January 2025

Collective Bargaining, Unions, and the Wage Structure: An International Perspective

By Simon Jäger, Suresh Naidu & Benjamin Schoefer In this paper, we assess the recent economics literature on collective bargaining. Despite a declining trend in the OECD in coverage and especially union membership, a large share of formal workers around the world are still covered by collective bargaining agreements. We describe the substantial institutional variation across a variety of countries, highlighting research done with modern research designs and recently available administrative datasets. We then estimate a canonical empirical model of individual-level coverage effects...

December 2024

‘Heartless’ multinationals exploiting pensions loophole for UK workers

Some of the world’s richest companies are accused of exploiting a loophole in pension law to freeze increases in payouts for many former UK employees, despite the cost of living crisis. The companies, which include Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), American Express and Pfizer, are being urged to “do the right thing” and increase these frozen pension payouts in line with inflation. MPs have condemned the failure of companies to increase the payments in the face of high inflation in recent years as...

Spain To Boost Pensions Significantly By 2025

Major reforms announced to address inflation and support vulnerable pensioners. Starting January 1, 2025, Spain will implement significant pension reforms ushering both structural changes and substantial increases aimed at enhancing the financial well-being of pensioners. These reforms are framed within the government's broader strategy to address economic inequalities and inflationary pressures affecting vulnerable populations.The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, led by Elma Saiz, confirmed the increments will affect both contributory and non-contributory pensions, marking one of the most...

Morningstar Drops Recommended Safe Withdrawal Rate to 3.7%

Morningstar Inc. has lowered what the investment research firm considers a safe retirement savings withdrawal rate for new retirees based on a 30-year outlook, according to the firm’s annual “State of Retirement Income” report released Wednesday. To decide on the recommended withdrawal rate, Morningstar researchers considered forward-looking asset class returns and inflation assumptions for new retirees, excluding what they may be getting from Social Security or other nonportfolio income sources such as a company pension. In that forward-looking analysis, the authors...

Rising Pension Poverty in Germany: A Growing Number Below Minimum Living Standards

The issue of pension poverty is increasingly prevalent in Germany, with a significant portion of the elderly population receiving pensions that fall below the established minimum living standard. Recent statistics reveal that the situation is worsening, as more seniors struggle to meet their basic needs. As of the end of 2023, the minimum living standard for pensioners, as defined by the basic security benefits in old age, was set at 942 euros per month. Approximately 7.9 million individuals in Germany...

How widening inequalities signal a warning for the UK pension system

The government has made a commitment to “tackle all the inequalities that pervade our society” in “a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer”. But what does inequality mean for pensions and, ultimately, for living standards in later life? That’s the question that underpins a report we published last month. For many people, income inequality is the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about inequality in the UK, and for good reason. The UK has had higher income inequality...

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...

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 --...

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...

November 2024

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...