Some thoughts on the decline of pension schemes

The purpose of this paper is to present a review which brings together the existing literature on the reasons for the decline in pension schemes.

Adopting a positivist stance, where the reality of man as an adaptor, in a study of systems, processes and change is observed, the authors undertake a review of the existing literature on pensions and pension accounting.

What is absent from the existing literature is a review of the extent to which both a variety and a combination of factors affect companies' decisions to close their defined benefit pension scheme.

The paper provides an holistic overview of the diverse range of literature that addresses the decline in pension schemes.