May 2019

04May

Averting the Multiemployer Pension Solvency Crisis

By Charles Blahous (Mercatus Center at George Mason University)By Mercatus Research Paper The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) multiemployer pension insurance program faces projected insolvency, driven by systemic underfunding of multiemployer pension plans. To address this brewing crisis, Congress has established a joint select committee to develop multiemployer pension reforms. Primary causes of the crisis include lax funding rules and inaccurate valuations of pension assets and liabilities. Explanations frequently offered for underfunding, such as financial market downturns...

May 4, 2019
Adequacy, Articles, System Sustainability, ,
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April 2019

29Apr

Social Security Coverage Around the World: The Case of China and Mexico

By Francisco Perez‐Arce (Åbo Akademi University - Economics & Statistics), María Prados (University of Southern California), Erik Meijer (University of Southern California; RAND Corporation), Jinkook Lee (University of Southern California - Center for Economic & Social Research; Program on Global Aging, Health & Policy, Center for Economic & Social Research; RAND Corporation) We describe the current state and recent trends in the landscape of social security programs in China, Mexico, and India. A common thread across these countries is the...

April 29, 2019
Adequacy, Articles, Slider-Left, Sustainability, , , ,
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February 2019

17Feb

Intergenerational Fairness: Will Our Kids Live Better than We Do

By Parisa Mahboubi (C.D. Howe Institute) While large government deficits and debt raise concerns regarding intergenerational fairness, their longterm intergenerational impacts can significantly differ, depending on demographic shifts and future economic policy. In particular, population aging in Canada has accelerated during the past decade due to declining fertility and improving life expectancy. This demographic transition poses new fiscal challenges since it dampens growth in government revenue while putting pressure on government spending, particularly in healthcare and public pensions. Generational accounting...

February 17, 2019
Adequacy, Articles, Savings, , ,
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10Feb

Assessing Economic Resources in Retirement: The Role of Irregular Withdrawals from Tax-Advantaged Retirement Accounts

By Michael D. Hurd (RAND Corporation; State University of New York at Stony Brook - College of Arts and Science - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)) & Susann Rohwedder (RAND Corporation) Irregular withdrawals from IRAs and DC pensions are not included in standard measures of household income in the CPS or Health and Retirement Study. Yet, among retirees such withdrawals can supplement regular retirement income to finance consumption. It has been difficult to assess their importance,...

February 10, 2019
Adequacy, Aging, Articles, Savings, ,
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January 2019

19Jan

Retirement Savings Adequacy in U.S. Defined Contribution Plans

By Francisco Gomes (London Business School), Kenton Hoyem (Financial Engines, Inc.), Wei-Yin Hu (Financial Engines, Inc.), Enrichetta Ravina (Kellogg School of Management) We evaluate retirement savings adequacy in the U.S. using a large panel dataset comprising the contribution rates, salary, tenure, account value, plan features and asset allocations of more than 300 thousand US workers with a 401(k) account. Our simulations account for medical expenditure, longevity, and investment risks, and realistically model the likelihood of withdrawals due to hardship, job...

January 19, 2019
Adequacy, Articles, Pension design, Savings, Slider-Left, ,
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December 2018
04Dec

OECD Pensions Outlook 2018

The 2018 edition of the OECD Pensions Outlook examines how pension systems are adapting to improve retirement outcomes. It focuses on designing funded pensions and assesses how different pension arrangements can be combined taking into account various policy objectives and risks involved in saving for retirement. It looks at how countries can improve the design of financial incentives, and presents policy guidelines on aligning charges and costs of providing funded pensions. This edition also draws lessons from nationally significant investment...

December 4, 2018
Adequacy, Books, Corporate Governance, Labor Market, System Sustainability
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September 2018

17Sep

2018 Global Retirement Index: An in-depth assessment of welfare in retirement around the world

From Natixis Retirement security is arguably at the crossroads of history. On one side is the three-pillar funding model that’s been the basis of retirement systems across the globe for the better part of a century. On the other is the reality of 21st century demographics, fiscal imbalances, and monetary policies that are straining the resources of governments, employers and individuals worldwide. In the balance is our ability as a society to provide individuals with the opportunities and resources that...

September 17, 2018
Adequacy, Books, Labor Market, System Sustainability, , ,
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July 2018

09Jul

Policy-Making at the European Periphery: The Case of Croatia

By Zdravko Petak,‎ Kristijan Kotarski This book examines Croatia's economic and political transformation over the last 30 years. It brings together the best political scientists, macroeconomists and public finance experts from Croatia to provide an in-depth analysis of the Croatian policy-making context and the impact of Europeanization upon its domestic institutional framework. The second part of the book scrutinizes the political economy context and Croatia's long-term macroeconomic under-performance, especially in comparison to other transition economies. The final part explores sectoral...

July 9, 2018
Adequacy, Books, Regulation, ,
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06Jul

Demography and Provisions for Retirement: The Pension Composition, an Equilibrium Approach

By B.M.S. van Praag (University of Amsterdam) & J. Peter Hop (University of Amsterdam) Pensions may be provided for in a modern society by several methods, viz., voluntary individual savings, mandatory fully funded occupational pension systems, and mandatory social security financed by pay-as-you-go. The specific mixture of the three systems we will call the pension composition. We assume that individual workers decide about their own individual savings, that the fully funded occupational system is decided upon by the age cohort of...

July 6, 2018
Adequacy, Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, , , , ,
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December 2017

11Dec

The Power of Percentage: Quantitative Framing of Pension Income

By Henriette M. Prast (Tiburg University) & Federica Teppa (De Nederlandsche Bank) We investigate whether the quantitative frame used to communicate future pension income to plan members matters for perceived pension income adequacy. We allocate plan members randomly to one of four pension income framing conditions: annual pension income, monthly pension income, pension income as percentage of current income, pension income as decimal of current income. We find that expressing projected pension income as a percentage (decimal) of current income...

December 11, 2017
Adequacy, Articles, ,
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