Supervision of lost pension accounts and unclaimed benefits
| Pages | 266-279 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRC-03-2018-0045 |
| Published date | 21 March 2019 |
| Date | 21 March 2019 |
| Author | Kyoung Gook Park,Dariusz Stańko,Darren McShane |
| Subject Matter | Financial compliance/regulation,Financial risk/company failure |
Supervision of lost pension
accounts and unclaimed benefits
Kyoung Gook Park
Financial Supervisory Service, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Dariusz Sta
nko
Secretariat of International Organisation of Pension Supervisors,
Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs,
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
Paris, France, and
Darren McShane
Financial Regulation Consultancy Services, Bundall, Queensland, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate how private pension supervisors in selected
jurisdictions monitor and addresslost pension accounts and unclaimed pension assets or benefits and draw
supervisoryimplications.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper is based on the survey on private pension schemes of
selectedInternational Organisation of Pension Supervisorsmember jurisdictions.
Findings –This paper finds that there are differencesin severity of the issue of lost pension accounts and
unclaimedpension benefits among jurisdictions, and that pension supervisors/regulatorsdiffer with regard to
awareness of and approaches taken to handle this issue. Some jurisdictions show a well-established
systematicapproach to deal effectively with the problem of lost pensionaccounts or unclaimed benefits, while
other jurisdictionsare yet to recognise and tackle the issue.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, this is the first larger cross-countrystudy on
lost pension accounts and unclaimed benefits in private pension schemes. The paper presentsinternational
comparisonof this issue in 32 different jurisdictions and provides examplesof good supervisory or regulatory
practices.
Keywords Consumer protection, Funded pensions, Lost accounts, Pension supervision,
Private pensions, Unclaimed benefits
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In conjunction with the rapid growth and widening coverage of private pension schemes,
consumer protection in pension systems is becoming a vital supervisory area in many
countries. The emergence of private pension systems in many jurisdictions has resulted in
expanded pension coverage across populations. Whereas in the past, coverage may have
been limited to employees of only some employers; in many jurisdictions, pension
arrangements now cover the entire formal employed population and in some cases also are
extended to casual workers,the self-employed and non-workers.
One of the challenges for private pension systems is the maintenance of contact details
for accounts. In the past, a strong employment nexus made it easier to keep in touch with
pension members, but nowadays pension schemes face greater challenges in maintaining
contact with their members.They include the fact that individuals tend to change theirjobs
JFRC
27,3
266
Received14 March 2018
Revised13 June 2018
17July 2018
Accepted27 July 2018
Journalof Financial Regulation
andCompliance
Vol.27 No. 3, 2019
pp. 266-279
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1358-1988
DOI 10.1108/JFRC-03-2018-0045
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