 In the European Union, World Pensions Council (WPC) financial economists have also argued that artificially low government bond interest rates induced by QE will have an adverse impact on the underfunding condition of pension funds, since "without returns that outstrip inflation, pension investors face the real value of their savings declining rather than ratcheting up over the next few years".In addition to this, low or negative interest rates create disincentives for saving.In a way this is an intended effect, since QE is intended to spur consumer spending.