May 2019

Pension Scheme Designs: Can It Influence Timing of Retirement? The Case of the Public Service Pension Scheme in Uganda

By Kibs Boaz Muhanguzi Ambiguity in literature about how pensions influence retirement decision can be a challenge to policy formulation unless further inquiry is done. This ambiguity could be attributed to a number of factors including the study scope, different pension designs and differing study methodologies. Using Uganda’s public service pension scheme, this study delves into exploring whether the scheme’s design influences timing of retirement. Using a probit model, analysis of the effect of pension o timing of retirement...

Borrowing to Save? The Impact of Automatic Enrollment on Debt

By John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Bill Skimmyhorn Does automatic enrollment into retirement savings plans increase borrowing outside the plan? We study this question using a natural experiment created when the U.S. Army began automatically enrolling its newly hired civilian employees into the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) at a default contribution rate of 3% of income. We find that four years after hire, automatic enrollment causes no significant change in debt excluding auto loans...

50 States of Gray: An Innovative Solution to the Defined Contribution Retirement Crisis

By Arun Muralidhar Another retirement crisis is looming as one-third of private-sector, typically poor and unsophisticated workers, probably have little to no pension security. The fifty states have decided to enact reforms, but they are unwilling to assume any liability. Effective reform should ensure a target, guaranteed, inflation/standard-of-living-indexed retirement income through death. The book proposes a four-step reform process that articulates roles, responsibilities, and sequencing of steps to effectively address the looming retirement crisis. Current reform models potentially expose...

Financial Inclusion

By World Bank Group Financial inclusion has become a major subject of interest among policymakers, researchers, and other financial sector stakeholders. Many countries, for example, have recently adopted explicit financial inclusion strategies with targets for financial inclusion. The interest reflects an increased recognition that financial inclusion can be a driver of economic growth and poverty alleviation, and that many individuals and firms are excluded unnecessarily from even basic financial services. About half of the world's adult population-- more than...

Perú. AFP: Trabajadores que se afilien desde junio pagarán menos comisión

La Asociación de AFP (AAFP) informó este jueves que a partir de junio, los trabajadores que ingresen por primera vez al Sistema Privado de Pensiones (SPP) pagarán una menor comisión en el sistema de comisión mixta. Cabe resaltar, que siete de cada diez afiliados del SPP pagan la comisión mixta, que incluye dos componentes: la comisión sobre el sueldo, descuento mensual por la administración del fondo, y la comisión sobre el saldo, que descuenta un porcentaje del fondo acumulado....

La economía brasileña entra en terreno negativo por primera vez desde finales de 2016

La economía brasileña retrocedió un 0,2% en el primer trimestre del año respecto a los tres últimos meses de 2018, según datos divulgados este jueves por el Instituto Brasileño de Geografía y Estadística (Ibge). El resultado, el primero negativo desde el tramo final de 2016, sitúa al país más grande y poblado de América Latina al borde de la llamada recesión técnica, un término que en Brasil se conoce por un periodo de dos trimestres consecutivos con el PIB...

Benin. Extending pension coverage to informal sector workers in Africa at the heart of a workshop in Cotonou

The Human Capital Strengthening Insurance Project Coordination Unit (Arch), in collaboration with the World Bank, has been organizing a workshop since Wednesday, May 29, 2019 on "Extending Pension Coverage to Informal Sector Workers in Africa". ". The meeting will be attended by government officials from pension institutions, ministries and supervisory agencies from fifteen countries as well as representatives of regional regulatory organizations in West Africa. It aims to promote an open discussion on extending pension coverage...

UK. ‘Ageing time bomb’ needs new funding model Somerset council says

The Panorama documentary showed how authorities were struggling to fund elderly care amid an ageing population and increasing demand on services. David Fothergill said: "The time bomb is ticking and it's getting louder." The government said it wanted "everyone to have access to the care they need". The Department of Health and Social Care added it had "provided local authorities with access to up to £3.6 billion more dedicated funding for adult social care this year and up to...

EU. Work-life balance initiatives can help to boost women’s employment and close the gender pay gap – EIGE

Work-life balance initiatives can help to boost women’s employment and close the gender pay gap, but only if both women and men have support from their employers. This is what European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) director Virginia Langbakk said on what transpired from the publication of a report by the same institute on Wednesday. The gender pay gap reveals the different realities that women and men face n their professional and personal lives. Currently, women across the EU...

America’s Largest Musicians’ Union Announces Pension Cuts

Trustees of the American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) announced the evening of May 24 that they will apply to the U.S. Treasury for a reduction in member benefits, due to the AFM-EPF's "critical and declining" status – meaning the fund is projected to run out of money in 20 years. The AFM represents 80,000 professionals in the United States and Canada who play in symphony orchestras and opera houses, on Broadway, in film and television,...