December 2024
06Dec

Retirement Incentives and Decisions across the Income Distribution: Evidence in Canada

By Kevin S. Milligan & Tammy Schirle We evaluate the retirement incentives embedded in Canada’s retirement income system with attention to where individuals are located in the income distribution. We find that larger social security benefits are available to individuals with lower earnings in their work history because of the benefit income tests, but those from the top of the income distribution tend to enjoy longer lives over which they may receive benefits. Overall, we see greater Social Security Wealth...

December 6, 2024
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06Dec

Argentina. Pensioners the big losers in Milei’s world

 Alicia Ceresoli yearns for the smell of new leather shoes and her mouth waters when she imagines sinking her teeth into a succulent steak, two indulgences the 80-year-old Argentine can no longer afford. Pensioners have taken the most pain in a year of budget-slashing by maverick "anarcho-capitalist" President Javier Milei, whose austerity measures have tipped an additional five million people into poverty since he took power last year. In September he vetoed a law that increased pensions by eight percent --...

December 6, 2024
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03Dec

Low-Income Nigerians Can Access Entire Pension Pot – PENCOM

Low-income pensioners can now withdraw their entire retirement savings at once or continue receiving their monthly pension while awaiting the Minimum Pension Guarantee approval. In a memo issued by the National Pension Commission, signed by A.M. Salem, the Head of the Surveillance Department said that the change aligns with the new section 4.1 (g) of the revised regulations for managing retirement and terminal benefits, following the recent minimum wage increase to N70,000. Previously, retirees could only withdraw one-third of their total Retirement...

December 3, 2024
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November 2024
29Nov

Pension Liquidity Risk

By Kristy Jansen, Sven Klingler, Angelo Ranaldo & Patty Duijm Pension funds rely on interest rate swaps to hedge the interest rate risk arising from their liabilities. Analyzing unique data on Dutch pension funds, we show that this hedging behavior exposes pension funds to liquidity risk due to margin calls, which can be as large as 15% of their total assets. Our analysis uncovers three key findings: (i) pension funds with tighter regulatory constraints use swaps more aggressively; (ii) in...

November 29, 2024
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15Nov

Pension’s Resource-Time Trade-Off: The Role of Inequalities in the Design of Retirement Schemes

By Renaud Bourlès & Santiago Lopez-Cantor Public pension schemes serve as mechanisms for inter-temporal income smoothing and within-cohort redistribution. This paper examines the influence of income and lifespan inequalities on the structure of a democratically chosen pension scheme. We use a probabilistic voting model where agents vote on the size and the degree of redistribution (i.e. the Beveridgean factor) of pension and can supplement it with voluntary contributions. Our analysis reveals that when all agents can supplement the public scheme...

November 15, 2024
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11Nov

Cooperation sought to tackle aging

13 Asian nations to share experiences via ASEAN Plus Three framework China is seeking to intensify exchanges in policymaking and technologies with 12 other Asian nations to tackle the shared challenges of aging populations. The cooperation is to be primarily conducted within the existing ASEAN Plus Three framework, known as APT, Civil Affairs Minister Lu Zhiyuan told a forum in Beijing. The APT framework was established in the 1990s among China, Japan and South Korea — all currently grappling with low birth...

November 11, 2024
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11Nov

Portugal. Workers Take to Streets Demanding Urgent Salary and Pension Increases!

In Lisbon and Porto, national protests demand salary increases and better public services, with potential future actions depending on budget discussions. On November 9, workers in Lisbon and Porto will take to the streets demanding higher wages. The protests aim to address both public and private sector concerns, highlighting the need for better salaries and pensions. Are you curious about the impact of these demonstrations on Portugal‘s economy? What drives workers to protest for their rights? On November 9, demonstrations are...

November 11, 2024
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08Nov

Journal of Labor Economics

By Peter Kuhn This is volume 42 issue 4 of Journal of Labor Economics. Founded in 1983 as the first journal devoted specifically to labor economics, the Journal of Labor Economics (JOLE) presents international research on issues affecting social and private behavior, and the economy. JOLE’s contributors investigate various aspects of labor economics, including supply and demand of labor services, personnel economics, distribution of income, unions and collective bargaining, applied and policy issues in labor economics, and labor markets and...

November 8, 2024
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07Nov

UK. Household Support Fund extended

The UK Government’s Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced an extension of the Household Support Fund (HSF) until 31 March 2025. The fund will offer critical support and advice for struggling households across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) throughout the winter period, who are finding it difficult to pay for household essentials including food and energy. Local councils are responsible for administering the fund in their area, with BCP Council being allocated £2.65 million of the £421 million national...

November 7, 2024
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05Nov

UK. Pensioners Affected by Winter Fuel Payment Changes Prompt Union’s Legal Challenge

The UK government's plan to scrap universal Winter Fuel Payment for around 12.7 million pensioners has prompted trade union Unite to threaten legal action. In a bid to save money, the Labour government has said that only people over the age of 66 and in receipt of means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit would be eligible, meaning that around 10 million pensioners will no longer receive this one-off annual payment of up to £300. Implications for Pensioners and Government Justifications Ministers claimed...

November 5, 2024
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