「退休」對於大多數人未來生活而言，可能會面臨嚴重的財務難題，因為退休之後可能沒有第二個機會能獲得正常的收入，而卻必須面臨退休生活之開支以及老年醫療看護之問題，因此在工作階段對於退休金的規劃設計適當與否愈顯重要，以解決老年人退休生活的經濟安全。而目前退休金籌措之來源，除有政府提供之社會保險、企業所提撥之退休金、個人所購買之商業年金保險、存款、投資收入之外，在英美等國市場上發展出一種為老年人退休生活融資的工具──反向房屋抵押貸款(Reverse Mortgage)，使老年人得以利用其房屋融資、為其取得生活所需之金錢支柱之同時，而仍保有房屋之所有權，直到老年人死亡、自願搬離或者出售房屋，而在貸款期間，並不需償還任何金錢予貸款人。 英美各國之所以發展反向房屋抵押貸款商品之主要原因，係因面臨戰後嬰兒潮之族群屆至退休年齡，使政府社會補助系統日益沉重；而且在平均餘命增加所產生一連串健康照護等問題，致退休金系統之保障可能不足情況下，於1980年代開始蓬勃發展反向房屋抵押貸款。而我國由於人口老化快速、生育率逐漸下降、退休所得適足度不足以及自有住宅率高等前提下，有發展反向房屋抵押貸款之潛力。 本研究將以美國反向房屋抵押貸款市場為基礎，分析其主要內容和借貸雙方之間的權利義務。由於台灣目前之退休市場上，還未開發反向房屋抵押貸款此種商品，若要發行此種商品，對於政府、金融機構或者是消費者，勢必是一項新的考驗，而且可能面臨以下幾個問題：反向房屋抵押是否為我國所承認之抵押權？若非，應如何因應？若反向房屋抵押貸款為我國所承認之抵押權，則抵押人之權利義務應如何調整，以保障抵押權人之利益？反向房屋抵押貸款之特性於我國適用時，借貸雙方之權利義務是否有調整之必要？若是，應如何為之？ 本研究僅針對反向房屋抵押貸款於我國發行之可行性，並未針對應由何機構發行此種商品為宜，而僅就現行民法規定作初步分析，探究反向房屋抵押貸款於我國適用時有無衝突之可能。另再比較美國及其他發行反向房屋抵押貸款之國家，相關之規範或制定內容之發展經驗，對我國具有相當之啟示且可發揮相當程度之指標性作用，可供我國未來金融實務發展上之借鏡與參考，希冀有助於我國發行反向房屋貸款時達到最佳效益。

The purposes of this study were to describe and categorize the types of clients seeking reverse mortgage counseling, and to document the growth in demand for reverse mortgage counseling from one counseling center: The USU Family Life Center - Housing and Financial Counseling Services (FLC HFC). A second purpose was to gain a better understanding of the reasons why more senior Americans are seeking reverse mortgages. A third purpose was to gain a better understanding of the retirement preparedness of current seniors seeking reverse mortgages, which could lead to improved counseling services, early retirement intervention awareness, and encourage increased pre-retirement preparation. Information was collected from 361 inactive reverse mortgage counseling files at the FLC HFC. A subset of 117 more recent and complete files was used to describe, categorize, and gain greater understanding of the clients seeking reverse mortgage counseling, their reasons for considering a reverse mortgage, and their retirement preparation. Descriptive statistics, crosstabs, ANOVAS, and frequency tables were used. Clientele were mostly Caucasian, married, and retired, and their mean age was 74 for males and 72 for females. Average annual income per client household was $29,483, ranging from $7,860 to $92,400. Most clients were mortgagors compared to homeowners with the most common reason for seeking a reverse mortgage to pay off an existing mortgage followed by increasing income. Slightly more than half (51.4%) did not obtain a reverse mortgage; of those who did, 85.7% received all or some of their funds as a lump sum. This study was unique in that it analyzed clients seeking counseling for a reverse mortgage rather than just the borrowers who originated a reverse mortgage. It also looked at their reasons for seeking the reverse mortgage. Younger clients were more likely to desire to pay off an existing forward mortgage; older clients were more likely to need increased income. The practical significance of the study's findings can be used to encourage the preparation of near-retirement adults and to encourage senior mortgagors to carefully plan the use of funds received from a reverse mortgage leading to an increase in the financial well-being of seniors.

