September 2024

Two million French seniors live in poverty: charity report

Two million seniors in France live below the poverty line, warns a charity that works to alleviate isolation amongst the elderly. It pointed to a rise in poverty, particularly among older women and people living alone. The poverty level of people aged 60 and older is on the rise, the Petits freres des pauvres (Little brothers of the poor) charity in its annual report published Monday. In 2024, some 11 percent of elderly people live under the poverty line, compared to eight...

Revisiting Sample Bias in the Uk’s Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, with Implications for Estimates of Low Pay and the Bite of the National Living Wage

By John Forth, Alex Bryson,Van Phan, Felix Ritchie, Carl Singleton, Lucy Stokes & Damian Whittard The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is based on an annual one per cent sample of employee jobs and provides many of the UK's official earnings statistics. These statistics are generated using official weights designed to make the achieved sample in each year representative of the population of employee jobs in Britain by gender, age, occupation, and region. However, we find that jobs...

UK. State pension set to rise by £460 next year

The new full state pension is expected to rise by £460 a year from April, latest wages data suggests. Under the arrangement called the “triple lock”, the state pension goes up each year by either 2.5%, inflation, or average earnings growth – whichever is the highest figure. Earnings figures for the three months to July are used for the yearly increase, and these showed total pay rose at an annual rate of 4%, much higher than inflation. The news comes as the government...

Outrage Over Pension Cuts in Indonesia: Key Insights on Contributions and Withdrawal Options

New Pension Program Will Cut Employee Salaries: What You Need to Know The implementation of a new pension program will lead to salary deductions for workers. This mandatory contribution aims to enhance retirement benefits. However, many employees are worried about the impact on their take-home pay. Labor unions are actively voicing their opposition, especially in regions like South Kalimantan. They argue that the additional deductions will strain workers’ finances. Warning! The new pension deductions may significantly affect workers’ salaries. Employees should prepare...

Asia faces $74t retirement income shortfall

Emerging markets in Asia face a $74 trillion pension savings shortfall. Asia may face a retirement income shortfall as those over 60 are expected to make up 25% of Asia Pacific's population, a sharp increase from 14% in 2020, a report by McKinsey revealed. Emerging markets in Asia face a $74t pension savings shortfall, equating to about $50k per worker—11 times the average annual income. In countries like India and Indonesia, pensions cover only 8% of the population. McKinsey said to address the...

UK. Third of retirees overspending amid rising cost of living

Nearly a third of UK adults have admitted to being ‘retirement overspenders’ due to the rising cost of living. Research by PensionBee also revealed 20 per cent of those aged over 55 have consistently spent more than they expected to during their retirements so far. With an additional 11 per cent admitting this had occurred early on in their retirement. Daily living expenses emerged as the largest financial burden for retirees, with 28 per cent citing it as their top item of...

The Average Retirement Age in 2024: US vs. UK

With recent economic challenges and rising costs of living, retirement is on many Americans’ minds. You may be wondering: Is the state of retirement in the U.S. worse than in other countries? That depends on which country you’re talking about. Read on to learn about the average retirement age in the U.S. and UK, plus current retirement processes, to compare the difference.   Earning passive income doesn't need to be difficult. You can start this week. What Is the Average Retirement Age in the US? According to...

August 2024

A Two-Generation Model with Altruism for Reverse Mortgage Demand

By Yunxiao Wang, Katja Hanewald, Zilin (Scott) Shao, Hazel Bateman Reverse mortgage markets remain relatively small internationally, with one frequently cited reason being bequest motives. We study the role of reverse mortgages in intergenerational financial planning as a tool for families to bring forward bequests. We develop a new two-generation lifecycle model with parental altruism to compare the welfare gains of bequests and early bequests (inter vivos gifts) for homeowning parents and adult children seeking to purchase their first home....

A Two-Generation Model with Altruism for Reverse Mortgage Demand

By Yunxiao Wang, Katja Hanewald, Zilin (Scott) Shao & Hazel Bateman Reverse mortgage markets remain relatively small internationally, with one frequently cited reason being bequest motives. We study the role of reverse mortgages in intergenerational financial planning as a tool for families to bring forward bequests. We develop a new two-generation lifecycle model with parental altruism to compare the welfare gains of bequests and early bequests (inter vivos gifts) for homeowning parents and adult children seeking to purchase their first...

July 2024

Elderly Germans Face Rising Poverty Threat

Germany is facing a growing concern over the rising number of elderly citizens living in poverty. Recent investigative reports indicate that a staggering 3.2 million pensioners in the country are at risk of economic hardship, a situation worsened by stagnant wages and insufficient pension benefits. As mentioned in reports from the public broadcaster ARD, nearly one in five, or approximately 18.7%, of Germany's pensioners were classified as being at risk of poverty as of 2017. This alarming statistic highlights...