March 2024

US. More households are prepared for retirement – but this good news might not last

Even with the improvement, two out of five households are still at risk, according to the National Retirement Risk Index. The release of the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) offers an opportunity to reassess Americans' retirement preparedness as measured by the National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI). The NRRI estimates the share of American households that are at risk of being unable to maintain their preretirement standard of living in retirement. Constructing the NRRI involves three steps: 1) projecting a replacement...

January 2024

Social Security and Inequality in Belgium

By Giulia Klinges, Alain Jousten & Mathieu Lefebvre Over the years, the Belgian social security system has undergone substantial reform with a prime focus on increasing older worker labor force participation. The paper explores the effect of past reforms on inequality in old age. We distinguish two separate effects: The mechanical effect considers the change in inequality and expected benefit levels due to the reforms for a fixed retirement age distribution. The behavioral effect accounts for the endogenous change caused...

Fast Facts & Figures About Social Security, 2023

By Social Security Administration  People contribute to Social Security through payroll taxes or self-employment taxes, as required by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA). The maximum taxable amount is updated annually on the basis of increases in the average wage. Of the 181 million workers with earnings in Social Security–covered employment in 2022, about 7% had earnings that equaled or exceeded the maximum amount subject to taxes, compared with 3% when the program began...

US. California Offering Health Insurance To Undocumented Immigrants: What To Know

Undocumented adults between the ages of 26 and 49 in California will qualify for health insurance under the state’s Medi-Cal program beginning Monday, provided they meet eligibility requirements for the program, which is designed to insure low income residents. This move expands the state’s health insurance coverage to include all undocumented immigrants—the state previously only covered undocumented children, those between 19 and 25 and those 50 years and older.​​ This expansion—which was approved in legislation in May—will make around an additional 700,000 undocumented residents eligible...

December 2023

US. Social Security rule for beneficiaries who keep working is ‘poorly understood,’ report finds

Workers who turn 62 years old might be tempted to increase their income by claiming Social Security retirement benefits. But those claimants should understand that their Social Security benefits may be temporarily reduced due to the income they earn. That Social Security rule — the retirement earnings test — is "poorly understood by the public," finds a new report from the Social Security Advisory Board, a bipartisan, independent federal agency. Between 20% and 50% of pre-retirees do not know that their monthly benefits might be lowered if they...

UK. Pensions are far from broken but could still use a fix

There aren’t too many areas of public policy where we in the UK can feel we have done a better job than in comparable countries. Our state pension system is, arguably, one of them. What we have is vaguely coherent and more affordable than most. It forms part of a system which, alongside widespread private provision and additional means-tested support for the poorest, results in many enjoying a relatively comfortable old age, and far fewer than in the past...

Retirement Trajectories and Social Security’s Retirement Earnings Test

By Bob Joondeph Chair, Nancy J. Altman, Jagadeesh Gokhale & Amy Shuart Social Security’s retirement earnings test (RET) temporarily withholds or reduces the Social Security benefits of people below full retirement age (FRA) who work and earn above a certain threshold while collecting retirement benefits. Those benefits are increased at FRA to account for the months when benefits were withheld or reduced under the RET. The legislative intent of the RET, which has been part of the law since Social...

Priorities for social security Global 2022 Trends, challenges and solutions

By International Social Security Association The report Priorities for social security – Global 2022: Trends, challenges and solutions presents a global perspective on social security developments and trends, challenges and innovations, based on the series of reports for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe. The global report is presented in a new and interactive format, a digital, web-based publication that allows members of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) to easily navigate between sections of interest. The...

Social security developments and trends – Americas 2023

By International Social Security Association The new ISSA report Social security developments and trends – Americas 2023 gives readers an insight into the complexities of societal and social security developments in the region. It presents initiatives and innovations of governments and institutions to overcome challenges and strengthen social security systems, schemes and services. The report starts by taking a look at notable reforms across the region. While some reforms – such as developments in unemployment insurance and social pensions – are a direct...

The Employment Landscape of Older Migrant Workers in China’s Aging Society: The Role of City-Level and Industry Specialization

By Haobin Fan & Ting Zhang As China’s population ages, more older workers are participating in the labor market, including a significant number of older migrant workers moving to urban areas. However, surprisingly little research has been done on their destination city and employment patterns. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the impact of city-level and industry specialization on the employment prospects of older migrant workers. Using both individual- and city-level data, we find that unlike prime-age migrant workers, older migrant workers have higher...