October 2024

US. Here’s How Gen Xers Are Catching Up on Retirement Savings

Key Takeaways The oldest Gen Xers are already eligible to withdraw from retirement accounts penalty-free. Gen Xers are often underprepared for retirement but can improve by increasing savings and adjusting their budget. Unlike baby boomers with pensions, Gen X relies heavily on 401(k)s. During their highest earning years, Gen Xers can maximize retirement savings. Roth IRAs and 401(k)s can offer tax advantages for Gen Xers in retirement. Sandwiched between the more populous boomer generation and even more populous Millennials, Gen...

Swiss MP proposes integration of pension model for temp workers in second pillar

Christian Lohr, member of parliament (MP) for The Centre (Die Mitte) party in the National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament, has asked the government (Federal Council) to assess the possibility of integrating the pension model designed by the industry for temporary workers into the second pillar pension system, as an alternative to change occupational pensions after the public rejected the proposed reform in a recent vote. The pension fund model in the temporary employment sector enables many...

UK. Industry must work to improve communication on sustainable pensions

There is an “enormous amount of work” to do to improve communication with savers about sustainable pensions, Harmonics founder and CEO, John Dithfield, has argued. Speaking at a Good Money Week event yesterday (September 30), Dithfield discussed the complexities of sustainable pensions and how difficult it can be for savers to fully understand them. “What should savers look for in a pension? I think it is very difficult really,” he said. “The real problem for people is the complexity of understanding what’s...

September 2024

El Congreso argentino debate si revierte el veto de Milei a un aumento de las jubilaciones

La Cámara de Diputados de Argentina debate este miércoles si revierte un veto del presidente Javier Milei de una ley para aumentar las jubilaciones, en medio de extremas medidas de seguridad alrededor del Congreso por una manifestación. La ley, aprobada por mayoría en ambas cámaras, otorga un aumento de 8,1%, en un contexto de 250% de inflación anual y con una jubilación mínima equivalente a unos 230 dólares mensuales. El presidente ultraliberal vetó la norma por ser "manifiestamente violatoria del marco...

Argentine Congress Debates Milei Veto Of Pensions Increase

Argentina's Congress debates on Wednesday whether to overturn President Javier Milei's veto of a bill to increase pensions, amid heavy security due to a planned mass opposition protest. Milei, a budget-slashing libertarian, last week blocked an 8.1-percent pensions increase approved by both houses of Congress, which aimed to help cushion retirees in the South American country hit by annual inflation of 250 percent. The president claimed the measure was "manifestly in violation of the current legal framework as it does not...

August 2024

Social pensions in the Americas: Recent developments

Ensuring adequate social security coverage for an ageing population is an important priority for governments and the global membership of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). Social pensions, also known as zero pillar or non-contributory pensions, complement contributory social insurance systems by providing a guaranteed source of income for people not adequately protected by other forms of social security. In doing so, they expand overall social protection and can be a powerful tool for combating old-age poverty, promoting social...

Rethinking Social Insurance for Self-Employed and Gig Workers

When designing a product, understanding the customers’ needs and preferences is essential. A case in point of the importance of tailoring product designs to customers is the “sachet revolution” in India. In the 1970s and 80s, some brands that sold daily essential products such as shampoos sought to target a large customer base who, at the time, could not afford these products: lower-income households and the rural market. To cater to the needs of low-income and rural households, these...

Improving Pension Information: Experimental Evidence on Learning Using Online Resources

By Denise Laroze, Gabriela Fajardo, Charles Noussair, Ximena Quintanilla, Paulina Granados, Pedro Vallette, Mauricio López-Tapia Deciding what to do with one's pension funds is a high-stakes, one-shot decision. Retirement schemes are often described in technical jargon that few people understand. We consider whether the learning process can be eased by providing information in video format (vs. the standard textual format) and by changes to the user interface of the websites on which individuals learn about their pension options. The results...

A Two-Generation Model with Altruism for Reverse Mortgage Demand

By Yunxiao Wang, Katja Hanewald, Zilin (Scott) Shao, Hazel Bateman Reverse mortgage markets remain relatively small internationally, with one frequently cited reason being bequest motives. We study the role of reverse mortgages in intergenerational financial planning as a tool for families to bring forward bequests. We develop a new two-generation lifecycle model with parental altruism to compare the welfare gains of bequests and early bequests (inter vivos gifts) for homeowning parents and adult children seeking to purchase their first home....

Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) Schemes: Assessing Capacity for Alternative Investments

By Aili Chen, CFA As pension systems adapt to changing economics and demographics, there is growing interest in collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes as they offer a different approach to retirement savings compared to defined benefit (DB) schemes. Instead of providing a guaranteed pension payment, CDC schemes provide workers with a pot of money to use in retirement, alleviating corporate sponsors of the responsibility and cost associated with providing lifetime guaranteed benefit payments. The size of the pension pot can...