July 2021

Spain inches ahead with pension reform

Spain will pay workers to postpone retirement as part of a pensions reform strategy that analysts warn does not go far enough to cut a huge deficit in the system. With nearly 30 billion euros ($36 billion) of annual losses in 2020 and rising, Spain's social security budget is one of the biggest contributors to the country's ballooning public deficit. The European Commission has long demanded that Spain reform its pension system and has made it a condition for accessing European...

France. Macron confirms he will pursue Pension Reform

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a series of economic measures, looking beyond the pandemic, although the much-anticipated pensions reform will be delayed until Covid is "under control". Obligatory vaccines and the extension of the health pass made the headlines following Macron’s live TV address on Monday evening, but the President also sketched out his vision for France’s post-Covid economy. Some of the measures he announced represent a return to the priorities he set at the beginning of his tenure, while...

Delay the Pension Age or Adjust the Pension Benefit? Implications for Labor Supply and Individual Welfare in China

By Yuanyuan Deng, Hanming Fang, Katja Hanewald, Shang Wu We develop and calibrate a life-cycle model of labor supply and consumption to quantify the implications of alternative pension reforms on labor supply, individual welfare, and government budget for China’s basic old-age insurance program. We focus on urban males and distinguish low-skilled and high-skilled individuals, who differ in their preferences, health and labor income dynamics, and medical expense processes. We use the calibrated model to evaluate three potential pension reforms: (i)...

Towards equity and sustainability? China’s pension system reform moves center stage

By Li Yang In this paper I review the latest development of China’s public pension system. Last several decades saw China’s tremendous achievement in various public pension reforms. Especially since the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), reform has accelerated. By 2019, the public pension system in China has covered almost one billion adults, which makes it the biggest pension system in the world. Together with the expansion of Dibao (Basic living allowance) and the eradication of poverty, the development of pension...

The slow-burn crisis inside Ukraine’s pension system

Adramatic situation with state pension provision is unfolding in Ukraine. In autumn last year, Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal stated that if “decisive measures” are not taken, then in 15 years the state will not be able to pay pensions. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a so-called “solidarity pension system”: current pensioners are supposed to receive payments from pension contributions made by the working population. However, today the number of people employed in the Ukrainian economy...

Corporate France Urges Macron to Delay Contentious Pension Reform

France desperately needs pension reform, just not right away. That’s the message for President Emmanuel Macron from a chorus of top business leaders, days before he’s set to announce whether he’ll attempt change before the 2022 election. Read also Germany finally launches basic pension scheme “There’s already a great deal of worry and uncertainty. It would be a gamble to add more,” Stephane Richard, chief executive officer of telecom giant Orange SA told Bloomberg News on the sidelines of a conference in...

June 2021

France. Macron Weighs Pension Reform Before Bastille Day

French President Emmanuel Macron could revive a controversial pension reform as he prepares to unveil his priorities for the rest of his mandate and ahead of 2022 elections. Macron is set to speak to the French some time during the first half of next month, probably before July 14 when French leaders usually address the nation to mark Bastille Day. That is when he is considering tackling a topic that is highly contentious for voters, according to a person familiar...

UK Rules Out Ditching ‘Triple Lock’ Pledge on State Pension Increases

British newspapers have reported that the government was looking at suspending the promise to increase pensions by whichever is higher of consumer price inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%. They said it could help pay for the cost of the government’s COVID-19 response. “We are committed to the triple lock,” the spokesman said, when asked about the reports. Due partly to distortions from the coronavirus pandemic, annual wages in the three months to April grew by an annual 5.6% – creating...

2021 pension adequacy report Current and future income adequacy in old age in the EU. Volume I

By The 2021 Pension Adequacy Report (PAR) is the fourth edition of the report, prepared every 3 years by the Social Protection Committee (SPC) and the European Commission. The report aims to present a comparative analysis of the degree to which pension systems in the EU Member States enable older people to retire with an adequate income today and in the future, reflecting pension reforms, as well as underlying changes and current or future challenges in our societies. Since 2012, the...

A preservation ‘revival’ will supercharge South Africa’s retirement outcomes

South Africa's retirement outcomes will improve radically if all retirement funding contributions are kept invested when fund members change jobs. Other quick wins include increasing the minimum government pension; delaying the government retirement age beyond 60 years; and refocusing the industry from saving a lump sum at retirement to providing a sustainable income in retirement. These observations were made by Dr David Knox, the lead author of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (GPI), during a keynote address to...