June 2020

Japan Mulls Resubmitting Legislation to Raise Retirement Age of Civil Servants

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government will consider resubmitting legislation to raise the retirement age for civil servants, its top spokesman said on Wednesday, after public backlash prompted the withdrawal of draft legislation. During the parliamentary session that ended on Wednesday, the government abandoned its push to enact legislation that would raise prosecutors' retirement age to 65 from 63, and let the cabinet defer retirement of senior prosecutors for a further three years. Critics and others argued it would...

The future of aging in the US

What does the future of aging in America look like? For answers, every year we ask some of our newest Influencers in Aging to offer their views at the American Society on Aging’s Aging in America conference. The pandemic turned this year’s in-person panel into a June 11 webinar, and the Influencers’ forecasts — as well as their laments — couldn’t have been timelier. “I want to acknowledge that we as a country have had a few rough months...

Coronavirus impact improves sustainability of Spanish pension system

Spain saw a rare improvement in the long-term sustainability of its pension system in May, but the data gave no cause for celebration because it was mainly the result of the coronavirus crisis and increased deaths among the elderly. Read also Chile’s pension system is changing for the worse Spain has been among European countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with the death toll now at 27,127. More than 80% of fatalities have been people aged 70 and older....

COVID-19 shows super is failing older Australians

An inter-generational war began last week when retiree groups floated the idea of a universal pension. By scrapping the means test, anyone aged over 66 could then receive $472 per week, regardless of their assets. Millennials were appalled that boomers could want more. Sell your property or cash in your stocks, they said in droves. The economic fallout from COVID-19 has hit everyone, retirees included. Dividend cuts, equity losses, fruitless term deposits and slowing rental yields have meant income...

May 2020

Retirement Reforms: Occupational Strain and Health

By Kantha Dayaram, Alistair McGuire A concurrent increase in the demand for state age pensions and health care has led to reforms in delaying retirement. We employ thirteen waves of longitudinal data to examine the mental and physical health effects of Australian men and women at “early” and “traditional” retirement. We use before and after propensity score matching (PSM) estimates between treatment and control groups of retired and not retired individuals aged 60 and 65 years. The results indicate...

Spain: Pension Payouts And Registrations Fall After Coronavirus Crisis Hits Elderly

The coronavirus crisis has triggered an historical drop in the number of state pensions paid out in Spain in May, in part because of two months of high mortality caused by coronavirus. Read also The Game of Pension Risk Transfers Continues Some 9,754,137 contributory pensions were paid out in May, 38,508 fewer benefits than were paid out in April.The fall has triggered an unprecedented drop in Spain’s monthly pension bill. In May, it fell by 0.3% to 9.8 billion...

Working In Retirement: What You Need To Know Now

It’s common to assume that once you’re retired, your working days are over. But that’s not always the case. Whether it’s financially necessary or just a way to stay busy, a lot of people end up with a post-retirement career. If you think you’ll need or want to continue working to some degree after you retire, it’s important to start planning years ahead. Here are three different paths you can take for a post-retirement career—and important aspects of each...

Did Coronavirus Destroy The FIRE (Early Retirement) Movement?

If you’re a member of the FIRE movement, you may be justifiably concerned about the economic and financial turmoil of the past few months. Most members of the movement have no experience with a serious downturn, at least not since retiring early. Read also How to Motivate Young Workers to Save For Retirement If you’re not familiar with the FIRE movement, it’s a moniker for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Participants in the movement use a combination of high income, radically...

How to Motivate Young Workers to Save For Retirement

For most young workers, planning for retirement typically isn’t a priority. But as the nation’s fiscal outlook darkens, the likelihood that Congress will scale back Social Security benefits in the coming years only grows. Without early planning, most simply won’t be able to maintain the standard of living they expect in retirement.  Whether you want to educate your young employees about planning for retirement or ensure a secure future for your child, here are four tips to help you...

Africa’s population is aging and it needs social protection

As the world continues to grapple with the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, many in Africa are worried not only about its spread but about the pandemic's long-term economic consequences as well. But long before our attention was captured by this virus, African governments were already ignoring an increasingly important factor in securing healthy populations and prosperous economies: Africa's older population is growing fast. Read also How COVID-19 impacts asset allocation strategy of pension funds According to a 2017 UN report on...