Fitxa persona

Dr. Carlos Vidal-Meliá is a Full Professor of Financial Economics and Actuarial Science at the University of Valencia (Spain) and holds a research affiliation with the Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico (ICAE) at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Academic Background

Dr. Vidal-Meliá holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Valencia, a degree in Actuarial Science from the Complutense University of Madrid, and a degree in Business from the University of Valencia.

Research Contributions

His research has been published in leading refereed journals, including:

Applied Economics, Astin Bulletin, Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanj, European Journal of Population, Fiscal Studies, Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance, Insurance: Mathematics and Economics (IME), International Journal for Equity in Health, International Social Security Review, Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Journal of Population Ageing, Journal of Pensions Economics and Finance, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Mathematics, Public Money and Management, Quality & Quantity, Scandinavian Actuarial Journal, SERIEs (Journal of the Spanish Economic Association), SORT (Statistics and Operations Research Transactions) and Sustainability, amongst others.

Research Interests

Dr. Vidal-Meliá's research addresses key actuarial and policy issues within public pension systems and long-term care financing. His work spans the following areas:

1. Public pension reform: Focuses on improving sustainability, transparency, and solvency in pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension systems, particularly through mechanisms like notional defined contribution (NDC) schemes, actuarial balance sheets, and automatic balancing mechanisms.
2. Notional accounts: Extensive work on the design and implementation of notional accounts, assessing how these can be applied to public pension systems to align contributions with benefits and ensure financial stability.
3. Automatic balance mechanisms: Research on tools to automatically adjust public pension systems in response to demographic changes and economic fluctuations, with a focus on mitigating the effects of longevity and low fertility.
4. Gender redistribution in pension systems: Studies on the implications of using unisex conversion factors in life annuities, particularly how these impact gender equity in pension benefits.
5. Joint life care annuities (LCAs): Analyzes the integration of long-term care (LTC) into annuity products for couples, providing financial solutions to address healthcare needs in retirement.
6. Pension system financial health: Development of actuarial balance sheets to evaluate the solvency and financial status of PAYG pension systems, as seen in Sweden and Spain.
7. Pension reforms in Spain: Evaluation of the 2011-2013 pension reforms in Spain using the Swedish NDC system as a benchmark, focusing on how the reforms diverged from the proposed improvements in equity and transparency.
8. Integration of retirement and disability pensions: Theoretical work on unifying retirement and disability pensions within a single framework, aiming for a more cohesive pension system that better accommodates various life contingencies.
9. Long-term care financing: Research on combining pension benefits with long-term care coverage, addressing the growing need for integrated solutions as populations age.
10. Mortality studies: Analysis of mortality tables and their updates, focusing on how these are used to assess life expectancy and adjust conversion factors in pension systems. This includes evaluating the impact of demographic changes on mortality rates and how these affect pensions.
11. Table 29 for pension system solvency analysis: Dr. Vidal-Meliá’s work delves into the critical assessment of Table 29, which compares the assets and liabilities of a pension system to give a true and fair view of its financial health. This includes evaluating how demographic changes and economic volatility are reflected in actuarial projections and the necessary solvency measures.
12. Demographic coherence in mortality tables for LCAs and LTCI: His research emphasizes the need for consistency between demographic assumptions and the mortality tables used to calculate the premiums of life care annuities (LCAs) and long-term care insurance (LTCI). Ensuring demographic coherence is essential for accurately pricing these products and avoiding discrepancies that could impact their financial sustainability.

Policy Influence

In 2009, as part of the Toledo Pact, Dr. Vidal-Meliá proposed reforms to the Spanish public pension system inspired by the Swedish model. His suggestions, including the introduction of notional accounts, actuarial balances, and automatic balance mechanisms, aimed to improve equity, transparency, solvency, and communication within the system. However, the reforms implemented in Spain between 2011 and 2013 significantly diverged from his recommendations.

Key publications on this topic include:

• Vidal-Meliá, C. (2014). An Assessment of the 2011 Spanish Pension Reform Using the Swedish System as Benchmark, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 13(03), 297-333.
• Vidal-Meliá, C. (2014). Una storia infinita (The 2011-2013 Spanish pension reform: a never-ending story), Opificium, Revista Consiglio Nazionale Periti Industriali, 5(4), 38-41.

Consulting and Professional Experience

His professional experience has primarily focused on the financial sector of regional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and on the field of social security, both public and private. In the public sector, he has led, participated in, advised, and/or conducted research for: the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the World Bank, the Swedish Social Security Agency, IVIE, Funcas, the Ministry of Labour and Immigration, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. In the private sector, his professional work has been directed towards actuarial opinions and reviews for various insurance companies, pension externalization issues, retirement awards, judicial expertise, etc. Without attempting to be exhaustive, he has carried out professional work and/or delivered specialized courses for: ASEVAL, BIA Galicia/CXG Aviva, Vidacaixa, Santander Pensiones, Cámara Valencia, Federico Domenech S.A., Ford España S.A., Getronics S.A., Grupo Aguas de Valencia, Grupo Boluda S.A., Iberdrola S.A., INARCASSA (Rome), MARVALSA, PHILIPS, Unión Naval de Barcelona S.A., Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIREF), and various universities such as Jaume I (Castellón), UCLM, Extremadura, Jaén, UPO (Seville), and Valladolid.

Teaching work

His teaching has primarily focused on the areas of Financial and Actuarial Mathematics, Life Insurance, Dependency and Health, Pension Plans, Social Security Techniques, and Financial and Cost Accounting.