The University of Iceland, Reykjavík, has founded the Pensions Research Institute, a collaboration platform for scholars in the field of pension funds.
The institute has been founded in collaboration between the university, the Central Bank of Iceland, and the Ministry of Finance and the Economy. It is also expected to work closely with PeRCent (The Pension Research Centre) at Copenhagen Business School. PeRCent researches pension issues and also offers teaching to contribute to the development of the pension system in Denmark.
The aim of the institute is to promote research and increase understanding of pension matters such as the maintaining of gender equality, facilitate cooperation with foreign academics, gather information about the organization of pension matters abroad, and to suggest possible solutions to the challenges that pension funds in Iceland face.
The institute will also maintain a website, organize workshops for academics to present research and run an annual conference. It will also annually support one doctoral student and one employee to work on research that is needed for the Icelandic pension system.
"We have taken a successful step and look forward to embarking on the important tasks that await this new organization", said Jon Atli Benediktsson, rector of the University of Iceland.
Iceland has been rated third worldwide in the Natixis Investment Managers' Global Retirement index for two years running. The index ranks each nation in the areas of retirement finances, material well-being for retirees, health, and quality of life.
In Iceland, the normal pension age is 67, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The social security system guarantees a minimum pension to everyone, even when very little, or nothing, has been paid into a pension fund. The full basic pension value is ISK 3 081 468 ($22,400) per year, equivalent to 33% of average worker earnings.
Pension funds in Iceland include the Brú Municipality Employee Pension Fund, Reykjavík, and EFIA, Reykjavík, the retirement fund of the Icelandic Air Line Pilots Association.
