January 2019

19Jan

The Effect of Self-Employment on Income Inequality

By Stefan Schneck (Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn) It is well known that the self-employed are over-represented at the bottom as well as the top of the income distribution. This paper shifts the focus from the income situation of the self-employed to the distributive effects of a change in self-employment rates. With representative German data and unconditional quantile regression analysis we show that an increase in the proportion of self-employed individuals in the labor force increases income polarization by tearing...

January 19, 2019
Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, ,
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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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11Jan

First report costs and past performance

By EIOPA (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) Executive Summary The report sets out aggregate data on the costs of insurance-based investment product (IBIPs) across the EU, and, to a limited extent, certain personal pension products (PPPs). The data also sets out net performance for the period between 2013-2017. It follows the European Commission request to the European Supervisory Authorities to periodically reporto on costs and past performance of retail investment products. It has been undertaken as a “pilot” exercise, reflecting an anticipated need for...

January 11, 2019
Books, Corporate Governance, Pension design, Regulation, , ,
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07Jan

The Populist Backlash Against Europe: Why Only Alternative Economic and Social Policies Can Stop the Rise of Populism in Europe

By Bojan Bugaric (University of Sheffield, Department of Law) The European Union is facing an unprecedented political crisis. This club of liberal and democratic countries has been confronted by a nationalist and populist backlash that threatens the core principles at the very heart of the EU. Capitalizing on the European sovereign debt crisis, the backlash against refugees streaming in from the Middle East, public angst over the growing terror threat, and Brexit, previously fringe populist political parties are growing with...

January 7, 2019
Articles, Pension design, System Sustainability, , , ,
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December 2018

16Dec

Informing Retirement Savings Decisions: A Field Experiment on Supplemental Plans

By Robert L. Clark (North Carolina State University - Poole College of Management), Robert G. Hammond (North Carolina State University), Melinda Sandler Morrill (North Carolina State University - Department of Economics), Christelle Khalaf (North Carolina State University) Although supplemental saving plans can be an important part of an individual's financial security in retirement, contribution rates remain low, particularly among those with lower salaries and less education. We report findings from an intervention that provided information on key aspects of the...

December 16, 2018
Articles, News, Pension design, Savings, Slider, Slider-Left, , , ,
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16Dec

Annuity Pricing In Public Pension Plans: Importance Of Interest Rates

By Nino Abashidze, Robert L. Clark, Beth Ritter, David Vanderweide There is little systematic information on the distribution options in public sector retirement plans and how annuity options are priced relative to the standard single life annuity. This study examines the distribution options of 85 large public retirement plans covering general state employees, teachers, and local government employees. An important component of the analysis is the construction of a data set presenting the annuity options offered by each of these plans and how the...

December 16, 2018
Articles, Investing, Pension design, Savings, ,
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10Dec

The Vulnerability of Older Australians in Bankruptcy: Insights from an Empirical Study

By Lev Bromberg (The University of Melbourne), Ian Ramsay (Melbourne Law School - University of Melbourne), Paul Ali (University of Melbourne - Law School; Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)) This article presents the results of the first empirical study focused on older Australians in bankruptcy. Our study — based on the examination of a large and unique dataset obtained by the authors from the bankruptcy regulator — provides a valuable insight into the severe financial challenges faced by...

December 10, 2018
Aging, Articles, Pension design, , ,
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04Dec

Pension Reform and Return to Work Policies

By Maria Donovan Fitzpatrick For many people, working after beginning retirement benefit collection is a way to enhance financial security by increasing income. Existing research has shown that retirees are sensitive to the Social Security earnings test, which restricts the amount of earnings some beneficiaries can receive. However, little is known about the effects of other types of policies on post-retirement employment. Instead of restricting earnings, many public pension plans restrict the number of hours beneficiaries can work. I use...

December 4, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, , ,
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03Dec

Downhill from Here: Retirement Insecurity in the Age of Inequality

By Katherine S Newman As millions of Baby Boomers reach their golden years, the state of retirement in America is little short of a disaster. Nearly half the households with people aged 55 and older have no retirement savings at all. The real estate crash wiped out much of the home equity that millions were counting on to support their retirement. And the typical Social Security check covers less than 40% of pre-retirement wages--a number projected to drop to under...

December 3, 2018
Books, Pension design, Savings, ,
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