May 2020

The 2018 Pension Adequacy Report: current and future income adequacy in old age in the EU

By European Commission The 2018 edition of the triennial Pension Adequacy Report analyses how current and future pensions help prevent old-age poverty and maintain the income of men and women for the duration of their retirement. Volume I is devoted to comparative analysis of pension adequacy in the EU- 28. It examines the current living standards of older people and how they are shaped by pension systems, proceeds with an overview of recent pension reforms and concludes by analysing...

April 2020

The Future of Social Protection

By OECD Social protection systems are often still designed for the archetypical full-time dependent employee. Work patterns deviating from this model – be it self-employment or online "gig work" – can lead to gaps in social protection coverage. Globalisation and digitalisation are likely to exacerbate this discrepancy as new technologies make it easier and cheaper to offer and find work online, and online work platforms have experienced spectacular growth in recent years. While new technologies and the new forms...

March 2020

OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2018

By OECD The OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2018 is the twelfth edition in a series that biennially reviews key trends in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy in OECD countries and a number of major partner economies. The 14 chapters within this edition look at a range of topics, notably the opportunities and challenges related to enhanced data access, the impacts of artificial intelligence on science and manufacturing, and the influence of digitalisation on research and innovation....

August 2019

Delaying Retirement: Progress and Challenges of Active Ageing in Europe, the United States and Japan

Dirk Hofacker, Moritz Hess, Stefanie Konig To a backdrop of ageing societies, pension crises and labour market reforms, this book investigates how the policy shift from early retirement to active ageing has affected individual retirement behaviour. Focusing on eleven European countries, the United States and Japan, it brings together leading international experts to analyze recent changes in pension systems. Their findings demonstrate that there has been a fundamental transition in pension policies and a steep increase in...

Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms

By Hannah Fry If you were accused of a crime, who would you rather decide your sentence--a mathematically consistent algorithm incapable of empathy or a compassionate human judge prone to bias and error? What if you want to buy a driverless car and must choose between one programmed to save as many lives as possible and another that prioritizes the lives of its own passengers? And would you agree to share your family's full medical history if you were...

Bank 4.0: Banking Everywhere, Never at a Bank

Bank 4.0 explores the radical transformation already taking place in banking, and follows it to its logical conclusion. What will banking look like in 30 years? 50 years? The world's best banks have been forced to adapt to changing consumer behaviors; regulators are rethinking friction, licensing and regulation; Fintech start-ups and tech giants are redefining how banking fits in the daily life of consumers. To survive, banks are having to develop new capabilities, new jobs and new skills. The...

FinTech Revolution: Universal Inclusion in the New Financial Ecosystem

This book is a practical guide to the evolving landscape of finance, highlighting how it’s changing our relationship with money and how financial technology, together with macroeconomic and societal change, is rewriting the story of how business is done in developing economies. Financial services companies are trying to become more customer focused, but struggling to help huge customer segments, particularly in developing economies. Alternative financial models and tools are emerging, which are being embraced by consumers and incumbents....

July 2019

Longevity: a new asset class

By David Blake A little over a decade ago, a new asset classemerged, one linked to longe vity risk, i.e., unanticipatedchanges in life expectancy. The Life Market has two seg-ments: a macro-segment with assets linked to groups of lives,such as members of a pension plan or a book of annuitants;and a micro-segment with assets linked to individual lives,such as life settlements. For the market to become global,certain market requirements need to be satisfied, such asunderstanding the causal factors underlying...

Navigating Complex Financial Decisions at Retirement: Evidence from Annuity Choices in Public Sector Pensions

By Robert L. Clark, Robert G. Hammond, David Vanderweide Choices regarding the disposition of wealth at retirement can have substantial implications for retirement income security. We analyze the factors determining annuity option choices offered by a public sector defined pension plan with no default annuity option. Using combined administrative records and survey data, we explore the role of individual and household characteristics as well as risk preferences, time preferences, and financial literacy. The evidence is consistent with predictions over which...

June 2019

Annuity Pricing in Public Pension Plans: Importance of Interest Rates

By Nino Abashidze, Robert L. Clark, Beth Ritter, David Vanderweide There is little systematic information on the distribution options in public sector retirement plans and how annuity options are priced relative to the standard single life annuity. This study examines the distribution options of 85 large public retirement plans covering general state employees, teachers, and local government employees. An important component of the analysis is the construction of a data set presenting the annuity options offered by each of...