ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the financialization of the political economy during the last quarter of the twentieth century has influenced business preferences for occupational pensions. It argues that capital funding has important ramifications for business preferences towards occupational pensions. The chapter focuses on the financial politics of workplace pensions by addressing what does this financial politics entail and how it corresponds with scholarly insights on the social politics of workplace pensions. It introduces the two case studies of the United States and the Netherlands by giving a brief outline of developments in both pension systems. The chapter addresses one of the main issues associated with the financial politics of workplace pensions: issues of plan funding, the impact of pension liabilities on corporate finance in light of the financialization of the modern firm, and the role of pension funds as financial intermediaries.
