Gijs Vereijken just received his Master of Economics, Netspar track, from Tilburg University. He completed his thesis project at the Dutch pension provider PGGM and Rabobank on the topic of \u201cBalance sheet alliances between Dutch banks and pension funds.\u201d Gijs is currently traveling through China while he decides exactly what he wants to next.<\/p>\n
China is a very interesting country, especially given the ageing problem. Why did you choose it as a travel destination?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true that it wasn\u2019t entirely coincidental,\u201d Gijs says with a smile. \u201cAs part of my master\u2019s program, I wrote a paper on the Chinese pension system, which triggered my interest in the country. One of the major findings was that a tremendous number of people fall outside the scope of the pension coverage. Indeed, during my trip I saw many elderly people living in poverty or still working in their old age to make ends meet.\u201d<\/p>\n Gijs met many other backpackers (including economists) from around the world and discovered that it is with good reason the pension system in the Netherlands is the third best in the world. \u201cThat experience gave me a broader perspective and changed my opinion of the Dutch pension system,\u201d he admits, \u201cbut I still think we need to reform it.\u201d<\/p>\n How do you think the pension system will change over the next ten years?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think there is going to be a shift in the Dutch pension system from collective pension schemes to more individual plans,\u201d he says. \u201cAs the job market becomes more flexible, there is a growing need in Dutch society for more flexible, and more transparent, pension plans. So, as opposed to collective defined benefit pensions, which were the most common type of scheme in the past, I think we are moving more toward individual defined contribution pensions.\u201d<\/p>\n Gijs adds another argument for this change: \u201cThere is an inherent transfer of wealth from young to old in the current system. You cannot justify that to my generation, in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n What do you think you learned with the Netspar track above and beyond what you would\u2019ve gotten in a standard Master of Economics program?<\/strong><\/p>\n It turns out it wasn\u2019t all about academics. \u201cI learned a lot about pensions, in both theoretical and practical terms,\u201d he says. \u201cWith the company visits and possibility of writing your thesis while working at one of Netspar\u2019s partners, you see how things happen in real life, and of course, you are given a unique opportunity to network.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of his thesis project, Gijs researched a possible win-win collaboration between pension funds and the banking sector. The main conclusion of this was that, in today\u2019s market conditions, it is very attractive for pension funds to invest in the mortgages from banks. On the one hand, the banks maintain their customer relations, while achieving balance sheet reduction; on the other, the pension funds obtain a more optimal return on investment. \u201cIt could be very beneficial for pension funds, partnering with the banks, to gain control of the liquidity premiums,\u201d he points out, \u201csince pension funds could use the banks\u2019 screening expertise and thus gain access to a category of assets with very attractive risk and return characteristics. You are already seeing an increase in activity in terms of transactions between banks and pension funds. A good example of that is the transaction between the health workers pension fund Pfzw and Rabobank, in which Pfzw assumed a portion of the risk for one of Rabobank\u2019s loan portfolios.\u201d<\/p>\n Your trip through China must certainly also be yielding new insights. What are you going to do once you\u2019re back in the Netherlands?<\/strong><\/p>\n Gijs ponders this seriously for a moment. \u201cIt has definitely taught me a lot and expanded my horizon,\u201d he says. \u201cI have put off looking for a job until after my trip: I want to work in the pension industry. Due to the fact that, in my opinion, the industry is going to experience tremendous change in the next few years, I think it would be a great challenge to be part of that. I believe the pension industry needs an influx of more young people to make the pension system in the Netherlands future-proof, generation-neutral and more flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gijs Vereijken just received his Master of Economics, Netspar track, from Tilburg University. He completed his thesis project at the Dutch pension provider PGGM and Rabobank on the topic of \u201cBalance sheet alliances between Dutch banks and pension funds.\u201d Gijs is currently traveling through China while he decides exactly what he wants to next. China is a very interesting country, especially given the ageing problem. Why did you choose it as a travel destination? \u201cIt\u2019s true that it wasn\u2019t entirely coincidental,\u201d Gijs says with a smile. \u201cAs part of my master\u2019s program, I wrote a paper on the Chinese pension system, which triggered my interest in the country. One of the major findings was that a tremendous number of people fall outside the scope of the pension coverage. Indeed, during my trip I saw many elderly people living in poverty or still working in their old age to make ends meet.\u201d Gijs met many other backpackers (including economists) from around the world and discovered that it is with good reason the pension system in the Netherlands is the third best in the world. \u201cThat experience gave me a broader perspective and changed my opinion of the Dutch pension system,\u201d he admits, \u201cbut I still think we need to reform it.\u201d How do you think the pension system will change over the next ten years? \u201cI think there is going to be a shift in the Dutch pension system from collective pension schemes to more individual plans,\u201d he says. \u201cAs the job market becomes more flexible, there is a growing need in Dutch society for more flexible, and more transparent, pension plans. So, as opposed to collective defined benefit pensions, which were the most common type of scheme in the past, I think we are moving more toward individual defined contribution pensions.\u201d Gijs adds another argument for this change: \u201cThere is an inherent transfer of wealth from young to old in the current system. You cannot justify that to my generation, in my opinion.\u201d What do you think you learned with the Netspar track above and beyond what you would\u2019ve gotten in a standard Master of Economics program? It turns out it wasn\u2019t all about academics. \u201cI learned a lot about pensions, in both theoretical and practical terms,\u201d he says. \u201cWith the company visits and possibility of writing your thesis while working at one of Netspar\u2019s partners, you see how things happen in real life, and of course, you are given a unique opportunity to network.\u201d As part of his thesis project, Gijs researched a possible win-win collaboration between pension funds and the banking sector. The main conclusion of this was that, in today\u2019s market conditions, it is very attractive for pension funds to invest in the mortgages from banks. On the one hand, the banks maintain their customer relations, while achieving balance sheet reduction; on the other, the pension funds obtain a more optimal return on investment. \u201cIt could be very beneficial for pension funds, partnering with the banks, to gain control of the liquidity premiums,\u201d he points out, \u201csince pension funds could use the banks\u2019 screening expertise and thus gain access to a category of assets with very attractive risk and return characteristics. You are already seeing an increase in activity in terms of transactions between banks and pension funds. A good example of that is the transaction between the health workers pension fund Pfzw and Rabobank, in which Pfzw assumed a portion of the risk for one of Rabobank\u2019s loan portfolios.\u201d Your trip through China must certainly also be yielding new insights. What are you going to do once you\u2019re back in the Netherlands? Gijs ponders this seriously for a moment. \u201cIt has definitely taught me a lot and expanded my horizon,\u201d he says. \u201cI have put off looking for a job until after my trip: I want to work in the pension industry. Due to the fact that, in my opinion, the industry is going to experience tremendous change in the next few years, I think it would be a great challenge to be part of that. I believe the pension industry needs an influx of more young people to make the pension system in the Netherlands future-proof, generation-neutral and more flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":13295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,14],"tags":[383,384,48,385,387,386,163],"class_list":["post-1380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","category-interview-finance","tag-china","tag-gijs-vereijken","tag-interview-2","tag-master-of-economics","tag-netspar","tag-thesis-project","tag-tilburg-university"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n