June 2022

India. Government to launch AI-driven portal for distributing pension payments

In order to seamlessly process, track and disburse pensions, the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare will soon launch an Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled the common portal for the benefit of pensioners and elderly citizens. Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that the AI-supported portal, 'Bhavishya', will send automatic alerts to pensioners and superannuated senior citizens, including retired paramilitary personnel. Apart from enabling constant contact with pensioners and their associations across India, the portal will also receive their inputs, suggestions as well...

Factors Influencing the Choice of Pension Distribution at Retirement

By Robert L. Clark & Olivia S. Mitchell One of the most important financial decisions that pension participants make concerns how they access their pension assets when they terminate employment with their plan sponsor. Their choices depend both on own preferences and the options offered by their retirement plan. This paper examines both past and future pension withdrawal choices for those with defined benefit and defined contribution pensions, separately. Our data are drawn from a set of pension distribution questions...

Markets and Mandates: Retirement in Chile and the United States

By Manisha Padi Ordinary Americans are accustomed to a strict separation between private markets and public-benefits programs. Government programs, such as Social Security for retirees, disburse benefits to households without regard to the private options available to them. Conversely, private-market regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, make rules about private retirement savings without accounting for public retirement benefits. The result is a disjointed experience for American retirees, whose public benefits are restricted by the Social Security Administration but whose...

May 2022

UK. Annuities make slow comeback as retirees look for income certainty

After a decline in annuity sales following the pension freedoms, the market seems to have levelled off with purchases accounting for around 10 per cent of total market share, according to the Pensions Policy Institute. A PPI briefing note published yesterday (May 26) showed that the average pot size used for purchasing an annuity has risen to £71,000 from £37,000 in 2015. But in recent years, more pots under £10,000 have been used to buy these products. These small pots accounted...

The 2022 Pension Answer Book

By Stephen J. Krass A standard in its field, The 2022 Pension Answer Book discusses in detail the full spectrum of pension topics—from qualification requirements to taxation of distributions, from minimum distribution requirements to 401(k) plans. It covers the most up-to-date and significant legislative, regulatory, and case law developments affecting these plans. As a decision-making tool, combining theory and practice-based guidance, The 2022 Pension Answer Book offers insight and clarification on the critical issues affecting pension administration and compliance. In...

Why a Zimbabwean firm offers pensions denominated in cows

Kelvin chamunorwa’s mother was a middle manager at a bank in Zimbabwe. She worked there for 25 years, steadily contributing to a pension. But horrendous inflation, which reached an annual rate of 231,000,000% in mid-2008, wiped out her savings. When she retired, her pension was so small it was barely worth collecting. So Mr Chamunorwa, an actuary trained in Britain, started a company, Nhaka Life Assurance, to sell inflation-proof pensions to Zimbabweans. The pensions are not denominated in Zimbabwe dollars,...

Zimbabwe: Pensioners Lose Billions to Financial Abuse

Zimbabwe´s senior citizens have been getting swindled out of billions of United States dollars and the trend is only getting worse as inflation sinks its teeth deep into their pockets. Read also Kenya. Cash-strapped KBC fails to remit Sh984m in pension This came out during a debate in the National Assembly over the Insurance and Pensioners Amendment Bill. Former finance minister Tendai Biti, contributing to the debate, claimed at least US$9 billion worth of pensioners funds has been lost in the past...

March 2022

¿Cómo ajustan los hogares sus ingresos, ahorros y consumo después de la partida de los hijos?

How Do Households Adjust Their Earnings, Saving, and Consumption After Children Leave?

By Andrew G. Biggs, Anqi Chen & Alicia H. Munnell Whether parents adjust their consumption after their children leave home has important implications for our understanding of retirement income adequacy. Prior studies have found that parents reduce consumption after their children become independent, allowing them to save more for retirement. Other studies, however, have found that savings for retirement does not increase. If households are both consuming less but not saving more after the children leave, where are the resources...

US. Already claimed Social Security? There are still ways you may be able to increase your retirement benefits

US. Already claimed Social Security? There are still ways you may be able to increase your retirement benefits

Social Security benefits make up about 30% of elderly Americans’ incomes, according to the Social Security Administration. For some beneficiaries, it can be 90% or more. Yet many people do not think of those earned benefits, and the monthly checks that come with them, as a personal financial asset, according to Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff, author of a new book titled “Money Magic: An Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk and a Better Life.” The money you pay into the...

February 2022

Retirees Depleting Retirement Plan Lump Sums Faster than Five Years Ago

When approaching retirement, employees are faced with a decision that can have lifelong implications: take a lump sum payment or a guaranteed monthly annuity from their employer-sponsored defined contribution (DC) plan. According to MetLife’s 2022 Paycheck or Pot of Gold Study℠, a growing proportion of retirees are depleting their lump sums at faster rates than previously seen. The full report is available at metlife.com/paycheckgoldstudy. Today, one in three retirees (34%) who took a lump sum from their DC plan, depleted...