IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v81y2022ics1057521922000394.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pension de-risking choice and firm risk: Traditional versus innovative strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Zezeng
  • Kara, Alper

Abstract

We examine the determinants of firms defined-benefit pension plan de-risking strategy choices and their impact on firm risk. We compile a hand-collected dataset for FTSE 350 firms for the period of 2009–2017. We find that hard freezing and pension buy-ins are more likely to be implemented when pension plans have longer investment horizons. In particular, pension plans that are exposed to higher investment risk are more likely to adopt pension buy-ins. Firms with larger capital expenditure and market capitalization are more likely to utilise innovative de-risking strategies (i.e. buy-in and longevity swap) in addition to traditional strategies (i.e. soft and hard freezing). Financially constrained firms are more likely to implement longevity swap over pension buy-ins. We also find that implementing pension de-risking strategies reduce firm risk. However, the effectiveness varies depending on the strategy with buy-ins having the largest impact in reducing risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Zezeng & Kara, Alper, 2022. "Pension de-risking choice and firm risk: Traditional versus innovative strategies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:81:y:2022:i:c:s1057521922000394
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2022.102064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521922000394
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2022.102064?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. Atanasova, Christina & Hrazdil, Karel, 2010. "Why do healthy firms freeze their defined-benefit pension plans?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 293-303.
    2. Sheikh, Shahbaz, 2021. "CEO inside debt, market structure and payout policy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Moshe A. Milevsky & Keke Song, 2010. "Do Markets Like Frozen Defined Benefit Pensions? An Event Study," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 893-909, December.
    4. Hausman, Jerry & McFadden, Daniel, 1984. "Specification Tests for the Multinomial Logit Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(5), pages 1219-1240, September.
    5. Vafeas, Nikos & Vlittis, Adamos, 2018. "Independent directors and defined benefit pension plan freezes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 505-518.
    6. Kun Yu, 2016. "Excess of the PBO over the ABO and hard pension freezes," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 819-846, May.
    7. Comprix, Joseph & Muller, Karl A., 2011. "Pension plan accounting estimates and the freezing of defined benefit pension plans," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 115-133.
    8. Lin, Yijia & MacMinn, Richard D. & Tian, Ruilin, 2015. "De-risking defined benefit plans," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 52-65.
    9. Schotman, Peter C. & Schweitzer, Mark, 2000. "Horizon sensitivity of the inflation hedge of stocks," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(3-4), pages 301-315, November.
    10. Choy, Helen & Lin, Juichia & Officer, Micah S., 2014. "Does freezing a defined benefit pension plan affect firm risk?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 1-21.
    11. Comprix, Joseph & Muller III, Karl A., 2011. "Pension plan accounting estimates and the freezing of defined benefit pension plans," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 115-133, February.
    12. Samuel H. Cox & Yijia Lin & Ruilin Tian & Luis F. Zuluaga, 2013. "Mortality Portfolio Risk Management," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 80(4), pages 853-890, December.
    13. Chang, Charles & Fuh, Cheng-Der & Kao, Chu-Lan Michael, 2017. "Reading between the ratings: Modeling residual credit risk and yield overlap," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 114-135.
    14. Ronan Gallagher & Donal McKillop, 2010. "Unfunded pension liabilities and sponsoring firm credit risk: an international analysis of corporate bond spreads," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 183-200.
    15. Alissa, Walid & Bonsall, Samuel B. & Koharki, Kevin & Penn, Michael W., 2013. "Firms' use of accounting discretion to influence their credit ratings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 129-147.
    16. Lin, Yijia & Cox, Samuel H., 2008. "Securitization of catastrophe mortality risks," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 628-637, April.
    17. Weixi Liu & Ian Tonks, 2013. "Pension Funding Constraints and Corporate Expenditures," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 75(2), pages 235-258, April.
    18. Bartram, Söhnke M., 2018. "In good times and in bad: Defined-benefit pensions and corporate financial policy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 331-351.
    19. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    20. Martin, Linda J. & Henderson, Glenn V., 1983. "On Bond Ratings and Pension Obligations: A Note," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(4), pages 463-470, December.
    21. Mckillop, Donal & Pogue, Michael, 2009. "The influence of pension plan risk on equity risk and credit ratings: a study of FTSE100 companies," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(4), pages 405-428, October.
    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. Randy Jorgensen & Tirimba Obonyo & John R. Wingender, 2024. "De-risking pension plans: the impact on firm value from lump-sum buyouts," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(3), pages 1-19, September.

