November 2023
10Nov

Health and Retirement: Heterogeneity in the Responsiveness to Pension Incentives

By De Fen Hsu, Melinda Sandler Morrill & Aditi Pathak Workers often time retirement around pension eligibility, yielding a strong instrument for retirement timing.  By estimating the characteristics of the complier population, we find heterogeneity by individuals' health status in the responsiveness to pension-related financial incentives to retire.  Workers in poor health do not uniformly retire earlier or later, but rather are less responsive overall to pension incentives.  Thus, characterizing compliers may yield different conclusions than simple comparisons of means. Source...

November 10, 2023
Articles, System Characterization, ,
Read more...

September 2023
22Sep

Population Aging and Economic Growth: From Demographic Dividend to Demographic Drag?

By Rainer Kotschy & David E. Bloom  This paper examines the extent to which changes in working-age shares associated with population aging might slow economic growth in upcoming years. We first analyze the economic effects of changing working-age shares in a standard empirical growth model using country panel data from 1950–2015. We then juxtapose the estimates with predicted shifts in population age structure to project economic growth in 2020–2050. Our results indicate that population aging will slow economic growth throughout...

September 22, 2023
Aging, Articles, , ,
Read more...

August 2023
31Aug

The Impact of Aging Demographics on Public Health Challenges

The global population continues to increase, although the growth rate has been gradually declining. Specific current population trends can vary depending on the region and country. Many developing countries experience higher population growth rates compared to developed nations. Many countries are experiencing an increase in the proportion of elderly individuals due to declining birth rates and improved healthcare leading to longer life expectancy. Population dynamics play a pivotal role in shaping the direction and challenges of public health initiatives. As...

August 31, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
31Aug

The answer to the problem of loneliness and ageism among older adults may lie in community resilience

Ageism and loneliness are two relevant public health issues, mainly affecting older adults' mental health. As the average life expectancy increases, these issues tend to coexist and may threaten the quality of life of older adults, particularly those with significant barriers. New research has shown that resilience could reduce the mental health effects of ageism and loneliness, but the impact on minority elders remains unclear. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that older adults, in general, will be more racially and...

August 31, 2023
News,
Read more...

July 2023
07Jul

Health Capacity to Work and Retirement Expectations

By Italo Lopez Garcia, Nicole Maestas & Kathleen J. Mullen Understanding how health influences retirement is fundamental for the design of targeted policies that encourage working longer. While there is wide agreement on the relevance of age-related health decline for determining retirement decisions, the process remains a black box. This paper explores the match between individuals’ functional abilities and job demands in the national economy using a new methodology to measure work capacity. Specifically, we construct a measure of work...

July 7, 2023
Articles, Retirement Age, , ,
Read more...

June 2023
12Jun

China. TV series set to teach elderly people about health

China's first TV series popularizing health information for the elderly premiered in Shanghai on Wednesday. The 10-episode series, which takes a lighthearted approach, focuses on helping the elderly understand common acute and severe threats to health, as well as chronic diseases in a scientific way, and also teaches them how to take precautions just in case. The show is the joint creation of Huashan Hospital Affiliated with Fudan University and the Shanghai Theatre Academy and is titled Ms Kang and Her...

June 12, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

May 2023
19May

The Future of AI and Older Adults

By Laurie M. Orlov  Advances in AI got the full attention of the technology industry, which is undergoing its first major disruption since the arrival of smart speakers and voice in 2014. Multiple industries see compelling opportunities, including healthcare providers, senior living, customer service providers, training and remote monitoring service offerings. Government organizations are investing in AI and aging startups and programs. Although there are a number of barriers to adoption, in the not-so-distant future, machine learning, chatbots, and AI in the home...

May 19, 2023
Aging, Books, Books, , ,
Read more...
16May

Loneliness can impact longevity & quality of life, claims study

Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, recently warned that "being socially disconnected" has a similar effect on mortality as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. This statement was widely reported in the media, including in the Washington Post, the Times and the Daily Mail. But where does this "15 cigarettes a day" figure come from? Dr Murthy is referring to a study published in 2010 that explored social relationships and mortality rates. The researchers combined the data from 148...

May 16, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

April 2023
17Apr

UK. Should pensions tax relief be used to fund care costs?

Getting more people into work and keeping them there for longer was a thread that ran throughout last month’s Spring Budget. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt focused on childcare, state benefit reform and elements of the pensions tax relief system, such as the abolition of the lifetime allowance (LTA). But there was nothing more to add on the funding of social care. Last year’s Autumn Statement, which confirmed the proposed £86,000 cap on social care costs in England would be delayed by...

April 17, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
05Apr

Priorities for social security Trends, challenges and solutions

By Raúl Ruggia-Frick The International Social Security Association (ISSA) draws its value, strength and dynamism from its global membership, which consists of national institutions that administer the main social security programmes in their countries. This gives the Association a unique and privileged vantage point from which to identify and analyse priority administration and policy challenges in social security, and the many innovative responses and creative solutions to these. The ISSA was looking to the future when it set the priorities of...

April 5, 2023
Books, Books, System Sustainability, , ,
Read more...