July 2021
23Jul

Joint Retirement of Couples: Evidence from Discontinuities in Denmark

By Esteban García-Miralles & Jonathan M. Leganza We study how social security influences the retirement behavior of couples. First, we exploit over two decades of full-population data and a discontinuity design to document sizable retirement spillovers to spouses when individuals reach pension eligibility age. Next, we explore underlying mechanisms. We find age differences within couples to be a fundamental determinant of joint retirement, which is driven by older spouses working longer. Accounting for these age differences reveals a strong gender...

July 23, 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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20Jul

Australia. Spend your money before you die, Treasury urges retirees

The Morrison government wants retirees to draw down their superannuation balances before they die, and has asked super funds to develop a strategy to make it easier for members to take money out of their super in retirement. The Commonwealth Treasury released a position paper on Monday canvassing the need for superannuation trustees to develop strategies that would encourage people to draw down their full super balances in retirement. The strategy, which would be in place from July 1, 2022, comes...

July 20, 2021
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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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07Jul

Retirement for 45-Year-Olds May Vanish in Saudi Pension Reform

Saudi Arabia is considering revamping the kingdom’s pension system to require citizens to work longer and contribute more, another hit to living standards that could undermine public support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to reshape the oil-reliant economy. Read also The slow-burn crisis inside Ukraine’s pension system The government -- faced with an estimated actuarial gap of 800 billion riyals ($213 billion) at the state-controlled pension fund -- is weighing proposals to increase the retirement age, according to three...

July 7, 2021
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01Jul

Spain. Escrivá Advances A Small Adjustment In Pensions Of The Baby Boomers

Escrivá advances a “small adjustment” in the pensions of the ‘baby boomers’. According to the minister, they will be able to choose between adjusting or delaying retirement. The new equity mechanism will replace the sustainability factor. Escrivá indicates that the pension reform will come into force “at the end of the year”. Read also France. Macron Weighs Pension Reform Before Bastille Day The implementation of the new intergenerational equity mechanism will mean “a small adjustment” in the pension of the generation...

July 1, 2021
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June 2021
23Jun

Ireland. Reducing pension age from 66 to 65 would cost €127m

Sinn Féin expects other parties and the public to judge them on “what they say they will do if they were in government in the south not what they actually do when they are in Government in the North,” Minister of State Damien English has said. Mr English made the claim during a Dáil debate on a Sinn Féin motion calling for calling for the Government to offer people the choice to retire at 65 if they wish. The pension age...

June 23, 2021
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18Jun

US. Required IRA, 401(k) withdrawals would start at age 75 under congressional proposal. Here’s who would benefit

The age when older Americans must start making withdrawals from retirement accounts could change yet again. Under a provision in proposed retirement legislation pending in Congress, required minimum distributions, or RMDs, would start at age 75 by 2032, up from age 72 — which only took effect last year after the 2019 Secure Act raised it from age 70½. The proposed adjustment would generally not impact most retirees: The majority — 79.5%, according to the IRS — take more than their...

June 18, 2021
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