Compact Knowledge on Old-Age Insurance on CD-ROM

The increasingly heated debate on pensions during the last months has revealed that, in the future, individuals will need to make additional pension provisions going beyond the statutory pension insurance in order to safeguard the accustomed standard of living in old age. At the same time, many businesses find themselves forced to revise and modify their previous workplace pension scheme due to the growing international competitive pressure. Other firms are concerned with the question whether the introduction of a workplace pension scheme as part of an attractive compensation package holds any advantages for them.

In response to these questions and doubts of firms and individuals, ZEW, in collaboration with PwC Deutsche Revision/PricewaterhouseCoopers, the University of Mannheim and the Commerzbank AG, has compiled current scientific and practical knowledge about workplace and private pension schemes on two CD-ROMs. On Friday, November 12, at 3 p.m. in Mannheim, ZEW and the Vahlen editorial will jointly present the two CD-ROMs to the public.

The CD-ROM titled "Altersvorsorge Kompetent - Betriebliche Altersversorgung" provides firms with information on the essentials of workplace pension schemes. It contains information on procedures regarding direct guarantees, provident funds, pension funds, and direct insurances as well as their legal implications concerning work, tax, trade, and insurance supervision. Furthermore, it contains explanations on possible developments in the future, such as workplace pension funds as well as special forms of workplace pension schemes with a view to the managing partners and deferred compensation. By taking into account the particular situation of the respective firm, the specific decision aids to facilitate an optimisation of new or existing workplace pension schemes.

The CD-ROM titled "Altersvorsorge kompetent - Private Altersvorsorge und Finanzmanagement" provides various information on statutory pension insurance as well as on appropriate forms of investment in private pension funds. The users will be informed about possible ways to improve their financial situation by means of private capital investment in retirement. Furthermore, they learn about what criteria they should take as a basis when deciding on investments, insurances and real estate.

Both CD-ROMs come with a pension gap and a liquidity calculator. The pension gap calculator sheds light on possible financial gaps and their extent in the pension. On the other hand, the liquidity calculator facilitates users to calculate their monthly or annual savings potential in order to figure out how much they can invest in retirement provisions.

Contact

Hermann Buslei, Phone: +49(0)621/1235-155, E-Mail: buslei@zew.de

Dr. Michael Schröder, Phone: +49(0)621/1235-140, E-Mail: schroeder@zew.de