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April 2024

“Safe” Annuity Retirement Products and a Possible US Retirement Crisis

By Thomas E. Lambert & Christopher B. Tobe This paper examines a looming possible crisis in many Americans’ retirement plans due to the proliferation of annuity products in their retirement investment portfolios. As defined benefit pension plans have almost completely disappeared as a means of retirement savings and have been replaced by defined contribution retirement plans over the last 40 to 50 years, a great number of private and public sector defined contribution retirement plans have become laden with insurance...

Greece. Viable social security system, but only on low pensions

The sustainability of the social security system is considered assured until the distant 2070, according to a new study by the National Actuarial Authority submitted to the competent department of the European Commission. There is, of course, a very important and highly mandatory condition: That nothing changes in terms of the so-called “parametric changes,” i.e. retirement age limits, amount and method of calculating benefits, etc. And, of course, an equally disappointing finding, that Greece has a sustainable system, but insufficient...

The country with the most generous retirement in the world

The UK state pension notoriously pays a meagre income that barely covers the basic cost of living in retirement. Even those who receive the full £11,500 a year face a shortfall of almost £3,000 on what is required for a ‘minimum’ standard of living, according to pension industry guidelines. But are British pensioners really any worse off than their counterparts in Europe and around the world? And just how generous are state pension schemes in other countries? With the help of pensions firm...

March 2024

Autonomy or Delegation, Libertarianism or Paternalism: What I Like for Myself and What I Like for Others on Pension Savings

By Carmen Sainz Villalba By using an online survey conducted with Bilendi&Respondi, we correlate the variables of people’s perception of howdifferent they are from others with respect to their pension plan preferences, how informed they are about financial matters in general, and what are their preferences toward the government intervention of savings plans. The empirical approach is inspired by theory results of Konrad (2023). His game-theory analysis suggest that two factors increase the citizen’s desire for autonomous economic decision-making: eccentricity...

The next stage of ESG evolution in the pension landscape

By Investment Institute A juggernaut that’s losing momentum or just refiring its engine? This question on ESG investing has come to the fore due to a confluence of exceptional events in 2022. After meeting investors’ return expectations since the 2015 Paris Agreement, last year’s savage bear market hit a broad range of investment strategies, no matter their intrinsic merits. ESG was no exception. The episode showed that ESG investments are exposed to periodic setbacks due to a larger dynamic that has little to do with...

Unpackaging ESG: Evidence from 401(k) Investment

By Jiaxing Tian & Jiahong Shi We study how investors respond to scandals related to three distinct aspects of ESG--E(nvironmental), S(ocial) and G(overnance)--in their retirement savings. Using data on 401(k) investments, we show that nearby ESG scandals correlate with increased ESG fund additions and flows, possibly through ``evoking'' their existing sustainable preferences. Investors with different characteristics respond heterogeneously to E, S and G scandals. In magnitude, old investors are twice as likely as young investors to add ESG funds to...

An Assessment of the 2019 and 2020 Pension Reforms in Mexico

By Boele Bonthuis In recent years the Mexican pension system has changed significantly. In 2019 the existing means-tested social pension was made universal – covering everyone over the age of 65 – and the benefit level increased. In 2020, the main regime of the private sector was substantially reformed, increasing contribution rates for the funded defined contribution system, lowering the minimum years of contributions needed to receive an earnings-related pension, and increasing minimum pensions. This paper tries to assess the...

The gender pension gap: What does it tell us and what should be done about it?

By Miglena Abels, Loli Arribas-Banos & Gustavo Demarco Despite recent attention in the media, progress in closing the gender pension gap in most countries has halted. These sources point to a stark disparity in retirement outcomes, with women receiving pensions that are between 25% to 30% lower than those of men. Methodological differences to estimate the gap don’t make it less striking and are no excuse for inaction. Source World Bank

Switzerland votes against increasing the retirement age. What are the retirement ages around the world?

Swiss nationals have voted in favour of increasing their state pension by an extra month every year. The nationwide referendum saw Swiss voters take to the ballot box to discuss issues on living standards for the elderly. Around 60 per cent of the nation voted in favour of providing the additional payout each year, while simultaneously refusing to raise the retirement age from 65 to 66. At present, the maximum monthly state pension is €2,550 (£2,180; $2,760) but the cost of living in Switzerland has dramatically...

February 2024

World Bank Urges Malaysia to Mandate Retirement Savings for Digital Platform Workers

In a world where the gig economy is not just an option but a necessity for many, the World Bank has cast a spotlight on Malaysia, urging the government to adopt a pioneering approach to safeguard its informal workers.At the heart of this recommendation is a call for mandatory contributions to retirement savings for those earning through digital platforms. This suggestion comes at a critical juncture, as the gig economy's productivity in Malaysia soared to RM1.33 billion in the third...