August 2024

China pilots housing pension system to enhance people’s living quality

China is piloting a housing pension system in 22 cities including Shanghai, which aims to better facilitate existing housing upgrade and enhance people's housing quality and living environment, the China Securities Journal has reported. In China, home buyers have been paying a "housing maintenance fund" since 1998, which covers maintenance on residential buildings. However, just like humans, housing can get old and sick. By the end of 2022, the proportion of homes in urban areas that were built over 30 years...

August 2018

US. 1 in 3 millennials tapped retirement funds for a down payment, study says

Millennials want their dream home. Fifty-six percent of the millennials polled in a new survey from the Bank of the West said owning a home was more of a priority than paying off debt or retiring comfortably. The survey, which included more than 1,000 people, also found that nearly one in three millennial homeowners borrowed money from their retirement funds for a down payment. Is this a smart financial strategy? Justin Moundas, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman in Manhassat,...

Most Americans plan to own homes in retirement, but that might be a mistake

We all have our own respective visions of what life in retirement will look like. For the bulk of Americans, however, that means owning a home. In fact, 85% of current workers say they plan to own during their golden years, according to new data from Voya Financial, while 79% of current retirees are property owners. But while owning during retirement has its benefits, there's one major drawback to also be aware of. Why own during retirement? There are several good...

US. Why Owning A Home Can Be A Valuable Retirement Asset

Is home ownership a mistake in retirement? That’s what this article in USA Today claims. In continuing the theme of my last article about not believing everything you read in personal finance, let’s look at some reasons why owning a home free and clear of a mortgage can be one of the best assets you can have in retirement: Your variable costs are lower As the article points out, it’s true that property taxes and maintenance costs increase over time with...

Ireland. Using pension pots to buy homes makes sense – and will boost enrolment rate

Large numbers of Irish people are not saving for retirement, and the Government is taking the very sensible step of ensuring that, from 2022, workers are automatically enrolled into a pension plan. Anyone who wishes to opt out will be able to do so, but the hope is that most people will be gently nudged onto a path towards a decent standard of living in retirement. To minimise the numbers opting out, people must be convinced that pensions are genuinely attractive....