August 2020

05Aug

How to Improve Women’s Retirement Savings: Brookings

Women get the short end of the stick when it comes to retirement. It starts with differences in earnings and, thus, less money to save for retirement. But other factors come into play: They are more likely to leave the workforce to care for children or parents, and they live longer. But a Brookings Gender Series paper recommends several policy changes that could address these issues. “Public policies that aim to boost women’s status in retirement should focus on...

August 5, 2020
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03Aug

India. Panel on labour suggests social protection for informal workers

The panel called for a framework of a model composite scheme to bring greater uniformity among states The committee sought the creation of a social security fund for unorganized sector workers The parliamentary panel on labour has batted for universal social protection for unorganized sector workers and has proposed a blueprint for the Centre to include gig-economy workers, while acknowledging rapid changes in the labour market. The parliamentary panel, which submitted its report to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla...

August 3, 2020
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July 2020

30Jul

Greece to return 1.4 bln euros to pensioners hit during debt crisis

Greece will this year return 1.4 billion euros to pensioners whose income was slashed during the financial crisis of the past decade, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative government made the decision following a top court ruling which said that some pension cuts imposed in 2015-2016 were illegal. Mitsotakis said the one-off payment applies only to main pensions - not supplementary pensions or benefits. The money will be distributed to about 2 million...

July 30, 2020
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24Jul

Social Protection for All: The Next Step for the Malaysian Welfare

By Evangelos Koutronas This report aims to support policymakers, program designers, and evaluators to develop a comprehensive social protection mechanism. The past decade has seen a marked spike in policy momentum around the importance of social protection policies and programs yet there has been very little attention to social protection’s role in tackling experiences of poverty and vulnerability. Social protection is recognized as a key policy tool to help achieve the Malaysia Development Goals; as a policy approach underpinned by...

July 24, 2020
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17Jul

Supporting Seniors: How Low-Income Elderly Individuals Respond to a Retirement Support Program

By Sumit Agarwal, Wenlan Qian, Tianyue Ruan, Bernard Yin Yeung Insufficient savings for retirement expose individuals to financial vulnerability in the post-retirement years and prompt governments to consider support measures. We study a government cash subsidy program for the low-income elderly population in Singapore. Using comprehensive, high-frequency transaction data, we find that elderly individuals increase spending by 0.7 dollars per dollar of subsidy received. We also show that they increase food expenditure and the variety of retail purchases. The...

July 17, 2020
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16Jul

FLF Africa launches Financial Literacy for Coronavirus Alleviation programme

The Financial Literacy Foundation Africa has launched a Financial Literacy for Coronavirus Alleviation programme (FLICA) which aims to provide education on how to handle economic and financial hardships arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. This continental project will take place in all 46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and aims to achieve financial independence for eight out of every ten individuals by 2030. “The strategic approach will address attitudinal and behavioral barriers to our goal of financial wellness through public education...

July 16, 2020
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14Jul

China. Beijing raises retirement pensions

Beijing released a scheme to adjust basic pension for retirees, increasing 50 yuan ($7.13) per month for each person, according to the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau on Tuesday. The new scheme, which starts on Wednesday is expected to benefit nearly 3.97 million Beijing residents, including retirees of Beijing enterprises, government bodies and institutions. Wu Xiaojun, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, said the adjustment of the basic pension will...

July 14, 2020
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13Jul

Australia. Low income earners get further support

Millions of Australians on pensions and low incomes are about to get cash hits from the government, which it hopes will give another boost to the coronavirus-hit economy. The second round of $750 payments for pensioners, veterans and carers will start going into people's bank accounts from Monday. It goes to about five million Australians at a cost of $3.8 billion. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg anticipates many will spend the money on everyday expenses like groceries, rent and bills. "This...

July 13, 2020
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10Jul

Society at a Glance

By OECD The OECD biennial report providing internationally comparable data on demography and family characteristics, employment and wealth, mobility and housing, health status, social expenditure, subjective well-being, social cohesion, and other social measures. Included are such interesting variables as suicides, child care costs, prisoners, gender wage gaps, poverty and mothers in employment. Get the book here

July 10, 2020
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10Jul

Constitutional Court rules benefits for pensioners are inappropriate in Latvia

The court admitted that a specific point of the 22 December 2009 Cabinet of Ministers requirements, which details the amount of the state social security benefit for unemployed persons and seniors as inconsistent with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court also concluded this requirement as null and void as of 1 January 2021. The ruling is final and is not subject to appeal. The challenged norm states the state social security benefit amount for persons disabled from childhood is EUR...

July 10, 2020
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