"The minimum return guarantee, devised by financial engineers to allow pension providers to offer a handy hybrid between defined contribution and defined benefit schemes, is proving increasingly hard for pension fund managers to ignore. Interest in the concept has grown following the spectacularly negative returns triggered by the credit crunch. However, a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warns that the notion of pledging a minimum floor for investment returns can be extremely costly for pension providers -- and hence for the participants making pension contributions."  MORE >>