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Linking annuity benefits to the longevity experience: Alternative solutions
Full text linkThe uncertainty regarding financial returns and the life expectancy, joint to the reduced social security benefits, increasingly expose individuals to the risk of outliving their post-retirement assets. However, the demand for longevity guarantees remains low, due to high costs. The providers, on their side, may be reluctant to offer non-adjustable longevity guarantees, as the risk is long term and difficult to predict. It is therefore convenient to reconsider the design of longevity guarantees. In particular, a participating structure, providing a link to some longevity experience, could allow a sharing of losses, and possibly profits, resulting in a reduction of the cost of the retained guarantee. The literature review suggests a number of alternatives to define a longevity-linking arrangement, but the topic is not yet completely explored. It is useful, in particular, to have a common framework, under which the various solutions can be interpreted and compared, also with a view to the trade-off between the retained risk and the cost of the guarantee. Developing a general structure describing longevity-linked post-retirement benefits is the main purpose of this paper. Allowing for aggregate longevity risk, we then examine suitable solutions for insurance products
Process simulation of natural gas steam reforming: Fuel distribution optimisation in the furnace
No full textThis paper describes a two-step method to simulate the natural gas steam reforming for
hydrogen production. The first step is to calculate reforming tube length and fuel distribution
with equilibrium approach associated with heat transfer. The second step is to calculate and
validate reforming performance with kinetic model. A short-cut simulation of hydrogen
plant has also been performed to calculate inputs for the reformer model, such as total flow
rate and composition of mixed fuel burning in the furnace chamber. Heat transfer, especially
radiative heat transfer, is the key role in the steamreforming technology, due to the high heat
fluxes involved. For this reason, energy modelling of the furnace chamber has been
performed. The simulation evaluates the most important design variables, as tubes height,
maximum tube-wall temperature, and tube pressure drop. The heat flux profile can be
selected to have suitable metal temperatures to lengthen the reformer tube life. The model
calculates the design parameters for reforming tube and fuel distribution among burners
Epidemiology of congenital hypothyroidism: what can be deduced from the Italian registry of infants with congenital hypothyroidism.
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