Prisutvecklingen på bostäder har under en längre tid växt i en snabbare takt än inkomstutvecklingen. De bakomliggande faktorerna till prisutvecklingen har varit sjunkande bolåneräntor samt ett bostadsbyggande som understigit befolkningstillväxten. Till följd av låga räntor har allt fler svenska hushåll efterfrågat en högre belåningsgrad samt skuldkvot, vilket inneburit samhällsrisker för den svenska ekonomin. För att hämma en fortsatt prisutveckling har flera kreditregler införts. Med bakgrund av nuvarande kreditregler samt en hyresmarknad som kännetecknas av allt längre kötider har inträdesbarriären till bostadsmarknaden blivit än mer ansträngt för unga vuxna samt förstagångsköpare. Vi har i vår studie jämfört och utvärderat ett statligt garanterat startlån och Boligsparing For Ungdom som eventuella åtgärder som underlättar bostadssituationen för unga samt förstagångsköpare. Genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer med personer verksamma inom finansiella aktörer samt egna kalkyler har vi ställt dessa förslag mot varandra med hänsyn till dess effekt, kostnader, sparhorisont och socioekonomiska effekter. Resultatet visar att en svensk BSU-variant skulle ge många unga ett starkt incitament att spara i en mindre riskfylld sparform samt bidra till positiva samhällseffekter med en större sparmedvetenhet. Problemet är att effekten är låg i jämförelse med startlånet samt att stora skattesubventioner blir riktade mot samhällsgrupper som har möjlighet att spara. Med detta i åtanke kan ett bosparsystem förvisso vara ett åtgärdsverktyg för att sänka ungas tröskel in till bostadsmarknaden, men att fler lösningar krävs för en lösning på dagens bostadssituation. / The price development on residential housing has for a long time surpassed the growth rate of income in Sweden. A drop in mortgage rates and a construction deficit to population growth are the main underlying reasons for higher housing prices. As a result of low interest rates, Swedish households are significantly becoming more and more leveraged, leading to potential risk elements to the Swedish economy. To curb further price increases new credit rules have been implemented on housing. Due to current credit regulation and a rental market out of balance with long queue times, the access to the housing market is getting out of sight for young adults and first-time buyers. In our study we have examined and compared a government guaranteed second mortgage and the Boligsparing For Ungdom as potential actions to help the situation for young adults and first-time buyers. We have by conducting semi-structured interviews with financial institutions and our own calculations, compared these two options against each other in terms of their effect on saving horizon, costs and socioeconomic implications. The result of the study shows that a Swedish BSU-system would give many youngsters a strong incentive to save in a safe savings form and add positive effects to society with a greater awareness on the importance of savings. The downside with BSU is that it has a lower effect compared to the second mortgage and that large tax subsidies will be aimed towards society groups that already have the ability to save money. Although many more options are needed to solve the current housing situation, a house savings program such as Boligsparing For Ungdom can still be a good tool to reduce the entrance barrier for youngsters.

本論文包含台灣壽險業資產配置國際化及匯率避險兩個主題。首先，探討台灣壽險業積極向主管機關申請核准提高國外資產配置比率，與美國投資人偏好投資自己國家資產不一致的現象，是台灣壽險業資產配置不得不的策略，或是國際化的迷思? 以25家壽險公司2004 年至2008年財務資料實證結果發現，國外資產納入投資組合對壽險業投資績效有利。如果將樣本公司依據所有權區分為本資公司與外資公司，資料顯示，本資公司國際資產配置較為積極，惟其報酬績效與外資公司差異並不顯著。研究亦發現，2008年美國次貸風暴顯著負向影響台灣壽險公司國外投資報酬，即提高國外資產配置雖可提高報酬，惟匯率風險、信用風險及系統風險暴露亦相對提高，建議壽險公司於追球較高報酬同時，應同時加強風險管理。另實證亦發現，資產規模愈大公司之投資報酬率相對較遜，建議於追求保費市占率成長時，應重視投資報酬績效的實質提升。 第二部分探討2004年至 2008年台灣壽險業國外投資匯率風險管理策略對投資績效影響。以整體產業觀察，匯率避險對投資報酬率有正面效果；本資公司避險策略相較外資公司積極，報酬率亦相對較優；股票上市公司有財報揭露股價波動之壓力，經理人有較強誘因採取避險策略，投資報酬率相較優於股票未上市公司，惟差異並不顯著。實證結果支持Glen and Jorion (1993) and Campbell et al. (2010)避險可以降低匯率風險提升投資報酬績效之研究結論，2006年實施之34號會計公報，顯著影響本資公司與上市公司之避險行為。 / In this study, we study two essays on international asset allocation and the currency hedging problem for Taiwan life insurer industry. In the first essay, we investigate the high percentage of foreign investments placed by Taiwan life insurers and how this phenomenon is at odds with the bias for investing at home common among American investors. The holdings of 25 Taiwan life insurance companies, between the years 2004 and 2008, are scrutinized with a view towards evaluating home bias and its financial impact. We find that foreign investment has proven profitable for the life insurance industry. However, if the life insurance industry is divided into two categories according to its ownership structure, i.e., domestic-owned and foreign-owned companies, and that while the performance of investments made by domestic-owned life insurers differs from that of foreign-owned life insurers, the difference is insignificant. We also found that global financial turmoil in 2008 had a massively negative impact on the foreign investments of Taiwan life insurance companies and firm size and return on investment is negative correlated, suggesting that life insurers should focus on enhancing investment performance and risk management. In the second essay, we examine the currency hedging strategy and its impact on the performance of Taiwan life insurance industry investments from 2004 to 2008. We find that currency hedging strategies have yielded positive results, overall, for the industry. However, if the life insurance industry is divided into two categories according to its ownership structure, i.e., domestic-owned and foreign-owned companies, the results show that the currency hedging strategies employed by the domestic-owned companies enjoy advantages over those of foreign-owned firms. If the sample is further divided into those publicly listed on the TAIEX and others, our results show that a hedging strategy has positive effects on listed company. Our findings support the work in Glen and Jorion (1993) and Campbell et al. (2010), which reveal that hedging strategies improve foreign investment returns and can reduce currency risks in comparison to non-hedging strategies. Our empirical results indicate that SFAS No. 34 has a significant effect on currency hedging behavior among domestically owned and listed companies.