CLARIFICATION ON OWN CAUSE In the current discussion about the successor to the Riester pension, the BVI German Fund Association recently presented an analysis of fund withdrawal plans, which was criticized, among others, by the GDV General Association of the German Insurance Industry in a statement. When asked by press representatives about the GDV’s criticism, the BVI responded (see article on Pfefferminzia: https://lnkd.in/deJDgweu): “Professor Jochen Russ also confirms that the fund pension is also a useful product for old-age provision and retirement planning,” replies the BVI spokesman. Since I was asked about this by several market participants whether I really said that, I would like to make the following clear: The quote is shortened in a way that distorts the meaning and is taken out of context. What I actually wrote in my own statement on the BVI analysis (https://lnkd.in/dByMM2E6) is the following: “Despite the necessary criticism of this study optimized for lobbying, there is no doubt that fund withdrawal plans are useful products. Also in pension provision or retirement planning. But not to finance lifelong basic needs and the lifelong standard of living desired. This is demonstrated by the fact that the BVI has to make such implausible assumptions in order to argue that fund withdrawal plans are also suitable for this purpose.” Despite this misunderstanding, I am very happy and grateful that the BVI assured me in a clarifying conversation that It was not the intention to shorten my quote in a way that distorted the meaning and to take it out of context, but rather that it was simply an oversight. With this in mind, I look forward to continued constructive discussion on this topic! Addendum: The above article at Pfefferminzia has now been corrected. Thank you very much for this too! Cvetelina Todorova, Barbara Bocks, Society for Finance and Actuarial Sciences mbH, GDV General Association of the German Insurance Industry, BVI German Fund Association, German Actuarial Association, Bernd Mikosch, Jan Wagner, Andreas Harms, Ellen Bocquel, Pfefferminzia
