March 2022

US. How to Improve Retirement Readiness in Under-represented Groups

For plan sponsors wondering what they can do to help diverse workers increase their retirement savings, a new paper outlines plan features and strategies that can help bolster savings for underserved workers. In Improving Retirement Readiness for Underrepresented Groups, Alight explains that employers have benefited from a diverse population of employees, as these individuals brought unique perspectives to the workplace. These employees have also brought a wide range of retirement savings behaviors that have not necessarily led to positive outcomes,...

Report on the economic impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Latin America and the Caribbean

Report on the economic impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Latin America and the Caribbean

By ECLAC On 26 March 2020, the Government of Mexico convened a virtual ministerial meeting on health affairs for response and follow-up to the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was attended by foreign ministers and health representatives from 30 countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), as well as regional organizations. As a result of the meeting, CELAC formed a strategic alliance with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)...

You Quit Your Job, but You Still Need a Retirement Plan

When she realized she wanted to quit her job at a San Francisco software company, Anna Rider was taking care of two babies: a food blog that she wanted to grow, and her actual child — the son she had five months ago. So Ms. Rider left, becoming one of the tens of millions of Americans who gave their notice in the past year and joining the cultural moment that has come to be known as the Great Resignation. She not...

February 2022

UK. DWP confirms GMP revaluation rate reduction

The government has confirmed it will reduce the GMP fixed rate revaluation rate for early leavers from 3.5% to 3.25% per year. In response to its consultation - published last year - the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the new rate will apply to members where applicable from 6 April 2022. Where a member of a formerly contracted-out pension scheme leaves the scheme before pensionable age - an ‘early leaver' - the scheme must revalue its GMP to when...

January 2022

China rolling out perks to encourage couples to have 3rd child amid demographic crisis

Amidst a demographic crisis (/topic/demographic-crisis), China is happily rolling out a slew of supportive measures to encourage couples to have a third child. Fabien Baussart, President of CPFA (Center of Political and Foreign Affairs), in a blog post in The Times of Israel said that the new sets of incentives include perks such as baby bonuses, extended paid leaves, tax cuts and childbearing subsidies, among others. The Chinese authorities are pushing organizations and local administrations to offer handsome douceur to the...

Is Demand for Older Workers Adjusting to an Aging Labor Force?

By Damir Cosic & C. Eugene Steuerle This paper analyzes the demand for older workers, their substitutability with younger workers, and how well the demand for older workers tracks changes in the age composition of the labor force. The main data source for the analysis is the Quarterly Workforce Indicators from 2000 to 2018, which provides earnings and employment by sector and metropolitan statistical area. The analysis also uses KLEMS national data to estimate the sector-specific price and quantity of...

Germany wants to attract 400,000 skilled workers from abroad each year

Germany's new coalition government wants to attract 400,000 qualified workers from abroad each year to tackle both a demographic imbalance and labour shortages in key sectors that risk undermining the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. "The shortage of skilled workers has become so serious by now that it is dramatically slowing down our economy," Christian Duerr, parliamentary leader of the co-governing Free Democrats (FDP), told business magazine WirtschaftsWoche. "We can only get the problem of an ageing workforce under control with...

David Sinclair explains what an ageing population means for economies around the world

The world has been ageing for some time, according to David Sinclair, Director, International Longevity Centre, but policy has still not caught up to tackle the potential problems this may cause for the world. He says that an ageing population will have an impact on the future like at no other time in history and will change everything from cities, transport and consumption to relations between countries, and for that to be positive rapid policy changes are needed. The below interview...

India’s jobs crisis is more serious than it seems

Jitendra Maurya was one of more than 10,000 jobless young people who turned up for interviews for 15 low-skilled government jobs in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Many of them were overqualified - aspirants, according to one report, included post-graduates, engineers, MBAs and people like Maurya, who is preparing for a judge's exam, according to a BBC report. "The situation is such that sometimes there is no money to buy books. So I thought I will get some work [here],"...

Demographics Unravelled: How Demographics Affect and Influence Every Aspect of Economics, Finance and Policy

By Amlan Roy In Demographics Unravelled, renowned Macro-Demographics expert Amlan Roy delivers an insightful and timely exploration of the impact that “people characteristics” have on national economies. Considering factors like gender, race, migrant status, family background, and education, the author delves deeply into a subject that drives market behavior and economic variables, including growth, debt, inflation, employment, and productivity. These have national and international policy implications. In this one-of-a-kind book, you’ll discover: Why the study of demographics is the hidden key...