The value of 'community' in supporting transitions outside university

Statistics from the Destinations of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE) survey has shown that graduate level employment or study 6 months after graduation is relatively low for psychology graduates compared to graduates from other disciplines. Due to highly competitive conditions for postgraduate places on professional psychology training courses, new graduates often spend time developing their portfolio of relevant skills and experience in order to compete for postgraduate places one or more years after graduating. In addition, QAA (2010) noted that only 15-20% of psychology graduates develop careers as professional psychologists. Many initiatives have been introduced across the UK (see Reddy, Lantz, & Hulme, 2013) to support students' transitions out of university and into employment or further study, however these initiatives vary in the extent to which they are embedded and capture student engagement. At the University of Strathclyde, we are taking a multi-pronged approach to enhancing students’ employability that is underpinned by an ethos of ‘community’. First, the creation of the Strathclyde Psychology Alumni Network (SPAN), developed in collaboration with students, provides a platform through which current students, alumni, and staff, interact as members of the Strathclyde Psychology Community, virtually via LinkedIn and face-to-face at networking events. Second, a new work placement class in the final year will provide students the opportunity to enhance their experience and apply their psychological knowledge and skills in a work-based context. Third, a novel curriculum review process involving staff, alumni, and employers (representing private, public, and third sectors) has sought to identify the opportunities and challenges that graduates face, and the characteristics of the ‘Ideal Strathclyde Psychology Graduate’. A core competency framework will be output from this process and will drive the curriculum enhancement process so that students have the opportunity to develop the characteristics of the ‘Ideal Strathclyde Psychology Graduate’

Measuring pension plan risk from an economic capital perspective

Economic capital, the 0.5th percentile result of a stochastic projection, is the primary risk measure employed. The research examines not only the difference in economic capital requirements between typical plans in the three countries, but also its sensitivity to changes in asset allocation, contributions, and starting funded status

Impact of the Choice of Risk Assessment Time Horizons on Defined Benefit Pension Schemes

We examine the impact of asset allocation and contribution rates on the risk of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, using both a run-off and a shorter 3-year time horizon. Using the 3-year horizon, which is typically preferred by regulators, a high bond allocation reduces the spread of the distribution of surplus. However, this result is reversed when examined on a run-off basis. Furthermore, under both the 3-year horizon and the run-off, the higher bond allocation reduces the median level of surplus. Pressure on the affordability of DB schemes has led to widespread implementation of so-called de-risking strategies, such as moving away from predominantly equity investments to greater bond investments. If the incentives produced by shorter term risk assessments are contributing to this shift, they might be harming the long term financial health of the schemes. Contribution rates have relatively lower impact on the risk

A tale of two pension plans: Measuring pension plan risk from an economic capital perspective

Years of high inflation, good investment returns and profits during the 1970s and 1980s created the illusion that defined benefit (DB) pension plans are easily affordable. Due to the creation of large surpluses during those years, pension risks have generally been excluded from an organisation's general risk management processes. Over the past decade or more however, increasing life expectancy and a steady fall in interest rates have meant that pension costs have increased. Consequently, many DB pension plans now have insufficient assets to cover all of their promised benefits. As a result, security of members' benefits may be compromised. This research, funded by the Society of Actuaries, builds on the works of Porteous et al. (2012), who performed a risk assessment of UK's Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) based on the 2008 USS valuation report. In this research project, we update the analysis based on the most recently available valuation report. We then extend our analysis to carry out risk assessment of a stylised US plan, with the same membership profile as USS but with plan provisions modified to reflect a typical US DB plan design. We employ an economic capital approach to assess risks. Although the term economic capital has been widely used within the banking and insurance sectors, the concept is relatively new in the context of risk assessment of DB pension plans. In this research, we adapt the commonly used definitions of economic capital to appropriately capture the specific risk characteristics of DB pension plans. The analysis was carried out using stochastic economic scenario generators (ESG) calibrated to the UK and US economies. Specifically, we use a graphical model approach to ESG, proposed by Oberoi et al. (2019), alongside the well-known Wilkie model, to capture the sensitivity of the results to the choice of ESGs employed. The analysis also used a stochastic mortality model, similarly calibrated to the UK and the US. Results are shown for the full distribution of outcomes, but emphasis is given for certain percentile levels in line with the selected degree of confidence. We find that as a percentage of starting assets, the US stylised plan is more volatile than the USS plan. Moreover, the benefits of a larger allocation to long bonds are greater in the US stylised plan than the USS plan. In general, the effect on economic capital (for both plans) is much larger for changes in asset allocation than for changes to plan contributions. The full distribution of results provided should assist plan sponsors to understand the full range of uncertainties that they are assuming in the financing of their DB pension plans. An economic capital framework provides pensions regulators with another tool to consider their exposure to benefits guaranteed by the Pension Protection Fund and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The analysis can also help the DB pension plan members to understand the uncertainties that the sponsor faces in the financing of DB pension plans

Population aging, implications for asset values, and impact for pensions plans: An international study

This is the capstone paper from a multi-year research agenda entitled “Population Aging, Implications for Asset Values, and Impact for Pension Plans: An International Study.” In this paper we: • Outline demographic-economic scenario generators (DESGs) for Canada, the UK, and the US based on the approach developed by Oberoi et al. (2020); • Identify the sensitivity of asset returns to demographic factors; and • Illustrate the impact of varying the demographic factors on the finances of pension plans in Canada, the UK, and the US. The pension plan risk measure that we analyze is based on the run-off of liabilities for current plan members. This is a very long-term measure. Our observations of the results are summarized as follows: • Asset returns in Canada are quite sensitive to variation in the future path of the demographic ratio; • Returns in the UK and the US are not very sensitive to variation in this ratio; • Similarly, variation in the future path of the demographic ratio has a material effect on the finances of the Canadian pension plan, but not for either of the UK or US pension plans; and • We model a portfolio of country-specific equities and bonds for each of the country-specific pension plans. The risk exposure in the Canadian pension plan to varying future demographic paths could be mitigated by employing a portfolio that includes non-Canadian assets. The bottom line is that the finances of Canadian pension plans are more exposed to the demographic effect on investment returns (older populations are associated with lower investment returns) than plans in the UK or the US. The reason for this is the differing paths of the demographic ratio in the three countries. In addition, Canadian pension plans may be exposed to the “double whammy” of any plan-specific longevity risk exposure

Coagulation and fibrinolysis in preeclampsia and neonates

10.1177/107602960501100415Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis114467-47