June 2023

How can you know how much to save for retirement when the goalposts keep moving? Here’s a guide.

When it comes to preparing financially for retirement, Jessica Howard is wise beyond her years. “I absolutely am planning,” said Howard, 27, a Los Angeles-based care manager who schedules medical appointments and home health care for older adults.”“I have a drive to save for retirement because…I see 12 hours a day what can happen when people don’t properly save vs. when they’re fiscally smart.” If only all Americans had the drive and wherewithal to set themselves on a solid path toward...

US. 8 Best Retirement Destinations for LGBTQ Seniors

Choosing the best place to retire can be a difficult decision. Not only do you have to consider cost of living, accessibility to health care, proximity to family and more, but if you hope to settle into a community of like-minded retirees – say the LGBTQ senior community – it can be even more difficult to find a place that checks all your boxes. As an LGBTQ senior, inclusivity and community amenities are equally important as factors like cost, so...

Pioneering Safe & Inclusive LGBT Specific Retirement Accommodation. Exploring Models in the USA, UK, & Spain

By Liam Concannon With significant advances in equal rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens, achieved across the western world during the past few decades, one group that continues to be overlooked is LGBT elders. This article examines the unique discrimination and homophobia faced by older LGBT people living in nursing and residential care homes. It investigates ways in which these environments construct and perpetuate heteronormativity by addressing the needs of heterosexual residents, while at the same...

The Effect of Defined Benefit Pensions on Income Survivability and ‘Safe’ Withdrawal Rates in Retirement

By Alan Stocker  Income from a Defined Benefit (DB) pension with various levels of inflation protection (no protection, and inflation caps of 2.5% and 5%) was combined with the income from an investment portfolio to provide a total required income, IR that was constant in inflation adjusted terms. Results of backtesting are presented for retirees in the UK and USA using historical asset returns and inflation. For a value of IR close to the maximum safe withdrawal rate (MSWR) for...

Generation X confronts harsh new reality of retirement: unreadiness

America’s 65 million Generation Xers (born between 1965 and 1980) are confronted with a new set of financial challenges that are redefining their plans for retirement, just as they enter their final working years, according to Prudential Financial, Inc.’s latest Pulse research survey, “Gen X: Retirement Revised.” Key findings of the survey include: Nest egg empty. Up to 30 million (46%) Gen Xers do not think they will have enough saved to live comfortably in retirement. Those fears reflect Gen...

May 2023

UK. Improving financial security in retirement

How much to put aside for retirement is one of those issues that many working age people do not like to think about very much. With the last seven years dominated by Brexit, dealing with a pandemic and recovery from it, supporting households and businesses with energy bills and the cost of living crisis, it is also fair to say retirement saving has not been front and centre in the mind of policymakers either. While there was a lot of policy...

April 2023

Retirement Savings Behaviours and Covid-19: Evidence from Thailand

By Paul Gerrans, Sunatharee Lhaopadchan & Sirimon Treepongkaruna This paper utilises administrative data from members of the Thai Government Pension Fund to examine voluntary contributions and investment plan change. We find low overall incidence of both behaviours which increased only modestly during the onset of COVID-19. While the major finding is that members are in the minority if they engage in the behaviour regardless of gender, salary, balance, or experience in the fund, the relative probability varies systematically by member...

80% of Older Americans Cannot Pay for Long-Term Care or Withstand a Financial Shock, New Study Shows

A new analysis by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the LeadingAge LTSS Center @ UMass Boston finds that 80% of older Americans (47 million) continue to be unable to sustain a financial shock such as needing to pay for long-term care services and supports (LTSS) or the loss of income due to divorce or widowhood. The 80%: The Continued Toll of Financial Insecurity in Retirement looks at the total net value of all assets—housing, retirement accounts, income, and...

15 Cheapest Countries for Retirement

The Costs of Living in Retirement On average, a comfortable retirement in the USA costs an estimated $1 million. With Americans spending $50,220 annually post-retirement, 25% have already begun delaying their retirement plans. A 40-year high inflation, rising interest rates, and pandemic-led supply-chain disruptions are all notable factors causing this delay. CNBC notes that one million dollars in a retirement account two years ago are worth $120,000 less when accounted for inflation today. As a result, 77% of people have...

Why “aging in place” is a growth industry

Door widths, whether bathroom walls can support grab bars and the height of light switches are among the many items Dawn Mahiya checks when evaluating homes for her clients. As a certified aging in place specialist, Mahiya helps older people and people with disabilities figure out how to modify their homes to better fit their needs. Half of her clients, she said, are “people who are looking forward in their life … and the other half are generally their children who...