<p class="MsoNormal">06-Healthy Pensions</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Bubble , bubble toil and trouble, cauldron boil and
cauldron bubble…3 dancing witches and all that", says I.<span style=""> </span>"Oh quit with the Shakespeare dad, we get
the point that pensions are a chaotic witches brew of 207 Trillion USD (2006
stats)<span style=""> </span>global economy of equities (54
T$) , debt, bonds (67 T$), hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds<span style=""> </span>(3 T$) mutual funds, funds of funds, and
derivatives (including 50 trillion of credit derivatives) just to name a
few."<span style=""> </span>"And yes Dad, we know coasting
into the sunset on "Freedom 55" is something you want no part of; You'd rather
cash in all your pensions before 65, buy a cryonics (storage of a body in
liquid nitrogen) contract with a company like Alcor </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">( <a href="http://www.alcor.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/alcor/public/InfoRequest.cgi">http://www.alcor.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/alcor/public/InfoRequest.cgi</a><span style=""> </span>) as well as buy into some means of
preserving your body from just before death so that when as you hope they thaw
you out your mind and body are not beyond repair, even with technologies of the
future and get Re-booted so to speak."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Sure kids<span style=""> </span>that's it
for me but I must deal with the little matter of keeping pensions liquid and
funded so that the vast majority of the other 6 billion people who might simply
want to live longer and healthier can get the freedom they bought before any
funeral or un-funeral interferes."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All 3 kinds of pension (defined contribution , defined
benefit and money purchase) funds own all sorts of equities as well as<span style=""> </span>alternative investments, such as
infrastructure, hedge funds and venture capital<span style=""> </span>There is a closed payback Loop created<span style=""> </span>when pension funds<span style=""> </span>own
health care industry corporate stocks.<span style="">
</span>The wealth of the elderly investors claws back profits as health care
consumers<span style=""> </span>pay for health care services
from their pensions<span style=""> </span>I present the
notion of reducing the hazard of pension investments by ensuring the pension
funds invest ethically into technologies and services which reduce unhealthy lifespan,
or increase total lifespan.<span style=""> </span>Actuaries
already agree that without corrective actions , off the scale longevity will
crater payouts if pension funds remain invested as they are now.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some suggest<span style=""> </span>that a
root cause analysis would say the problem is that retirement age is too low in
relation to lifespan.<span style=""> </span>A healthy
extremely aged workforce who continue to contribute as they earn is suggested
as the answer.<span style=""> </span>Those who earn too
little or are unable or unwilling to work will then be a manageable unfounded
liability. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A key question is how soon and how intensively a "War on
Aging" will be<span style=""> </span>integrated into the
global business economy.<span style=""> </span>Billions are
already at play but to sustain global scale pension payouts its going to have
to ramp up to tens of trillions.<span style=""> </span>Given
that commercialization is hindered by risk aversion by regulators and a
generally under-informed apathetic population , time is definitely of the
essence to engage a process of public education.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today in Saskatchewan we are at a point of opportunity.<span style=""> </span>With perhaps 10 pretty secure years to go
for the "energy bubble" we have to find sufficient incentives to derail the
dangerously<span style=""> </span>blindered re-investment by
energy only into energy.<span style=""> </span>Acceleration
of diversification to mate the capital of the Estevan,<span style=""> </span>Weyburn, Lloydminister , Northern Saskatchewan<span style=""> </span>tar sands and all the other energy hot spots
with the Science , technology and incubator start-up clusters such as in the
Saskatoon region might be a good place to start.<span style=""> </span>To get the process going perhaps there will have to be some
initial "herding , clubbing and baiting" but the smart money should catch onto
ways to justify these "longevity dividend" products and services<span style=""> </span>as high risk but fundamentally sound
investment options.<span style=""> </span>Like it or
not,<span style=""> </span>governments ought to feel
ethically bound to aid in greasing the tunnel and loading and pointing the
policy cannon.<span style=""> </span>Government might mandate
an alternative to an oil/energy production<span style="">
</span>tax or royalty grab<span style=""> </span>in the form
of an involuntary<span style=""> </span>private investment
into an industry<span style=""> </span>directed<span style=""> </span>targeted "Longevity Dividend" Sovereign
Wealth series of ethical funds.<span style=""> </span>These
funds might be mandated to pay both the investors and the public treasury
dividends that would help to pay for the whole issue of self-directed<span style=""> </span>preventative health planning, implementation
and<span style=""> </span>longevity enhancement for those not
fortunate enough to be in the top 1% of the wealthy.<span style=""> </span>Keeping those oldsters happy and healthy and productive might
prevent<span style=""> </span>a potential "age war" or as I
have put it to my kids,<span style=""> </span>"the day they
put a bounty on old people."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The next pieces on medicare reform, disability,
emigration/immigration/baby-making<span style=""> </span>and
inter-generational transfer will round out my commentary and fill in some gaps
left in the other pieces.<span style=""> </span>I hope you
have checked out some of the links along the way as they substantiate that this
is not a fictional crack-pot literary effort but a serious thinking through of
an issue I feel may be new to many of you .</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may send your feedback attention "Pharmer Mo" at <a href="mailto:extropian.pharmer@gmail.com">extropian.pharmer@gmail.com</a></span>