December 2017

04Dec

Generational Transfers within the Occupational Pension System in Switzerland

By Severine Arnold (-Gaille) (University of Lausanne - Faculty of Business and Economics) & Anca Jijiie (Faculty of Business and Economics) Solidarity, a key element of any social security system, can be defined as the total intended redistributions that take place between the existent groups within the system, with the purpose of helping each other. However, unintended redistributions also exist, affecting the fairness of the system and leading to animosities between these groups, in particular between active members and pensioners....

December 4, 2017
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, , ,
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November 2017

28Nov

As good as it gets? The adequacy of retirement income for current and future generations of pensioners

By David Finch & Laura Gardiner (Resolution Foundation) Recent strong growth in the incomes of pensioner households and reductions in pensioner poverty are to be welcomed. But set against much weaker incomes for working age households and the challenges younger generations are facing in accumulating wealth, anxiety is building that these outcomes may not be sustained for future generations of retirees. Their prospects are particularly uncertain given both the big shifts in pensions policy currently in train and the fiscal...

November 28, 2017
Aging, Labor Market, Savings, Slider-Left, ,
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27Nov

Life-Cycle Labour Supply and Social Security Wealth: Evidence from the 1995 Italian Pension Reform

By Giulia Bovini (London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Economics) This paper studies life-cycle labour supply responses to lower social security wealth. An over-arching pension reform implemented in Italy in 1995 (the Dini pension reform) provides the setting for the analysis. While ushering the transition from a defined-benefit (DB) to a notional defined-contribution (NDC) scheme, it introduced discontinuities in the social security replacement rate based uniquely on years of qualifying retirement contributions accrued by the...

November 27, 2017
Aging, Labor Market, , ,
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27Nov

The Effect of Non-Contributory Pensions on Labour Supply and Private Income Transfers: Evidence from Singapore

By Yanying Chen (School of Economics, Singapore Management University) & Yi Jin Tan (School of Economics, Singapore Management University) Non-contributory pensions are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. As their effects are likely to be context-dependent, evaluating their effects in a wide range of settings is important for establishing the external validity of the non-contributory pension literature. We use a new monthly panel dataset and a difference-in-differences strategy to study the effect of a new non-contributory pension in Singapore (the Silver Support...

November 27, 2017
Aging, Labor Market, Pension design, ,
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20Nov

The Rising Longevity Gap by Lifetime Earnings – Distributional Implications for the Pension System

By Peter Haan (DIW Berlin), Daniel Kemptner (DIW Berlin), Holger Lüthen (DIW Berlin) This study uses German social security records to provide novel evidence about the heterogeneity in life expectancy by lifetime earnings and, additionally, documents the distributional implications of this earnings-related heterogeneity. We find a strong association between lifetime earnings and life expectancy at age 65 and show that the longevity gap is increasing across cohorts. For West German men born 1926-28, the longevity gap between top and bottom...

November 20, 2017
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Savings, Slider-Left, Uncategorized, ,
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12Nov

Finance-Informed Citizens, Citizen-Informed Finance: An Essay Occasioned by the International Handbook of Financial Literacy

By Lauren E. Willis (Loyola Law School Los Angeles) Throughout the world, the dominant discourse treats “financial literacy” as both necessary and sufficient to improve the well-being of individuals and society. This essay argues that financial literacy is neither, and that promoting financial literacy is a perverse way to address the inadequate retirement funding, overindebtedness, financial crises, and other social ills that have inspired governments and educators to pursue it. In its place, this essay suggests that the aim of...

November 12, 2017
Adequacy, Aging, Labor Market, , ,
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03Nov

The Nation’s Retirement System: A Comprehensive Re-Evaluation Is Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement Security

By Charles A. Jeszeck, Margie K Shields, Justine Augeri, Christina Cantor, Gustavo Fernandez, Jennifer Gregory, Adam Wendel, Seyda Wentworth (Government Accountability Office) The U.S. retirement system, and the workers and retirees it was designed to help, face major challenges. Traditional pensions have become much less common, and individuals are increasingly responsible for planning and managing their own retirement savings accounts, such as 401(k) plans. Yet research shows that many households are ill-equipped for this task and have little or no...

November 3, 2017
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Regulation, , ,
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03Nov

The Nation's Retirement System: A Comprehensive Re-Evaluation Is Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement Security

By Charles A. Jeszeck, Margie K Shields, Justine Augeri, Christina Cantor, Gustavo Fernandez, Jennifer Gregory, Adam Wendel, Seyda Wentworth (Government Accountability Office) The U.S. retirement system, and the workers and retirees it was designed to help, face major challenges. Traditional pensions have become much less common, and individuals are increasingly responsible for planning and managing their own retirement savings accounts, such as 401(k) plans. Yet research shows that many households are ill-equipped for this task and have little or no...

November 3, 2017
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Regulation, , ,
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October 2017

27Oct

A New Labour Ecosystem in the Sharing Economy: A Platform for Growth?

By Marta Santos Silva (University of Bremen) The role of the traditional labour market is being challenged by globalisation and modern technology, particularly the unprecedented and generalised use of smartphones. Online platforms facilitating the on-demand economy are radically changing the prospects for the jobs of the future, which will be less regulated and more inclusive. This paper focuses on online ridesharing platforms, particularly Uber as international market leader, and their potential for combating social inequality and developing the transport industry. Online ridesharing platforms...

October 27, 2017
Adequacy, Aging, Articles, Labor Market, ,
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20Oct

Homeownership, Social Insurance, and Old-Age Security in the United States and Europe

By Stipica Mudrazija & Barbara A. Butrica (The Urban Institute) Relatively few Americans have accumulated substantial savings outside of their employer-sponsored retirement plans, yet most own their homes. The traditional view of the retirement income system as a three-legged stool supported by Social Security, private pensions, and savings may be better viewed as being supported by Social Security, pensions, and homeownership. Country-specific economic, social, and political developments throughout modern history mean that homeownership rates and the relative importance of homeownership for...

October 20, 2017
Aging, Articles, Investing, Savings, Slider-Left, , ,
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