September 2023

Longevity Risk: Retirees and Pre-Retirees Fear Declining Finances and Deteriorating Health in Older Age

Fewer than one in four age 50+ workers and retirees are very confident they will be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle throughout their retirement (17%, 23%, respectively), according to Life in Retirement: Pre-Retiree Expectations and Retiree Realities, a new survey report released by nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® (TCRS) in collaboration with Transamerica Institute®. "Retirement brings freedom and time for pursuing personal passions. Our research finds that retirees are happy, purposeful, and have a positive view of aging. However, many...

Experts urge social protection for gig workers amidst growing digital economy

The rise of gig work makes it important that workers be given social protection since they may not have access to pensions, health insurance or unemployment benefits. Till the world comes up with a perfect definition for gig work, experts at the Asia-Pacific Social Protection Week organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), between September 26-28 in Manila, Philippines, were of the opinion that it would do well to take care of gig workers. Not only it is the smart...

UK. Sunak tells PMQs he is ‘committed’ to pensions triple lock

Criticised over the state's pension policy, the PM says the government is committed to the triple lock He did not specify that this would extend beyond the next general election It follows Commons questions about maintaining the state pension triple lock beyond the next general election Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asks the PM why Wandsworth escapee Daniel Khalife was not held in a category A prison The PM says such escapes are "extremely rare" and confirms an...

August 2023

South Africa. Women struggle to retire as early or as securely as men

Longevity literacy is critical to help women live confidently and securely when it comes to their wind-down years. South Africa’s gender pension gap sits at 26%, reflecting the average difference in retirement income between men and women. Farzana Botha, segment manager at Sanlam Risk and Savings, said that often, women cannot afford to retire as early or as comfortably as men. She believes that turning this around should be a national imperative. Botha said: “A multitude of factors contribute to...

July 2023

Pensions, 54% of Italians fear that they are insufficient to live on. Private savings are essential

«I can’t wait to retire!..» How many times, and how many people, have they thought about saying “goodbye” to work, daily routine, stress and fatigue? If the moment of leaving the labor market is seen as a real liberation, in Italy there are those who think that it could become a far worse condemnation than meetings, phone calls, computers and shifts. Because on closer inspection the majority of men and women “in career” believe that they do not have,...

Canada. Reducing barriers to lifetime retirement income

Planning and saving for retirement is too hard for most Canadians. Seventy percent of Canadians are worried they aren’t saving enough for retirement, and 62% are concerned they will outlive their retirement savings. Unlike in our working years when the goal is to accumulate funds to maintain a quality standard of living in retirement, the later phases of life when those savings are steadily drawn down can expose overlooked risks and misconceptions about budgeting in retirement. Part of the challenge is that...

UK. ‘It’s exhausting but I think I’m going to have to keep working’: the over-65s who can’t afford to retire

Dee, 67, who lives in Accrington in Lancashire, left school at 14. She worked in factories, hairdressing shops and bars, and did secretarial temp work all over the country before she took a job at HM Revenue and Customs, where she worked full-time for 23 years. Last year, in May, she began her retirement, but after only a few weeks she realised that she could not afford it because of the rising cost of living. “I had two months off,...

June 2023

India. Balancing Old and New Pension Systems: Neglected Pensioners and PFRDA’s Role

The ongoing debate surrounding the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and the New Pension System (NPS) must not overlook the most affected group – the pensioners. While political parties, economists, and think tanks engage in discussions about the advantages and risks of each system, elderly individuals relying on these pensions continue to be forgotten. The OPS has a long history dating back to British Colonial Rule in India, initially introduced in 1881. It has evolved over the years, extending its coverage...

Over 80% of South Africans plan to work past retirement due to insufficient savings: Survey

About 89% of those who participated in the FNB Retirement Insight Survey plan to continue working past retirement age due to a lack of sufficient retirement savings. The survey, which focused on pre-retirement and post-retirement periods, also revealed that the majority of low-income earners are not confident that the retirement plans they have will deliver results due to financial constraints and age. It has also been discovered that about 39% of respondents who don’t currently have a retirement plan in place...

US. 8 Best Retirement Destinations for LGBTQ Seniors

Choosing the best place to retire can be a difficult decision. Not only do you have to consider cost of living, accessibility to health care, proximity to family and more, but if you hope to settle into a community of like-minded retirees – say the LGBTQ senior community – it can be even more difficult to find a place that checks all your boxes. As an LGBTQ senior, inclusivity and community amenities are equally important as factors like cost, so...