December 2019

UK. The Gap Between Male and Female Retirement Savings Is Astounding

Saving for retirement is crucial. Without independent savings, you risk struggling financially during your golden years. And when you think about the expenses you'll face when you're older, it's easy to see why. Read also UK. Digital Bank Revolut Partners With Smart Pension to Offer Business Pensions Functionalities Even if you manage to pay off your mortgage in time for retirement, you'll still need to cover other homeownership costs like property taxes, insurance, and upkeep. And while you won't have...

French cabinet in Sunday crisis meeting ahead of 5 December strike

The French cabinet has met in a Sunday crisis session convened by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to discuss tactics in the face of Thursday's nationwide strikes against proposals to reform retirement and pension legislation. With a series of strikes planned in key sectors like transport and teaching, the government has already held a number of meetings to thrash out a common strategy to defend reforms – described as "essential" by President Emmanuel Macron. On Friday, several ministers met to...

UK. Life expectancy advice risks turning savers into spenders

Online calculators that tell people their life expectancy may be having the perverse effect of discouraging them from choosing a guaranteed income in retirement, according to academic research. The study of 2,000 people found that they were less likely to buy an annuity — a guaranteed income for life — after using official life expectancy calculators such as that on the government’s Pension Wise service. People appeared to be making decisions that conventional economics could not explain when confronted...

US. Washington state pension fund’s lawsuit against corrupt Brazilian conglomerate allowed to proceed

The Washington State Investment Board, which oversees $141.8 billion for 17 state retirement plans, can move forward with a lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars from a soured investment in a Brazilian conglomerate that was discovered to be engaged in an international bribery scandal of unprecedented scale. The company, Odebrecht, was the target of a fraud probe by the Department of Justice that resulted in a $4.5 billion plea deal in 2016. The feds found Odebrecht created...

November 2019

The Future of Pension Plans in the EU Internal Market: Coping with Trade-Offs Between Social Rights and Capital Markets

By Nazaré da Costa Cabral, Nuno Cunha Rodrigues This edited volume takes a closer look at various European pension-plan models and the recent challenges, trends and predictions related to the design of such schemes. The contributors analyse new ideas, both from national governments and European institutions, and consider current debates on topics such as the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and the so-called ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’ – calling for a new approach to social policy at the European level...

The Effect of Aging on the Age-wage Profile

By Toshikatsu Inoue Despite its importance, many macroeconomic models do not capture the changes in the age-wage profile over time. The flattening of the age-wage profile in Japan and the relative increase in the aging workforce suggests the existence of demand law in relative labor inputs and wages of each age, which is abstracted from the standard macroeconomic model. In this study, we build a model using the aggregate production function that creates a downward slope labor demand curve....

How Much Should the Poor Save for Retirement? Data and Simulations on Retirement Income Adequacy Among Low-Earning Households

By Andrew G. Biggs Both policymakers and members of the public are concerned regarding the adequacy of U.S. households’ retirement savings. In response, proposals have been made to expand Social Security benefits and to establish state government-run retirement plans for private sector employees. In both cases, the largest effects would be on low-earning households, who currently have low rates of retirement plan coverage and participation and who rely heavily upon Social Security benefits in retirement. However, there has been...

Digitization and Automation: Firm Investment and Labor Outcomes

By Michał Zator AI, automation and other digital technologies are thought to be transforming the economy, but the empirical evidence on their diffusion and impact is scarce. This paper uses new firm-level administrative data from Germany to analyze causes and consequences of firms' investment in the new technology - digitization and automation. Main results characterize relationship of technology and labor: (1) investment in technology is typically increased by labor scarcity; (2) new technologies typically reduce employment. Both results hide...

La OCDE recomendó a México incluir a freelancers en nueva reforma de pensiones

La Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (OCDE) le pidió al gobierno de México considerar a los trabajadores independientes o freelancers en una futura reforma de pensiones, a fin de que se les garantice una jubilación. El organismo señaló la urgencia de reformar el sistema de pensiones de todos los gobiernos a fin de que se garantice que “la creciente proporción de trabajadores en empleos temporales o de medio tiempo puedan contribuir lo suficiente durante sus vidas...

Chile. Las AFP: ¿Cómo funciona el cuestionado sistema de pensiones chileno?

Las Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP) de Chile fueron creadas en 1981, bajo la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet. En ese entonces, José Piñera -hermano del actual presidente, Sebastián Piñera-, quien en ese entonces era ministro del Trabajo y Previsión Social, propuso un nuevo sistema privado de pensiones. Si bien ha sido reformado en otros gobiernos, este sigue siendo cuestionado debido al resultado de pensiones bajas. En el 2000, el periódico El Mercurio, publicó un artículo donde diferentes...