June 2023

5 Better Ways for States to Promote Retirement Savings

Nobody plans to be broke when they retire, but American culture promotes consumption over thrift, and saving for retirement is particularly difficult for low-income workers. With Social Security so deeply underfunded that skinnier benefits and heftier taxes seem likely in the coming decade, the reluctance of many workers to save for their retirement is a mounting challenge that many states are taking upon themselves by prodding private-sector employers to provide retirement savings plans. But as it’s said about leading a...

Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060

By Sandra L. Colby & Jennifer M. Ortman  Between 2014 and 2060, the U.S. population is projected to increase from 319 million to 417 million, reaching 400 million in 2051. The U.S. population is projected to grow more slowly in future decades than in the recent past, as these projections assume that fertility rates will continue to decline and that there will be a modest decline in the overall rate of net international migration. By 2030, one in five Americans...

May 2023

Australia. Rising retirement costs outpace inflation

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the annual budget for a comfortable retirement is a record $70,482 for a couple aged 65 and $50,004 for a single. It says a “modest” retirement costs $45,808 for a couple and $31,785 for singles – which can be largely covered by the age pension. Retirees continue to face significant upward pressure on their household budgets with the cost increase reporting higher than Australia’s CPI inflation, which rose 7% for the...

Hong Kong: Older people are increasingly choosing to work longer

People nearing or past age 65 are increasingly choosing to work longer. Between 2011 and 2021, the share of labour force participants aged 55 to 64 years rose from 49% to 59%, and that of people aged 65 and over more than doubled, from 6.2% to 12.5%, according to a report released by Prudential plc. Financial need is a major motivator in Hong Kong in the decision to prolong one’s working life, as lifespans in Hong Kong grow longer, says...

The whys and wherefores of pension adequacy in India

While a pension of 50% of last salary may seem reasonable in view of the fact that some expenses such as on commuting, housing and dining get reduced after retirement, other expenses, such as on health care, travelling and insurance increase and offset savings to some extent. Some financial planners speak of the 80% rule, which states that one needs 80% of last salary to have a reasonably comfortable life after retirement. There is some merit in this argument There...

India’s pension scheme returns ‘exceedingly good’ versus benchmarks – regulator

India's national pension scheme offers "exceedingly good" returns of 9-12%, compared to most benchmarks, a top official at the pension fund regulator said on Tuesday. The National Pension Scheme, adopted in 2004, has recently come under criticism for inadequate returns, leading to a few state governments reverting to an earlier pension plan considered fiscally unviable. Following this, the federal government set up a committee to review the country's pension system. "The equity scheme, since inception, has given an annual return of close...

International Comparison of Pension Systems: An Investigation from Consumers’ Viewpoint

By Hongmu Lee, Gianni Nicolini & Man Cho  A secure and adequate pension system is central to establishing a welfare state. Given that, this book aims to document a set of diverse Public policy issues on the financial consumers standpoint that are observed in different countries. In this introductory chapter, we attempt to summarize those policy issues that emerged from the survey of the countries included with respect to each of the three dimensions- adequacy, coverage, and sustainability.   Book "here"

Pensioners in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria are among the poorest globally- report

A new report by Allianz, an international financial services provider, has revealed that retirees in several African countries are among the poorest globally. The report, which surveyed 75 countries, including five in Africa, cites an ineffective pension system and a lack of adequate retirement benefits as the major reasons for the alarming trend. In Egypt, for instance, the report notes that the gross benefit level is merely 18 per cent, leaving many senior citizens struggling to make ends meet. Similarly,...

April 2023

Reforming against the demographic clock

By Allianz Research  The Covid-19 pandemic erased life-expectancy gains of almost a decade, pushing population aging and pension reform into the background. In fact, to alleviate the financial burden on private households and companies, governments not only put together aid packages worth billions of euros that drove up national debt, but also postponed already agreed upon reform measures, lowered contribution rates and allowed early withdrawals from retirement plans. As a result, the build-up of future pension entitlements and retirement savings slowed,...

South Africa ranked bottom in global pensions rankings

The South African pension system has been ranked at the bottom of a global ranking of 75 countries by financial services company Allianz. The Allianz Pension Index, published in the firm’s Global Pension Report, ranked countries based on three pillars: analysis of basic demographic and fiscal conditions; determination of the sustainability (eg funding and contribution periods) and adequacy (eg degree of diffusion and pension level) of the pension system. “With an overall score of 4.2, the South African pension system is...