Writing in the mid-70s, Peter Drucker predicted that demographic dynamics would eventually make pensions a major societal issue involving such topics as how pension systems should be designed, how pension organizations should be organized and managed, and how retirement savings should be invested. Ambachtsheer’s 2007 book, Pension Revolution, showed that Drucker’s vision had become a reality. It laid out the challenges in all three areas, and how they might best be addressed.
Pension Revolution Unfolding offers an encouraging and full progress report, using actual case studies from around the world. The pension design challenges identified in 2007 are being addressed both conceptually and practically. Effective pension organizations have been built and are producing measurably better outcomes for their stakeholders. Pension investing is turning away from short-term oriented ‘beauty contests’ to longer-term wealth-creating disciplines. However, the book cautions that while innovation is blossoming in all three pension dimensions, there are still considerable barriers to change to be knocked down.
