Anouk Smits (1988) graduated from the NETSPAR Master 'Economics and Finance of Ageing' in November 2011. Her research, titled 'Deminishing the pension Gap: From Insight to Action', shows the importance of a solid pension system design.

Pension is a complex product. It is a long term investment which faces much uncertainty: learning-by-doing is limited and insight in the broader picture of personal finance is required to save optimally. On top of the complexity of the product, human irrationality and illiteracy decrease the chance of spreading consumption optimally.

The Netherlands Authority for the Financial markets (AFM) showed the existence of a pension gap in the Netherlands. The research by Anouk Smits follows up on the AFM´s research and shows there is a disparity amongst pension participants in the Netherlands, between the insight they have in their pension gap and the action they undertake to fill that gap.

Data collected for this research shows that only 20% of the respondents have the intention of adjusting their current life(style) if they are aware of a cut in their pension income of 25%. Moreover, 34% think it is wise to adjust, but state they will probably not. This implies that informing people will not be sufficient to diminish the pension gap.

The research shows that a majority of interviewed retirees state that they will adjust their life(style) by retroactive effect. This outcome supports the view to interfere with choice making, as people do not choose optimally. These results imply that pension policy should focus on pushing people in the right direction and the current goal of communication should change to informing instead of putting into action.