By Strathmore University The purpose of this study is to assess and evaluate the views and attitudes of working age Kenyans who are members of a registered workplace pension schemes. The study reveals the extent in which different factors influence individual’s level of optimism or pessimism about retirement as well as Kenyans actions to prepare for retirement. (more…)
By Pascal Borsjé (Clifford Chance LLP) & Hans van Meerten (Utrecht University - Utrecht Centre for Shared Regulation and Enforcement in Europe – RENFORCE) This contribution will especially address the EC’s general policy in respect of the IORP II Proposal, also in connection with general more recent EU law developments, and its consequences for the pension systems of the EU Member States, with a focus on the occupational pension system of the Netherlands. (more…)
By Bilal Bagis (Bingol University; Istanbul 29 Mayis University Department of Economics) The Turkish social insurance system has been feverishly debated for years, particularly through its burden on the economy. The most recent reform is an attempt to neutralize the deterioration within the social security system and its effects on the economy. After the recent reform, ‘the way that retirement benefits are calculated’ is changed unfavorably for workers and the minimum age for retirement is increased. In particular, for an...
By Jason Lin (Truman State University - Department of Business Administration) & Jane Sung (Truman State University) The public pension crisis has come under increasing scrutiny over the past decade as shifting demographic trends, harsh economic conditions and the very nature of pension funds have changed, and not for the better. Pension funds create valuable saving and investment tools for an individual's retirement. They make what seems like the impossible daunting task of saving sufficient funds for retirement completely feasible....
By Christian Aspalter (BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai, China) This paper sets out to summarize major conundrums, and some of their solutions, in pension reform policy of the years ahead, with particular reference to the Asia-Pacific Region, and here again, Japan and Thailand. The repercussions for non-action pertaining to the reform and overhaul of public pension systems go far beyond the realm of social policy and economic development. The twin-issue of old-age poverty and fiscal sustainability of public pension systems...
By Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Elias Naumann Studying the political economy of welfare state reform, this edited collection focuses on the role of public opinion and organized interests in respect to policy change. It highlights that welfare states are hard pressed to reform in order to cope with ongoing socio-economic and demographic challenges. While public opinion is commonly seen to oppose welfare cuts and organized interests such as trade unions have tended to defend acquired social rights, this book shows that there...
By Jeffrey R. Brown, Arie Kapteyn, Erzo F.P. Luttmer, Olivia S. Mitchell & Anya Samek This paper examines two behavioral factors that diminish people’s ability to value a lifetime income stream or annuity, drawing on a survey of about 4,000 adults in a U.S. nationally representative sample. Our first main finding is that experimentally increasing the complexity of the annuity choice reduces respondents’ ability to value the annuity. We measure lack of ability to value an annuity by the difference...
By Philip Bazel (University of Calgary - The School of Public Policy) & Jack Mintz (University of Calgary - The School of Public Policy; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)) Canadians have heard a great deal of discussion in the national media about expanding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), driven by concerns that many will retire without having made proper arrangements to adequately replace their incomes with pensions and savings. But the proposed remedies have been targeted at...
By M. Nicolas J. Firzli (World Pensions Council (WPC)) The 2017 Spring Meetings coincided with the surprise calling of snap general elections in the UK and military tensions in the Yellow Sea. Our postwar social contract has to cope with unprecedented shocks: Britain’s thorny withdrawal from the EU, worsening Migrant Crisis, rise in populist demagoguery. But there are also positive signs: the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and new, more demanding governance norms are making unprecedented advances across the boardrooms of...
By Seth Armitage (University of Edinburgh) & Ronan Gallagher (University of Edinburgh - Edinburgh Business School) UK companies have been making large contributions to reduce the deficits of their pension funds, and are believed to fund such contributions in part by reducing dividends. Using data from 2003, we find very little evidence that large contributions are associated with reductions in dividends or other payouts to shareholders. We find further that companies tend to make large contributions when they have healthy...
