October 2020

2020 Global Retirement Index An in-depth assessment of welfare in retirement around the world

By NATIXIS With the world facing immediate issues resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and the economic consequences from the response of governments around the world, wildfires and other natural catastrophes triggered by changing weather and climate patterns, and heightened concerns about social justice and income inequality, the long-term goal of retirement security may not appear to be a top global concern in 2020. In reality, though, the crises we are experiencing today will have long-range implications for global retirement...

Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Micro-Estimation

By Jonathan Gruber, David A. Wise Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World represents the second stage of an ongoing research project studying the relationship between social security and labor. In the first volume, Jonathan Gruber and David A. Wise revealed enormous disincentives to continued work at older ages in developed countries. Provisions of many social security programs typically encourage retirement by reducing pay for work, inducing older employees to leave the labor force early and magnifying the...

United Kingdom (UK) Pre-Retirement Pensions Market 2020

By Research and Markets The total UK pensions market grew 16.1% to £16.4bn annual premium equivalent (APE) in 2019. Workplace pensions drove growth as minimum pension contributions increased to 8%. Direct benefit to direct contribution transfers continue as companies de-risk and individuals take advantage of pension freedoms. COVID-19 will bring uncertainty to saving for retirement. The UK economy has officially entered into recession and disposable incomes are set to fall as unemployment rises. This will force many individuals to...

The Essential 2020 Guide to Unlocking the Potential of Reverse Mortgages: Modern Retirement Planning

By Michael Malyszko A must-read book by reverse mortgage expert, Michael Malyszko, The Essential Guide to Un-locking the Potential of Reverse Mortgages breaks down the fundamentals of reverse mortgages, giving homeowners the knowledge they need to leverage the full potential of this incredible financial planning tool. In recent years, reverse mortgages have become even more common as an increasing number of homeowners have discovered that reverse mortgages are a valid retire-ment strategy, offering flexibility that few other loans and...

September 2020

Mobilizing Private Finance for Nature

By Benoit Blarel, Giovanni Ruta, Olga Gavryliuk, Pauline Poisson, Fiona Stewart, Samantha Power, Benjamin Guillon, Irina Likhachova & Lisa Choux (The world Bank Group) Biodiversity and ecosystem services, or nature for short, underpin many aspects of economic activity and are deteriorating at an unprecedented level, with potentially far-reaching implications for economies worldwide. Sustained ecosystem damage can trigger regime shifts and generate systemic impacts on human well-being and economies. For example, the degradation of natural ecosystems has been associated with an increase in the probability...

Financial education: Current practices and future challenges

By Kristof De Witte, Oliver Holz, Kenneth De Beckker In a world where individuals become increasingly responsible for their financial well-being, and where the complexity of financial markets and products is growing, financial education becomes crucial. Although it is well accepted to introduce financial education in compulsory education, there is no consensus on the optimal way to implement financial education. This book explores the current state and the future challenges of financial education in five European countries: Belgium,...

Digital financial services for smallholder households

By IFAD Recent advances in technology and telecommunications have the potential to make financial services more accessible and affordable for smallholder households in rural areas. With digital platforms such as mobile phones, smallholders can now use financial services without having to visit a bank branch. The number of digital financial services (DFS) is increasing, including smallholder- specific ones, as well as the number of countries in which services are available. However, there are still many barriers to uptake and...

Digital financial services

By World Bank Access to affordable financial services is critical for poverty reduction and economic growth. Countries with deeper, more developed financial systems enjoy higher economic growth and larger reductions in poverty and income inequality. Access to financial services also increases opportunities and resilience for the poor, particularly women. Despite this, 65 percent of adults in the world’s poorest economies lack access to even the most basic transaction account that would allow them to send and receive...

The use of technology and innovative approaches in disaster and risk management: a characterization of Caribbean countries’ experiences

The application of technologies, research, development, promotion of innovative approaches and local knowledge to confront complex issues posed by hazards are important components of managing disaster risks and guiding informed decision-making. Hence commitments to support and enhance access to technologies and to foster innovative approaches to risk reduction, preparedness and resilient recovery are essential requirements for the management of current and future disasters in the Caribbean subregion. Considering the importance of Disaster and Risk Management (DRM), the aim...

The Battle for Social Investment

By Emilio Basavilbaso Today we find different visions regarding investments in Social Welfare Policy. So far we are fine, the problem begins when we cannot listen to those who think differently. Some phenomena that are occurring in the world make this more and more complicated. We tend to associate with people who think like us and agreeing is increasingly difficult. A ¨crack¨ opens between one another, which is increasingly difficult to close. And by not knowing, we tend to...