November 2024
08Nov

Journal of Labor Economics

By Peter Kuhn This is volume 42 issue 4 of Journal of Labor Economics. Founded in 1983 as the first journal devoted specifically to labor economics, the Journal of Labor Economics (JOLE) presents international research on issues affecting social and private behavior, and the economy. JOLE’s contributors investigate various aspects of labor economics, including supply and demand of labor services, personnel economics, distribution of income, unions and collective bargaining, applied and policy issues in labor economics, and labor markets and...

November 8, 2024
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07Nov

UK. Household Support Fund extended

The UK Government’s Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced an extension of the Household Support Fund (HSF) until 31 March 2025. The fund will offer critical support and advice for struggling households across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) throughout the winter period, who are finding it difficult to pay for household essentials including food and energy. Local councils are responsible for administering the fund in their area, with BCP Council being allocated £2.65 million of the £421 million national...

November 7, 2024
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05Nov

UK. Pensioners Affected by Winter Fuel Payment Changes Prompt Union’s Legal Challenge

The UK government's plan to scrap universal Winter Fuel Payment for around 12.7 million pensioners has prompted trade union Unite to threaten legal action. In a bid to save money, the Labour government has said that only people over the age of 66 and in receipt of means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit would be eligible, meaning that around 10 million pensioners will no longer receive this one-off annual payment of up to £300. Implications for Pensioners and Government Justifications Ministers claimed...

November 5, 2024
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October 2024
25Oct

Pensions in Aging Asia and the Pacific: Policy Insights and Priorities

By Rafal Chomik, Philip O’Keefe & John Piggott Asia and the Pacific has the most diverse regional pension landscape globally. Yet the region’s pension systems are facing common challenges as they attempt to expand coverage, and ensure adequacy and fairness, while maintaining fiscal sustainability. We review the structures and performance of pension systems across Asia and the Pacific. Most remain characterized by low contributory coverage, social pensions with inadequate benefits and often low (or no) coverage, and informal sector schemes...

October 25, 2024
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17Oct

Why the US lags globally in retirement security

The United States ranks 29th out of 48 countries Mercer and the CFA Institute evaluated for their global pension index published this week. That equates to a C-plus letter grade, with a peer group of the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Spain, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia. All of those countries have systems with “some good features but also ha[ving] major risks and/or shortcomings that should be addressed,” the report stated. “Without these improvements, its efficacy and/or long-term sustainability can be...

October 17, 2024
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04Oct

US. Who’s left out of retirement savings system?

The tax-advantaged retirement savings system in the United States is one of the most effective wealth-building programs in the world. Too many working Americans, however, are left out of it. Their access to employer-provided retirement plans is limited, and the incentives in the retirement system fail to encourage lower-income workers to save. Just how many Americans are poorly served by the retirement savings system today? It is a deceptively hard question to answer, in part because there are no comprehensive,...

October 4, 2024
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02Oct

Azerbaijan prepares proposals to increase minimum wage and pension – minister

Under the directives from Azerbaijan’s President, an increase in the minimum wage and minimum pension will be implemented across the country starting next year, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahil Babayev said at the ministry's board meeting, Trend reports. Information was presented regarding efforts to enhance the regulatory legal framework in the areas of labor, pensions, disability, and other sectors as part of ongoing social reforms. It was noted that over 20 draft...

October 2, 2024
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September 2024
30Sep

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...

September 30, 2024
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27Sep

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...

September 27, 2024
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11Sep

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...

September 11, 2024
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