November 2021
26Nov

Consultation outcome. Government response: The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021

By Department for Work and Pensions A key ambition of this government is to drive better outcomes for pension savers and help ensure they achieve the best possible retirement. This can only be achieved by putting the members’ interests at the heart of policy. I previously set out my commitment to protect savers from pension scams. An important part of that is to make it as hard as possible for criminals to carry out their malevolent intentions. We know that individuals...

November 26, 2021
Books, Regulation, Supervision, ,
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26Nov

Preventing Reforming Unequally

By Axel H. Boersch-Supan, Klaus Härtl, Duarte Nuno Leite & Alexander Ludwig Population aging has forced policy makers in most developed countries to reform pension systems with the aim to maintain or re-establish financial sustainability. This usually involves cost-cutting measures like later pension eligibility ages and lower replacement rates. Such reforms face harsh trade-offs with the objective of providing adequate pensions. Social welfare and inequality have emerged as crucial concerns about recent pension reforms, stressing that the lack of 'social...

November 26, 2021
Aging, Articles, Regulation, , ,
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October 2021
22Oct

Benchmarking Retirement Income Systems Around the World: Which Countries Rank Highest and Why?

By David Knox The variety of retirement income systems around the world is great, with varying dependencies on public-sector pensions, funded private pensions, and savings outside these formal systems. But which are producing the best outcomes? And which are sustainable into the future, as many countries face the effects of a significantly aging population? The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index considers more than 40 indicators in calculating an index value for the systems in 16 countries covering more than half...

October 22, 2021
Adequacy, Articles, Regulation, Savings, ,
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19Oct

2021 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index

By Mercer & CFA Institute The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the well-being of millions of individuals around the world. Its effects, however, are not confined to the health systems or those who contract the virus. There are broader economic effects with higher government debt and restricted economic activity in many countries. While it would be easy for governments to concentrate on these short term challenges, it would be a mistake to do so. With ageing populations,...

October 19, 2021
Adequacy, Books, Pension Management, Regulation, Reports, Sustainability, , ,
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08Oct

Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Reforms and Retirement Incentives

By Axel Börsch-Supan & Courtney Coile This ninth phase of the International Social Security project, which studies the experiences of twelve developed countries, examines the effects of public pension reform on employment at older ages. In the last two decades, men’s labor force participation at older ages has increased, reversing a long-term pattern of decline; participation rates for older women have increased dramatically as well. While better health, more education, and changes in labor-supply behavior of married couples may have...

October 8, 2021
Books, Pension design, Regulation, , ,
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September 2021
24Sep

The Affordable Care Act After a Decade: Its Impact On The Labor Market And The Macro Economy

By Hanming Fang, Dirk Krueger The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is one of the most important reforms of the US health insurance system since the introduction of Medicare. Since employment is a main source of health insurance for the working age population in the United States, this sweeping health insurance reform also has important implications for the labor market and the macro economy. In this paper, we survey the prototype models that are used in the macro and labor literature,...

September 24, 2021
Articles, Regulation, , ,
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17Sep

Driving Value for Money in defined contribution pensions

By The Pensions Regulator & Financial Conduct Authority This discussion paper was published jointly by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator. A focus on Value for Money (VFM) is a key part of ensuring defined contribution (DC) pensions maximise the income savers have at retirement. In this discussion paper, we invite views on developing a holistic framework and related metrics to assess VFM in all FCA and TPR regulated DC pension schemes (workplace and non-workplace). At this stage, we...

September 17, 2021
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August 2021
26Aug

The New Income Projection Rules for Defined Contribution Plans

By Richard L. Kaplan & Barry Federici The SECURE Act enacted at the end of 2019 requires that defined contribution retirement plans provide plan participants will projections of how much monthly income their accumulated balances will generate upon their retirement. This article analyzes the new Labor Department regulations that go into effect on September 18, 2021 and suggests various revisions, including an explanation of likely tax consequences. Source: SSRN 302 views

August 26, 2021
Articles, Pension design, Regulation, , ,
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19Aug

Pensions, Income Taxes and Homeownership: A Cross-Country Analysis

By Hans Fehr, Maurice Hofmann & George Kudrna This paper studies the role of pensions and income taxes in determining homeownership and household wealth. It provides a cross-country analysis, using tax and pension policy designs in Germany, the US and Australia. These developed nations have similar incomes per capita but very different homeownership rates, with the US and Australia having much higher homeownership compared to Germany. The question is to what extent the observed differences in homeownership are induced by...

August 19, 2021
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06Aug

Thatcher: the Myth of Deregulation

By Philip Booth It is commonly believed that, during the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher presided over a substantial reduction in government regulation of financial services. Indeed, some have blamed this deregulation for the financial crash that took place nearly 30 years after 1979. ‘Big Bang’ in 1986 did remove the restrictive practices and largely private regulation that existed in securities markets. However, this involved the state unwinding systems of private regulation and was not, as such, a simple act of deregulation. Furthermore, not...

August 6, 2021
Articles, Regulation, , ,
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