March 2022

People Are Now Living More Years in Good Health
18Mar

People Are Now Living More Years in Good Health

Older adults may not only be living longer, but better as well, according to a new U.K. study. Researchers found that since the 1990s, British adults age 65 and up have been enjoying more years living independently, free of disability. That's despite the fact that many chronic health conditions have become more common. In fact, disability-free years rose not only among healthy seniors, but those living with conditions like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and vision and hearing problems. Experts called the findings...

March 18, 2022
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Partial De-Annuitization of Public Pensions V.S. Retirement Age Differentiation. Which is Best to Account for Longevity Differences?
17Mar

Partial De-Annuitization of Public Pensions V.S. Retirement Age Differentiation. Which is Best to Account for Longevity Differences?

By Vincent Vandenberghe Extensive research by demographers and economists has shown that longevity differs across socioeconomic status (SES), with low-educated or low-income people living, on average, shorter lives than their better-endowed and wealthier peers. Therefore, a pension system with a unique retirement age is a priori problematic. The usual policy recommendation to address this problem is to differentiate the retirement age by SES. This paper explores the relative merits of partial de-annuitization of public pensions as a way of addressing...

March 17, 2022
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February 2022
28Feb

Owning a Dog Could be Key to “Succesful Aging”- Study

Every dog owner knows and sometimes bemoans the daily ritual of taking your pup out for a walk. But as it turns out, those strolls around the block with Fido may be the key to a healthy life, especially as we get older. A study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE examines the relationship between pet ownership, disability, and death among seniors in Japan, providing new insights into the connection between dog ownership and successful aging. The researchers discovered dog...

February 28, 2022
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17Feb

UK. Pension chiefs encourage company stakeholder engagement

A group of pension executives has challenged companies to engage with their stakeholders and intensify their efforts to reach net zero emissions. The statement came in a letter to the Financial Times, signed by leaders from across the defined benefit and defined contribution spaces, Local Government Pension Scheme funds and private plans who are collectively responsible for more than £675bn in assets. Brunel Pension Partnership’s chief responsible investment officer Faith Ward, Nest’s chief executive Helen Dean and BT Pension Scheme Management’s...

February 17, 2022
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09Feb

UK. Climate change a ‘fundamental risk’ to scheme longevity

Climate change is severely impacting on the covenants of a range of employers sponsoring UK defined benefit (DB) schemes, the Employer Covenant Practitioners Association (ECPA) says. In a paper published today (8 February), the ECPA said climate change is "progressively impacting" the covenant of many sponsors, from impacting upon cashflows to representing a "fundamental risk" to scheme longevity. It argues that DB schemes should consider the impacts of climate change through sectoral analysis, including regulation and technological evolution, to best consider...

February 9, 2022
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December 2021
16Dec

Aegon strikes deal with RGA to reinsure longevity risk in pensions

Aegon, the Dutch insurer, said on Wednesday it has struck a deal with Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) to hedge the risk that people in its Dutch pensions business will live longer than expected. The move "improves the risk profile of this business and is another step to generate stable, regular, and reliable cash flows," said CEO Lard Friese in a statement. Aegon said under the deal "initially" it would sacrifice 40 million euros ($45 million) in operating capital generation at...

December 16, 2021
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November 2021
26Nov

Longevity, the uncertainty and managing the risks

A key to any plan is knowing how long the plan is needed. For retirement, the plan is often based on life expectancy, which has been steadily increasing over the past 100 years. While the concept of life expectancy appears simple enough, some common misunderstandings can create problems for financial advisers and their clients. Today’s retirees are now typically living into their late 80s; 10 years longer than they did in the 1990s. In 2020, the most common age of...

November 26, 2021
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October 2021
14Oct

Ireland. Pensions adequacy, planning for better life expectancy

By 2070, males born in Ireland will be expected to live 22 years longer than they would have in 1951, while females would be expected to live 23 years longer. Earlier this month, the Department of Finance released a report which suggested that the best way to deal with the pensions timebomb was to link the state pension age to life expectancy. The report was not greeted with enthusiasm. Political pressure after the last election forced a deferral of the planned...

October 14, 2021
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September 2021
30Sep

Progressive Pensions as an Incentive for Labor Force Participation

By Fabian Kindermann, Veronika Pueschel In this paper, we challenge the conventional idea that an increase in the progressivity of old-age pensions unanimously distorts the labor supply decision of households. So far, the literature has argued that higher pension progressivity leads to more redistribution and insurance provision on the one hand, but increases implicit taxes and therefore distorts labor supply choices on the other. In contrast, we show that a well-designed reform of the pension system has the potential to...

September 30, 2021
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August 2021
25Aug

Why The Decline In Life Expectancy Shouldn’t Affect Your Retirement Plans

By Bob Carlson Average life expectancy in the U.S. declined by 1.5 years in 2020, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is believed to be the largest one-year decline in life expectancy since at least World War II. Life expectancy was 77.3 years in 2020, about the same level as in 2003. Life expectancy should be a major factor in retirement planning. I often recommend that one of the first steps in developing a...

August 25, 2021
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