October 2024

Parametric Pension Reform Options in Korea

By Daniel Baksa, Boele Bonthuis, Si Guo & Zsuzsa Munkacsi Population aging in Korea will pose substantial challenges to the financial sustainability of its public pension system. Under current policies and plausible assumptions, public pension spending can increase by as much as 4 percent of GDP during 2020-70, while contribution revenue will largely stay constant. This expected rise in public pension spending mainly reflects the increase in the old-age dependency ratio (and therefore the number of pension recipients), the deceleration...

The world isn’t prepared for an aging population – but it’s actually a huge opportunity

By the year 2047, the global population will have more people in retirement age than young people The global population is aging, and no country, company or government is fully prepared to handle, and potentially benefit from, that demographic shift. The economic power wielded by older adults, already considerable in terms of their spending patterns, will only increase in the coming years, and the companies and regions that adapt to this growing market will be best positioned to succeed - and...

US Is Sleepwalking Into an Economic Storm

By Daron Acemoglu   Daron Acemoglu, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the Nobel in economic science this year. Inflation seems under control. The job market remains healthy. Wages, including at the bottom end of the scale, are rising. But this is just a lull. There is a storm approaching, and Americans are not prepared. Barreling toward us are three epochal changes poised to reshape the U.S. economy in coming years: an aging population, the rise of artificial intelligence and...

Can today’s pensions survive tomorrow’s longer lifespans?

The 2024 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (MCGPI) reveals the ongoing need for retirement system improvements globally, driven by declining birth rates and increasing longevity. The 16th annual report, released by Mercer, a business of Marsh McLennan, and the CFA Institute, highlights how pension systems are adapting. The Netherlands remains the top-performing retirement income system worldwide, with Iceland in second place and Denmark in third. Pat Tomlinson, Mercer’s president and CEO, emphasized the growing importance of retirement income systems as...

US aging population is on a collision course with a fragile healthcare supply chain

As Americans age, the need for a steady, reliable flow of healthcare supplies will only grow Hurricane Helene, which devastated swaths of the southeastern U.S. and caused the deaths of hundreds of people, also uncovered a quieter crisis and preparedness gap that could potentially shake the U.S. healthcare system and affect the lives of millions. One of the country's largest manufacturers of intravenous bags, North Cove, N.C.-based Baxter International (BAX) - which is responsible for 60% of the nation's supply of...

From ageing to active living — working through old age in EU

Ausra Linkuviene, a retired typesetting designer from Lithuania, represents a growing trend in Europe, where retirement no longer means the end of a working career. Years after retiring, 67-year-old Austra has continued working. Supported by both her pension and salary, she can travel every year. Admired by her younger colleagues, she sees no reason to leave her profession, she told Xinhua. Her story reflects a larger demographic shift across Europe. By 2050, nearly 30 percent of the European Union (EU) population...

Europe’s population crisis could shave 4% off its GDP by 2040, Morgan Stanley warns, and the options to solve it aren’t good

Europe’s demographic challenges are becoming a ticking time bomb for the region’s economy, with Morgan Stanley delivering a grim prediction for its effects on GDP. Morgan Stanley says Europe’s aging population could shave 4% off the Eurozone’s GDP by 2040 as people live longer and birth rates fall. The bank projects a significant loss of GDP based on predictions that Europe’s working-age population will shrink by 6.5% by 2040, due to a reduction in the number of working-age people producing output...

Deep Dive: China raises retirement ages as birth rate drops and ageing population grows

Deep Dive delves into hot issues in Hong Kong and mainland China. Our easy-to-read articles provide context to grasp what’s happening, while our questions help you craft informed responses. Check sample answers at the end of the page. News: China raises retirement age as it battles economic slump Country’s top legislative body announced the move as a way to deal with its ageing population of workers More people are set to retire than to enter the workforce, putting China’s pension...

Despite medical advances, life expectancy gains are slowing

We’ve seen dramatic increases in life expectancy over the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to healthier diets, medical advances and many other quality-of-life improvements. But after nearly doubling over the course of the 20th century, the rate of increase has slowed considerably in the last three decades, according to a new study led by the University of Illinois Chicago. Despite frequent breakthroughs in medicine and public health, life expectancy at birth in the world’s longest-living populations has increased only an average...

September 2024

Interview: “Focusing on well-being over numbers is solution to low birth rates”

The United Nations Population Division announced in November 2022 that the global population had surpassed 8 billion. This marks a doubling from 4 billion in 1974, a span of just 48 years. The world’s population exceeded 2 billion in 1927 and 1 billion in 1805. Over just 200 years, the global population has increased eightfold. However, the UN forecasts that due to a general slowdown in growth rates, the world population will reach 9 billion by 2037. Population growth has...