March 2022
23Mar

Chile plans to reform controversial pension program next year

The Chilean government will send a long-awaited bill to reform the country's controversial private pension system to congress next year, Finance Minister Mario Marcel said on Tuesday. Read also US. How to Improve Retirement Readiness in Under-represented Groups Reforming the current system, Pension Fund Administrators (AFP), was one of the biggest demands demonstrators had during the 2019 protests. One of the biggest complaints against the system is its low-paying pensions. Leftist President Gabriel Boric proposed eliminating the private system in favor of...

March 23, 2022
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February 2022

Assessing the Macroeconomic Impact of Structural Reforms in Ukraine
24Feb

Assessing the Macroeconomic Impact of Structural Reforms in Ukraine

By Anil Ari & Gabor Pula Ukraine’s economic performance has been anemic since the early 1990s. A major impediment to productivity growth has been low investment, held back by lack of strong and independent institutions. This paper aims to assess the major areas of institutional weakness in Ukraine and quantify the long-term growth impact of catching-up to Poland in terms of the quality of major economic institutions and market development. Our analysis identifies the legal system as the area where...

February 24, 2022
Articles, Investment, System Sustainability, , ,
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18Feb

Italy makes another attempt at pension reform as debt worries mount

Italy is working on a reform to make it easier for workers to retire early without bloating Europe’s second-highest pensions bill as rising borrowing costs fuel concern about the country’s huge public debt. Officials said that Mario Draghi’s government wants to inject more flexibility into the system while avoiding the fate of the unpopular 2011 reform that  raised the retirement age steeply but was suspended in 2018 after a backlash. Read also French Prime Minister Castex: pensions to be adjusted to...

February 18, 2022
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17Feb

Assessing Chile’s Pension System: Challenges and Reform Options

By Christopher Evans & Samuel Pienknagura Chile’s pension system came under close scrutiny in recent years. This paper takes stock of the adequacy of the system and highlights its challenges. Chile’s defined contribution system was quite influential when introduced, and was taken as an example by other countries. However, it is now delivering low replacement rates relative to OECD peers, as its parameters did not adapt over time to changing demographics and global returns, while informality persists in the labor...

February 17, 2022
Articles, Pension design, Savings, , , , ,
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11Feb

Reforming the Greek Pension System

By Daehaeng Kim, Alvar Kangur & Niki Kalavrezou The Greek pension system has been costly, complex, and distortive, which has contributed to Greece’s fiscal problems and discouraged labor force participation. Several attempts to reform the system faltered due to lack of implementation, pushback by vested interests, and court rulings leading to reversals. A series of reforms introduced throughout 2015–17 unified benefit and contribution rules, removed several distortions and reduced fragmentation and costs. If fully implemented throughout the long-term, these reforms...

February 11, 2022
Articles, Pension design, System Sustainability, ,
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04Feb

The many lives of the Bolivian private pension system

Latin American countries have increased the state’s role in pension provision since the mid-2000s. Bolivia has introduced changes in which the state has a bigger role, and this is linked to the reforms promoted by the socialist MAS party. Still, the private system has endured, Leandro N. Carrera (LSE Public Policy Group) and Marina Angelaki (Panteion University) explain. Read also Virus has created different economic system, says Finnish pensions chief Since the 1980s, the region has been at the forefront of...

February 4, 2022
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01Feb

Swedish Centre-Left Govt Proposes Raising Pensions in $1 Billion Reform

Sweden's centre-left government said on Monday it would propose raising pensions for the elderly with the lowest incomes in a reform that will cost 9.4 billion crowns ($1.00 billion) in 2023. The Social Democrat minority government agreed with the Green and the Left parties to raise pensions by up to 1,000 crowns tax free per month for the half a million pensioners with the lowest incomes, the parties told a joint news conference. "Nearly every other pensioner is covered by the...

February 1, 2022
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December 2021
23Dec

Pension Reform and Labor Supply

By Andrew C. Johnston & Jonah Rockoff As unfunded pension liabilities mount, governments experiment with ways to curb the costs of pensions. We examine the effect of one such reform on the retention and productivity of public-sector workers. The reform reduced pension annuities and increased penalties for early retirement, projected to save 8 percent of revenues. We use the fact that the reform only applied to workers below age and experience cutoffs to estimate the effect of the reform. We...

December 23, 2021
Articles, Labor Market, Pension design,
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21Dec

Proposed changes to the U.S. retirement system are still on the table in Congress. Here’s where things stand

Two years after Congress passed a law that ushered in improvements to the U.S. retirement system, lawmakers’ efforts to make further enhancements are moving forward — albeit slowly. There’s bipartisan backing for measures in both the House and Senate that would build on the 2019 Secure Act, which aimed to increase both the ranks of savers and retirement security. While progress on the proposals has been slow, there’s hope for action in 2022, say supporters. “At the end of the first...

December 21, 2021
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16Dec

Switzerland. Pension reform passes in parliament but set to be challenged to vote

By SWI The overhaul also foresees financial compensation – staggered over nine years for women directly affected by the change – as well as an increase in value-added tax. Both chambers of parliament on Wednesday agreed on a series of compromises, but left-wing political parties and trade unionsExternal link have vowed to challenge the reform in a nationwide vote. They argue women have to bear the brunt of the reform as their official retirement age will be set at 65, in line...

December 16, 2021
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