July 2022
26Jul

US. ‘True Cost of Aging’ index shows many seniors can’t afford basic necessities

Each month, Seeley, a retired teacher, gets $925 from Social Security and a $287 disbursement from an individual retirement account. To make ends meet, she’s taken out a reverse mortgage on her Portland, Maine, home that yields $400 monthly. So far, Seeley has been able to live on this income—about $19,300 a year—by carefully monitoring her spending and drawing on limited savings. But should her excellent health worsen or she need assistance at home, Seeley doesn’t know how she’d pay...

July 26, 2022
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22Jul

Myopic Savings Behaviour of Future Polish Pensioners

By Sonia Buchholtz, Jan Gaska & Marek Góra Low saving rates combined with low effective retirement age herald old-age poverty. This paper examines the preferred strategies of future Polish pensioners in order to sustain the standard of living in the future. A two-step approach is used: as a first-best strategy, we explore determinants of supplementary saving with binary logistic models; as a second-best strategy, we examine alternative options with principal component analysis. Future retirees rarely accumulate long-term savings, do not use...

July 22, 2022
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14Jul

SSNIT reveals huge disparity among pensioners: Highest pension is GH¢142,000, while lowest is GH¢300 monthly.

The top ten highest paid pensioners in Ghana receive between GH¢142,567.90 to GH¢42,187.83 every month whilst the lowest on the scheme receive between GH$300 and above, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has revealed. The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT or the Trust) is a statutory public institution charged under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766 as amended by Act 883) with the administration of Ghana's Basic National Social Security Scheme. Its mandate is to cater...

July 14, 2022
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June 2022
29Jun

Bulgarian minimum pension will rise in July

Parliament finally approved the minimum pension to reach BGN 467 (EUR 240) as of July 1st. From this date, the maximum pension rises to BGN 2,000 (EUR 1,026). From October 1, the ceiling will rise once again - this time to BGN 3,400, which is the amount of the maximum insurance income. After parliament finally approved an increase in the minimum and maximum pensions from July 1st, Social Policy Minister Georgi Gokov confirmed that payments for the increase are still likely...

June 29, 2022
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28Jun

Iranian Pensioners Return To Streets, Say Government Failing To Meet Promises

Iranian pensioners and retired public employees showed no signs of letting up in their protests against what they say is the government's failure to address deteriorating living conditions. Videos posted on social media on June 27 showed retirees gathering in at least four cities, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Arak, and Rasht, chanting slogans against the government of President Ebrahim Raisi. The recent wave of protests by pensioners and retirees comes after the government announced on June 6 that it would increase the monthly...

June 28, 2022
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24Jun

The Effects of the Minimum Pension Reform in a Defined Contribution Pension System: The Case of Chile

By Jorge Sabat Using longitudinal data on roughly 16,800 low-income workers, I estimate the effects of a reform that introduced a solidarity pillar on the Chilean defined contribution pension system. I specifically test for a negative effect on the propensity to save for retirement that would have arisen from the disincentives caused by the introduction of an implicit tax on pension savings, as predicted by a theoretical life-cycle model. Empirically, I document a negative and significant effect on the propensity...

June 24, 2022
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24Jun

Would the Securing a Strong Retirement Act Secure More Retirement Equity?

By Albert Feuer On March 29, 2022 the House approved H.R. 2954 that is titled the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (the SECURE Act 2.0) by a vote of 414-5. On May 26, 2022, a discussion draft of the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg (RISE & SHINE) Act of 2022 was released by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and Ranking Member Senator Richard...

June 24, 2022
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24Jun

That Social Security Income Replacement Cliff Could Hurt

Social Security will keep paying retirement benefits in 2035, even if its trust fund empties out, but the cut in the amount would be huge. That’s the assessment of Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Munnell, one of the top academic retirement researchers in the world, says Social Security should receive enough payroll tax revenue to pay 80% of the currently promised benefits from current income in 2035, and about 74% of the promised benefits...

June 24, 2022
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23Jun

Pensions to Rise With Inflation Even as UK Urges Pay Restraint

The UK government said the state pension will rise in line with inflation this year, a handout to elderly Britons even as Boris Johnson warned that doing the same for public sector salaries would not be feasible. Pensions will increase in step with September’s consumer price index, which is due to be “significantly higher than the forecast inflation rate” for the next fiscal year, Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, said in a written response to a question in...

June 23, 2022
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20Jun

UK. State pension age increase doubles poverty rate among pensioners

Nearly 100,000 65-year-olds fell into poverty as the state pension age rose from 65 to 66, depriving them of an income of £142 per week as the government saved £4.9bn. According to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) the latest increase in state pension age from 65 to 66 meant that the absolute income poverty rate for 65-year-olds rose by 14 percentage points, or nearly 100,000 people, to reach 24% by late 2020. The higher state pension age also...

June 20, 2022
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