. Gordon L. Clark, 2015. "The geography of the European Central Bank: form, functions and legitimacy," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(5), pages 855-881.
    6. Ashby H. B. Monk, 2009. "Pension Buyouts: What Can We Learn From The UK Experience?," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2009-19, Center for Retirement Research, revised Sep 2009.
    7. van Dalen, H.P. & Henkens, K. & Koedijk, C.G. & Slager, A.M.H., 2010. "Decision Making in the Pension Fund Board Room : An Experiment with Dutch Pension Fund Trustees," Discussion Paper 2010-18, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    8. Gordon L. Clark & Emiko Caerlewy‐Smith & John C. Marshall, 2009. "Solutions to the Asset Allocation Problem by Informed Respondents: The Significance of the Size‐of‐Bet and the 1/N Heuristic," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 12(2), pages 251-271, September.
    9. Derek P McCormack & Tim Schwanen, 2011. "Guest Editorial: The Space—Times of Decision Making," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(12), pages 2801-2818, December.
    10. Gordon L Clark & Roger Urwin, 2008. "Best-practice pension fund governance," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 2-21, May.
    11. Weiss-Cohen, Leonardo & Ayton, Peter & Clacher, Iain, 2020. "Extraneous menu-effects influence financial decisions made by pension trustees," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).

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