March 2025

US. Some retirees will see bump in Social Security benefit starting next month

Retirement just got a little boost for many public sector retirees and their spouses. By the end of this month, more than 3 million Social Security recipients affected by the Social Security Fairness Act that President Biden signed into law in January will see a bump in their benefits. This law increases monthly Social Security benefits for certain types of workers, including some teachers, firefighters, and police officers in many states, federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, and...

Belgium: Significant and broad changes to employment law and social security proposed

Employer Action Code: Monitor The Federal Coalition Agreement of the new Belgian government contains a wide-ranging series of measures that, if implemented, would bring the most significant changes to the country’s labor laws in many years. The agreement covers a range of areas — from compensation and benefits to dismissal and unemployment — aiming overall to increase the flexibility and efficiency of the labor market while ensuring job security and social protection. Key details Planned changes in the area of compensation and...

February 2025

Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: The Effects of Reforms on Retirement Behavior

By Axel Börsch-Supan & Courtney Coile Employment among older men and women has increased dramatically in recent years, reversing a downward trend in the closing decades of the twentieth century. Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World examines how changing retirement incentives have reshaped labor force participation trends among older workers. The chapters feature country-specific analyses for Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They find that while there is significant heterogeneity...

January 2025

Household Saving in Japan: The Past, Present, and Future

By Charles Yuji Horioka This paper explores the determinants of the level of, and trends over time in, Japan’s household saving rate, with emphasis on the impact of the age structure of the population, and makes projections about future trends therein. The paper finds that Japan’s household saving rate has not always been high either absolutely or relative to other countries and that it was only during the 1961-86 period that it exceeded 15%. Past and future trends in Japan’s...

Puerto Rico. Teachers celebrate signing of Social Security Equity Act

Puerto Rico Teachers Association (AMPR) President Víctor Manuel Bonilla Sánchez is celebrating the historic signing of the Social Security Equity Act (HR 82) by President Joe Biden, which will benefit thousands of retired and active Puerto Rican teachers who will see their Social Security benefits increased due to the elimination of the Windfall Elimination and Government Pension Offset provisions. “Today, justice is done for millions of workers throughout the American nation, including teachers from 15 states and Puerto Rico, who...

December 2024

How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region

A recent study by GOBankingRates broke down just how far $750,000 in combined savings and Social Security would last for someone’s retirement in each state of the union, considering such factors as housing markets, healthcare costs and varied cost of living expenses across America. Such a list, though, can be a bit overwhelming at first, especially for someone just in the beginning stages of planning their retirement, and where to experience it. With that in mind, GOBankingRates has condensed that deep-dive...

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...

Belgium’s sex workers get maternity leave and pensions under world-first law

“I had to work while I was nine months pregnant,” says Sophie, a sex worker in Belgium. “I was having sex with clients one week before giving birth.” She juggles her job with being a mother of five - which is “really hard”. When Sophie had her fifth child by Caesarean, she was told she needed bed rest for six weeks. But she says that wasn’t an option, and she went back to work immediately. “I couldn’t afford to stop because I...

November 2024

Brazil: Employment & Benefits – 2024 Highlights and 2025 Outlook

By Aline Fidelis This year has brought several significant updates to Brazilian labor law, with key changes focusing on equal pay, digital communication requirements, and debate over the regulation of platform work. These developments highlight the increasing emphasis on gender equality, workplace mental health, and the evolving nature of work in the gig economy. This article outlines the key highlights from 2024 and looks ahead to 2025. Get the report here

Can Flexible Jobs Drive the Future of Work? Lessons from MENA

By Carole Chartouni, Khalid Moheyddeen, Ramy Zeid, Rada Naji & Montserrat Pallares-Miralles The evolving nature of work is prompting a global shift towards more adaptable and flexible employment practices. Work is no longer only a place you go to for a 9 to 5 job – it is transforming into a dynamic concept as an ever-growing number of people are gravitating towards flexible employment models, often referred to as non-standard forms of employment (NSEs). Growing evidence shows that as people increasingly value...