March 2018

19Mar

Earnings Test, Non-actuarial Adjustments and Flexible Retirement

By Axel H. Börsch-Supan, Klaus Härtl, Duarte N. Leite In response to the challenges of increasing longevity, an obvious policy response is to gradually increase the statutory eligibility age for public pension benefits and to shut down pathways to early retirement such as special rules for women. This is, however, very unpopular. As an alternative, many countries have introduced “flexibility reforms” which allow combining part-time work and partial retirement. A key measure of these reforms is the abolishment of earnings...

March 19, 2018
Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, System Sustainability,
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11Mar

Causes and Characteristics of Population Aging

By Kyounghoon Park (The Bank of Korea) Korea’s level of population aging remains lower than the OECD average. However, the pace of population aging in Korea is faster than that of many other member countries, as its total fertility rate is the lowest among OECD countries while its life expectancy exceeds the OECD average. Using panel data from OECD member countries, this paper divides the common causes of population aging in OECD countries into declining fertility rate and increasing life...

March 11, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, , ,
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08Mar

Old-age Labor Force Participation in Germany: What Explains the Trend Reversal among Older Men? And What the Steady Increase among Women?

By Axel Börsch-Supan, Irene Ferrari The aim of this paper is to illustrate for Germany the factors that may explain the U-shaped pattern of older men’s labor force participation - from a long declining trend that began in the early 1970s to an increasing trend starting from the late 1990s - and at the same time the steady increase in older women’s labor force participation. In a first step, we provide graphical evidence of the trends of various variables which...

March 8, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, ,
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05Mar

Pension Plans and Employee Performance: Evidence, Analysis, and Policy

By Richard A. Ippolito In this provocative book, Richard A. Ippolito explores the relationship between employees' preferences for certain types of pension plans and their productivity. Ippolito begins by reviewing how pensions influence workers' behavior on the job, helping employers reduce early quit rates and increase early retirement rates. In a novel contribution, Ippolito then shows how pensions can assist employers in attracting and retaining workers who have personal attributes valued by the firm. Challenging the accepted view of defined contribution...

March 5, 2018
Books, Labor Market, Pension design,
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05Mar

Advice That Sticks : How to give financial advice that people will follow

By Moira Somers The advice is sound; the client seems eager; and then… nothing happens! Too often, this is the experience that financial professionals encounter in their daily work. When good recommendations go unimplemented, clients’ well-being is compromised, opportunities are lost, and the professional relationship grows strained. Advice that Sticks takes aim at the problem of financial non-adherence. Written by a neuropsychologist and financial change expert, this book examines the five main factors that determine whether a client will follow through...

March 5, 2018
Books, Investing, Labor Market
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February 2018

28Feb

Building Evidence for Active Ageing Policies: Active Ageing Index and its Potential

By Asghar Zaidi,‎ Sarah Harper,‎ Kenneth Howse,‎ Giovanni Lamura,‎ Jolanta Perek-Bialas  This book provides multinational evidence on active and healthy ageing. It generates authoritative new knowledge for mutual learning and policymaking in addressing challenges linked with population ageing. The authors discuss how to achieve better active ageing outcomes through appropriate policies including addressing life course determinants of active and healthy ageing. The chapters are distinctive in their focus on quantitative analysis of active and healthy ageing based on a first-of-its-kind composite measure, the Active Ageing...

February 28, 2018
Aging, Books, Labor Market, ,
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26Feb

Exploring the Risks and Consequences of Elder Fraud Victimization: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

By Marguerite DeLiema (Stanford University - Stanford Center on Longevity), Martha Deevy (Stanford University - Stanford Center on Longevity), Annamaria Lusardi (George Washington University - Department of Accountancy; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)) & Olivia S. Mitchell (University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)) This is the first study to use longitudinal data to explore both the antecedents and consequences of fraud victimization in the older population. Because older persons are close to...

February 26, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Slider-Left,
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26Feb

The Impact of Life-Course Developments on Pensions in the Ndc Systems in Poland, Italy and Sweden and Point System in Germany

By Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak (Warsaw School of Economics), Marek Góra (Warsaw School of Economics (SGH); IZA Institute of Labor Economics), Irena Kotowska (Warsaw School of Economics), Iga Magda (Warsaw School of Economics), Anna Ruzik-Sierdzińska (Warsaw School of Economics) & Pawel Strzelecki (National Bank of Poland; Warsaw School of Economics) Old-age pensions in the NDC systems reflect the accumulated lifetime labour income. Interrupted careers and differences in the employment rates, particularly between men and women will have a significant impact on...

February 26, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, ,
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19Feb

Political Viability of Intergenerational Transfers. An Empirical Application

By Gianko Michailidis (University of Barcelona) & Concepcio Patxot (University of Barcelona - Department of Economic Theory) Public intergenerational transfers (IGTs) may arise because of the failure of private arrangements to provide optimal economic resources for the young and the old. We examine the political sustainability of the system of public IGTs by asking what the outcome would be if the decision per se to reallocate economic resources between generations was put to the vote. By exploiting the particular nature...

February 19, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, , ,
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19Feb

The Optimal Allocation of Longevity Risk with Perfect Insurance Markets

By Antoine Bommier (ETH Zürich) & Hélène Schernberg (ETH Zurich) This paper discusses the allocation of aggregate longevity risk in the case of perfect insurance markets. We show that the optimal allocation transfers some risk to the pensioners, even if pension providers have access to a perfect insurance market. Individuals prefer contributions and benefits to depend on the evolution of aggregate mortality rates rather than being fixed. Indeed, this flexibility offers an interesting diversification strategy where the prospect of a...

February 19, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Management, Pension design, , ,
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