    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. Randy Jorgensen & Tirimba Obonyo & John R. Wingender, 2024. "De-risking pension plans: the impact on firm value from lump-sum buyouts," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(3), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Wei Huang & Bin Qiu, 2022. "Passive insider trading before pension freezes," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 45(3), pages 607-631, September.
    3. Brian Silverstein, 2021. "Defined benefit pension de‐risking and corporate risk‐taking," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(4), pages 1085-1111, December.
    4. Almaghrabi, Khadija S., 2023. "Non‐operating risk and cash holdings: Evidence from pension risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Tobias Witter & Thorsten Sellhorn & Jens Müller & Vicky Kiosse, 2022. "Balance sheet smoothing," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0006, Berlin School of Economics.
    6. Rauh, Joshua D. & Stefanescu, Irina & Zeldes, Stephen P., 2020. "Cost saving and the freezing of corporate pension plans," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    7. David Blake & Marco Morales & Enrico Biffis & Yijia Lin & Andreas Milidonis, 2017. "Special Edition: Longevity 10 – The Tenth International Longevity Risk and Capital Markets Solutions Conference," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 84(S1), pages 515-532, April.
    8. Mary McCarthy & Elisabeta Pana & Andrew Weinberger, 2021. "The role of institutional investors in pension risk transfers," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 45(3), pages 451-468, July.
    9. Joshua D. Rauh & Irina Stefanescu & Stephen P. Zeldes, 2020. "Cost Saving and the Freezing of Corporate Pension Plans," NBER Working Papers 27251, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Vafeas, Nikos & Vlittis, Adamos, 2018. "Independent directors and defined benefit pension plan freezes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 505-518.
    11. Chen, Xuanjuan & Yao, Tong & Yu, Tong & Zhang, Ting, 2014. "Learning and incentive: A study on analyst response to pension underfunding," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 26-42.
    12. Limin Zhang & Ruilin Tian & Jun Chen, 2022. "Text Mining for U.S. Pension De-Risking Analysis," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    13. Denise A. Jones, 2013. "Changes in the Funded Status of Retirement Plans after the Adoption of SFAS No. 158: Economic Improvement or Balance Sheet Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1099-1132, September.
    14. Denise A. Jones, 2014. "When Do Companies Fund Their Defined Benefit Pension Plans?," Accounting & Taxation, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 6(1), pages 13-23.
    15. Goto, Shingo & Yanase, Noriyoshi, 2021. "Pension return assumptions and shareholder-employee risk-shifting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    16. Luca Larcher & Francis Breedon, 2020. "Discounting and the market valuation of defined benefit pensions," Working Papers 932, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    17. Cox, Samuel H. & Lin, Yijia & Shi, Tianxiang, 2018. "Pension risk management with funding and buyout options," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 183-200.
    18. Choy, Helen & Lin, Juichia & Officer, Micah S., 2014. "Does freezing a defined benefit pension plan affect firm risk?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 1-21.
    19. Kun Yu, 2016. "Excess of the PBO over the ABO and hard pension freezes," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 819-846, May.
    20. J. Adam Cobb, 2019. "Managing the Conflicting Interests of Workers and Shareholders: Evidence from Pension-Assumption Manipulations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 523-551, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pension De-risking; Defined-benefit pension plans; Pension freezing; Pension buy-in; Longevity swap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    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:eee:finana:v:81:y:2022:i:c:s1057521922000394. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    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.