September 2021
08Sep

US. Retirement Reforms Included in Key House Committee Budget Language

The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will begin debate Thursday on a set of major budget reconciliation recommendations, as directed by Section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022. The mechanics of congressional budget reconciliation legislation are complicated, but as explained in a white paper published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, reconciliation bills are not subject to filibuster. In other words, that means the legislation only needs...

September 8, 2021
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06Sep

South Korea. State pensions face mounting calls for reform

Calls are expected to grow for the reform of four state-run pension funds, as nearly 60 trillion won ($51 billion) will be allocated for public spending next year, up 6.2 percent from this year's 55.8 trillion won. The year-on-year increase will require a greater amount of taxpayers' money to slow the hemorrhaging of the funds, as a rapidly aging society and overall decrease in labor productivity cause government welfare expenditures to snowball. Mandatory spending by law cannot be curbed unless a...

September 6, 2021
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August 2021
30Aug

Plan for early pension access in South Africa could do more harm than good, authorities warn

Financial authorities have warned that the proposed Pensions Funds Amendment Bill could have a harmful impact on financial savings in South Africa. The bill, which was tabled by the opposition Democratic Alliance, will allow retirement fund members to access a portion of their savings in cash before retirement as a guarantee for a loan. The bill makes provision for this by amending the current Pension Funds Act to allow pension fund members to obtain a loan, secured by a guarantee from...

August 30, 2021
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26Aug

Retirement and Voluntary Work Provision: Evidence from the Australian Age Pension Reform

By Rong Zhu This paper examines the empirical link between retirement and the supply of volunteer labor, using panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. To identify the causal impact, we exploit a major reform of the Australian Age Pension which has significantly changed the retirement incentives of older people. We find positive and significant effects of retirement status on the voluntary work provision of older men and women. Longer time spent in retirement...

August 26, 2021
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16Aug

Warning over major retirement change for South Africa

National Treasury has published further details around a new retirement system proposed for South Africa that will allow people to access a portion of their savings early in times of a financial emergency. Treasury has described it as a ‘two-bucket’ system: The first bucket for longer-term financial security – Members must preserve their contributions and the compounded growth invested. They will not have access to this portion of their funds until they retire. The second bucket for short-term financial relief – Members...

August 16, 2021
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11Aug

How COVID-19, politics have impacted Latin America’s private pension fund industry

Assets under management held by Latin America’s private pension fund managers have trended higher, reaching US$659bn last year. Growth, albeit slower than in previous years, was eked out in 2020 amid the COVID-19 economic fallout. Nevertheless, the number of contributors fell. Read also Finland tops global pension rankings These managers – known in private pension fund trailblazer Chile as AFPs – are key drivers of economic development, typically investing in company stock, government debt and infrastructure bonds. Read also The Origins of ESG...

August 11, 2021
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July 2021
19Jul

Spain inches ahead with pension reform

Spain will pay workers to postpone retirement as part of a pensions reform strategy that analysts warn does not go far enough to cut a huge deficit in the system. With nearly 30 billion euros ($36 billion) of annual losses in 2020 and rising, Spain's social security budget is one of the biggest contributors to the country's ballooning public deficit. The European Commission has long demanded that Spain reform its pension system and has made it a condition for accessing European...

July 19, 2021
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13Jul

France. Macron confirms he will pursue Pension Reform

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a series of economic measures, looking beyond the pandemic, although the much-anticipated pensions reform will be delayed until Covid is "under control". Obligatory vaccines and the extension of the health pass made the headlines following Macron’s live TV address on Monday evening, but the President also sketched out his vision for France’s post-Covid economy. Some of the measures he announced represent a return to the priorities he set at the beginning of his tenure, while...

July 13, 2021
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08Jul

Delay the Pension Age or Adjust the Pension Benefit? Implications for Labor Supply and Individual Welfare in China

By Yuanyuan Deng, Hanming Fang, Katja Hanewald, Shang Wu We develop and calibrate a life-cycle model of labor supply and consumption to quantify the implications of alternative pension reforms on labor supply, individual welfare, and government budget for China’s basic old-age insurance program. We focus on urban males and distinguish low-skilled and high-skilled individuals, who differ in their preferences, health and labor income dynamics, and medical expense processes. We use the calibrated model to evaluate three potential pension reforms: (i)...

July 8, 2021
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08Jul

Towards equity and sustainability? China’s pension system reform moves center stage

By Li Yang In this paper I review the latest development of China’s public pension system. Last several decades saw China’s tremendous achievement in various public pension reforms. Especially since the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), reform has accelerated. By 2019, the public pension system in China has covered almost one billion adults, which makes it the biggest pension system in the world. Together with the expansion of Dibao (Basic living allowance) and the eradication of poverty, the development of pension...

July 8, 2021
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