Risk CDT - Risk analysis of European pensions systems for survivors (orphans and widows)

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This is a project within the multi-disciplinary EPSRC and ESRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) on Quantification and Management of Risk & Uncertainty in Complex Systems & Environments, within the Institute for Risk and Uncertainty. The studentship is granted for 4 years and includes, in the first year, a Master in Decision Making under Risk & Uncertainty. The project includes extensive collaboration with prime industry to build an optimal basis for employability.

Outline

This project is part of a larger project about pension systems for survivors in developing countries around the world. By building first a data base of existing financial mechanisms in European countries (both Eastern and Western), we aim at identifying ways to improve the social security systems for survivors - orphans and widows.

Methods

Mathematically the project will build on the traditional actuarial models for pensions and further incorporate new parameters in the model to account for the political, social or cultural specificities of the countries studied. Dependence structures will be introduced to account for joint death (both parents) distributions, again in various contexts of current world politics.

Aim

The initial aim is to better capture the current social security landscape, so that sensible recommendations can be made for policymakers. In the longer run, the team intends to look at developing countries and suggest improvements where needed.