IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/accfor/v38y2014i1p18-37.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate reporting implication in migrating from defined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes: A focus on the UK

Author

Listed:
  • J. Josiah
  • O. Gough
  • J. Haslam
  • N. Shah

Abstract

Pensions are intricately linked to employees’ well-being in the latter part of their life and during their working life in that they provide a sense of financial security in retirement. Since the 1980s, pension schemes have changed both in concept and detail with significant consequences for beneficiaries. This paper explores one of the major changes: the migration from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension schemes focusing on this change's interface with accounting. In exploring this shift from DB to DC schemes, the paper uses a critical perspective to reflect on this interface including how the change is accounted for in corporate reporting narrative. The key focus is on issues of political economy: it is found in this respect that while wealth is effectively distributed from pension holders efforts are made to legitimise or displace attention from pension changes. An analysis of narratives of corporate annual reports is undertaken to critically explore corporate communication to stakeholders vis-à-vis pension scheme changes. Findings suggest limited and problematic engagement with employees as per the corporate annual report narrative. We also point to a lack of appetite on the part of existing employees to engage employers on these changes. The change is framed to give workers an impression that they are taking responsibility for their future whilst an alternative view is that in actuality the organisation is decoupling from pension responsibility and devolving associated risks to employees for greater profitability. Counter accounting may be a way forward.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Josiah & O. Gough & J. Haslam & N. Shah, 2014. "Corporate reporting implication in migrating from defined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes: A focus on the UK," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 18-37, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:accfor:v:38:y:2014:i:1:p:18-37
    DOI: 10.1016/j.accfor.2013.10.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1016/j.accfor.2013.10.003
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.accfor.2013.10.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clark, Gordon L. & Munnell, Alicia H. & Orszag, J. Michael (ed.), 2006. "The Oxford Handbook of Pensions and Retirement Income," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199272464.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kaifala, Gabriel B. & Paisey, Catriona & Paisey, Nicholas J., 2021. "The UK pensions landscape – A critique of the role of accountants and accounting technologies in the treatment of social and societal risks," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert Gazzale & Julian Jamison & Alexander Karlan & Dean Karlan, 2013. "Ambiguous Solicitation: Ambiguous Prescription," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 1002-1011, January.
    2. Silvia Jordan & Corinna Treisch, 2010. "The perception of tax concessions in retirement savings decisions," Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 2(3), pages 157-184, October.
    3. Gibrán Cruz‐Martínez, 2019. "Older‐Age Social Pensions and Poverty: Revisiting Assumptions on Targeting and Universalism," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1-2), pages 31-56, July.
    4. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, 2012. "Varieties of Pension Governance under Pressure: Funded Pensions in Western Europe," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 10(4), pages 03-08, December.
    5. Ashby H B Monk, 2011. "Sovereignty in the Era of Global Capitalism: The Rise of Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Power of Finance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(8), pages 1813-1832, August.
    6. Ponds, Eduard H. M. & Riel, Bart Van, 2009. "Sharing risk: the Netherlands' new approach to pensions," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 91-105, January.
    7. Paul Langley & Adam Leaver, 2012. "Remaking Retirement Investors," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(4), pages 473-488, May.
    8. Hoevenaars, J. & Ponds, E.H.M., 2008. "Valuation of intergenerational transfers in collective funded pension schemes," Other publications TiSEM 2c1afa01-df29-490e-bc52-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Timmermans, S. & Schumacher, J.M. & Ponds, E.H.M., 2011. "A Cohort-Specific Approach to Retirement Savings," Other publications TiSEM 9f3040ab-8dd3-4eeb-b45a-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    10. Musalem, Alberto R. & Pasquini, Ricardo, 2012. "Private pension systems : cross-country investment performance," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 68937, The World Bank.
    11. Butt, Adam & Khemka, Gaurav & Warren, Geoffrey J., 2022. "Heterogeneity in optimal investment and drawdown strategies in retirement," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Rama Malladi, 2022. "HARI: Characteristics of a new defined lifestyle (DL) retirement planning product," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(2), pages 147-163, June.
    13. Haigh, Matthew & de Graaf, Frank Jan, 2009. "The implications of reform-oriented investment for regulation and governance," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 399-417.
    14. Malgorzata Gumola-Kardas, 2021. "Change in a Pension System: A Manageable and Measurable Process?," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3B), pages 421-433.
    15. Josiah, J. & Gough, O. & Haslam, J. & Shah, N., 2014. "Corporate reporting implication in migrating from defined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes: A focus on the UK," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 18-37.
    16. Jopp, Tobias Alexander, 2011. "Old Times, Better Times? German Miners' Knappschaften, Pay-as-you-go Pensions, and Implicit Rates of Return, 1854–1913," Ruhr Economic Papers 238, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    17. Armando Razo, 2020. "Social dilemmas with manifest and unknown networks," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(1), pages 3-39, February.
    18. repec:cup:judgdm:v:7:y:2012:i:3:p:282-291 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Obinger, Herbert & Starke, Peter, 2014. "Welfare state transformation: Convergence and the rise of the supply side model," TranState Working Papers 180, University of Bremen, Collaborative Research Center 597: Transformations of the State.
    20. Ponds, E.H.M. & van Riel, B., 2007. "The Recent Evolution of Pension Funds in the Netherlands : The trend to Hybrid DB-DC Plans and Beyond," Other publications TiSEM 678caf10-ac76-49a4-a7ff-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    21. Cruz-Martinez, Gibran, 2019. "Older‐Age Social Pensions and Poverty: Revisiting Assumptions on Targeting and Universalism," SocArXiv y9uk6, Center for Open Science.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:accfor:v:38:y:2014:i:1:p:18-37. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/racc .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.