September 2021
17Sep

The Impact of Public Pension Deficits on Households’ Investment and Economic Activity

By Jinyuan Zhang US public state pension deficits are very large, accounting for 18.5% of an average state's GDP and up to 50% in Illinois. In principle, households should respond to this heavy future burden by increasing current savings, particularly in safe assets, since pension deficits are countercyclical. Comparing households residing on opposing sides of states' borders, I document that households in larger-deficit states save more, investing more in safe bank deposits and less in risky stocks. Specifically, households hold...

September 17, 2021
Articles, System Sustainability, , ,
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10Sep

US. Pension tension: 15 states with the worst public pensions

Public pensions took a beating during the Great Recession of 2008, and a recent report from the Equable Institute showed there to be no net recovery from those losses. The report also noted that total unfunded liabilities for statewide plans had increased from nearly $100 billion in 2001 to $1.35 trillion in 2019, with an estimated 2020 total of $1.62 trillion as a result of negative cash flows and market underperformance. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic had something to do with that:...

September 10, 2021
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08Sep

UK. Pensions triple lock scrapped as another Conservative manifesto pledge broken

The pensions triple lock pledge has been scrapped for the 2022/23 financial year in another break of pledges made in the Conservative party manifesto. Read also UK. Scottish fintech firm set to help build pensions dashboard The moves announced today mean that pensions will not rise by 8% next April, but will instead rise by the rate of inflation, which currently stands at 2.5%. The triple lock ensures the state pension will increase in line with either the rate of inflation, wages,...

September 8, 2021
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02Sep

US. Suburban residents risk losing homes over rising pension costs

By Amy Korte Patricia Hill grew up in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood dreaming of one day owning a home. She and her husband accomplished that dream in 2003 when they moved to the suburb of Matteson to raise their two daughters. They bought a two-story home in a quiet neighborhood for $315,000. Her property taxes were $7,800 for 2004. But Hill’s home is now worth less than she paid for it back in ’03. Meanwhile, her property taxes have done anything...

September 2, 2021
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August 2021
31Aug

Benefits and Costs of Social Pensions in Sub-Saharan Africa

By Melis U. Guven & Phillippe G. Leite The lack of efficient social security systems, the presence of large informal sectors, and the pace at which the population is aging in some Sub-Saharan African countries are red flags warning of a potential long-term problem: that is, the inability of countries to provide old-age income security to all. Many adults in the region have difficulties accessing health care and other essential services, increasing their vulnerability and their likelihood of becoming impoverished...

August 31, 2021
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24Aug

Nepalese Gurkhas end hunger strike over UK military pensions

Nepalese Gurkha military veterans have ended a 13-day hunger strike after the United Kingdom’s government agreed to discuss their longstanding grievances over pension rights. Thousands of Gurkhas, who are renowned as hard and loyal fighters, have served in the British army but until 2007, did not enjoy the same pay and conditions as British soldiers. Those who served before 1997 still receive only a fraction of their British counterparts’ salary as it was assumed they would return to Nepal after leaving...

August 24, 2021
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02Aug

US. Three NYPD execs drawing both pensions, salaries: payroll review

Three top NYPD execs are collecting hefty pensions from their time on the force in addition to six-figure salaries for their current civilian roles — including the man tasked with keeping cops honest, Internal Affairs boss Joseph Reznick, a Post review has found. And despite carrying the lofty title, the trio isn’t even technically deputy commissioners by the letter of the City Charter, which the department has apparently flouted for years to swell its well-compensated executive ranks. The Post uncovered the...

August 2, 2021
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July 2021
29Jul

Fair Pension Policies with Occupation-Specific Aging

By Volker Grossmann, Johannes Schünemann & Holger Strulik We discuss public pension systems in a multi-period overlapping generations model with gerontologically founded human aging and a special focus on occupation-specific morbidity and mortality. We examine how distinct replacement rates for white-collar and blue-collar workers and early retirement policies could be designed to provide a fair and aggregate welfare-enhancing public pension system. Calibrating the model to Germany, we find that a pension system that equalizes relative pension contributions and the relative...

July 29, 2021
Aging, Articles, Pension design, ,
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26Jul

UK. Triple lock is far from the biggest pension issue on government’s plate

One of the realisations of reaching an age when you are beginning to plan the details of what to do when you finally stop work is how much those preparations are affected by decisions made by others, over which you have limited control. Chief among them is the issue of money. The income you retire on is a key determinant in what happens next: how comfortable your life will be and what compromises you need to make to get through...

July 26, 2021
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23Jul

Pensions and Timing of Retirement: The Case of the Public Service Pension Scheme in Uganda

By Kibs Boaz Muhanguzi Unsustainable defined-benefit public pension scheme, rising life expectancy, and high level of unemployment endanger the socioeconomic and political stability of Uganda’s economy. This research approaches the problem from labor supply point of view by: (i) analyzing the effect of the public service pension scheme on timing of retirement; (ii) investigating the required early retirement incentives that would increase employment in the public service; and (iii) determining the predictors of postretirement employment in the public service in...

July 23, 2021
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