September 2024

Argentine Congress Debates Milei Veto Of Pensions Increase

Argentina's Congress debates on Wednesday whether to overturn President Javier Milei's veto of a bill to increase pensions, amid heavy security due to a planned mass opposition protest. Milei, a budget-slashing libertarian, last week blocked an 8.1-percent pensions increase approved by both houses of Congress, which aimed to help cushion retirees in the South American country hit by annual inflation of 250 percent. The president claimed the measure was "manifestly in violation of the current legal framework as it does not...

UK. State pension set to rise by £460 next year

The new full state pension is expected to rise by £460 a year from April, latest wages data suggests. Under the arrangement called the “triple lock”, the state pension goes up each year by either 2.5%, inflation, or average earnings growth – whichever is the highest figure. Earnings figures for the three months to July are used for the yearly increase, and these showed total pay rose at an annual rate of 4%, much higher than inflation. The news comes as the government...

UK. State pension to rise by over £400 next year

The Treasury expects the new full state pension to be boosted above inflation by more than £400 a year in cash terms. The internal working calculations seen by the BBC reflect the near certainty that the state pension will be increased by average earnings figures released next week. This is due to the triple lock, which means the state pension increases every April by whatever number is highest out of inflation, the average UK wage increase, or 2.5%. The news comes as...

Milei uses first presidential veto to overturn pensions increase

President Javier Milei has vetoed a pension increase approved by Congress in mid-August, his first use of the presidential power since taking office in December. He signed the veto on Friday night and it took effect on Monday after being published in the Official Gazette. The bill passed by Congress established a hike and guarantees to prevent retirees’ income from falling behind the basket of goods. In his decree overturning the increase, the president argued the bill was incompatible with the...

August 2024

A Two-Generation Model with Altruism for Reverse Mortgage Demand

By Yunxiao Wang, Katja Hanewald, Zilin (Scott) Shao, Hazel Bateman Reverse mortgage markets remain relatively small internationally, with one frequently cited reason being bequest motives. We study the role of reverse mortgages in intergenerational financial planning as a tool for families to bring forward bequests. We develop a new two-generation lifecycle model with parental altruism to compare the welfare gains of bequests and early bequests (inter vivos gifts) for homeowning parents and adult children seeking to purchase their first home....

Argentina police pepper spray pension protesters

People took to the streets of Buenos Aires after President Javier Milei announced he would block plans to raise pensions in line with Argentina's triple-digit inflation rates. Police used pepper spray on demonstrators and hit them with batons during violent clashes. The president announced his plans to veto the reforms tabled by the opposition-controlled Congress in a statement posted by his office on X, formerly Twitter. The statement claimed the bill's "only objective was to destroy the government's economic program".     Read more @bbc

A Two-Generation Model with Altruism for Reverse Mortgage Demand

By Yunxiao Wang, Katja Hanewald, Zilin (Scott) Shao & Hazel Bateman Reverse mortgage markets remain relatively small internationally, with one frequently cited reason being bequest motives. We study the role of reverse mortgages in intergenerational financial planning as a tool for families to bring forward bequests. We develop a new two-generation lifecycle model with parental altruism to compare the welfare gains of bequests and early bequests (inter vivos gifts) for homeowning parents and adult children seeking to purchase their first...

UK. Reeves could raise £10bn a year by reducing pension tax relief, report says

Rachel Reeves could raise at least £10bn a year through a radical shake-up of pensions that would make tax relief less generous to better-off earners, a leading left-of-centre thinktank has said. The report by the Fabian Society says tax breaks for pensions have become markedly more expensive for the government and its proposed changes would fill half the £22bn shortfall the chancellor has identified in the public finances. Reeves has dropped strong hints that she is planning a tough, tax-raising budget on...

South Korea. Measures to strengthen retirement security are urgently needed

Even if the national and basic pensions and personal pensions received by the elderly aged 65 or older are added together, the monthly income is only 650,000 won. Six out of 10 recipients received less than 500,000 won. Critics point out that it is nothing more than a "money pension" that is far from a practical retirement guarantee, and some point out that measures to strengthen retirement security are urgently needed. On the 22nd, the National Statistical Office released "2022...

DWP announces £780 payment increase for UK households to help with cost of living

UK households are set to receive a financial boost this year to help with the cost of living. With inflation slightly rising back to 2.2 per cent, additional financial support will be beneficial in managing the ongoing income squeeze, especially following the recent cut in interest rates to 5 per cent at the start of August. This extra support for households is due to changes implemented by the Department for Work and Pensions. It has applied a 6.7 per cent...