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Today, many countries in the world are concerned about the well-being of pensioners, as their number is growing every year and pension systems cannot cope with ensuring a decent old age. The well-being of pensioners is part of the well-being of society, and the pension system is an institution for ensuring the well-being of pensioners. Therefore, it is important to understand the relationship between the financial well-being of older people and the country’s pension system. It is also important to understand that the family is an integral part of a person and therefore the well-being of each family member affects family relationships. This article is devoted to the assessment of the financial well-being of pensioners in Kazakhstan as a key factor affecting the family relations of a pensioner with partner, children, and grandchildren. Primary and secondary data were used for this study. The primary data were collected through interviews, which allowed us to obtain a subjective definition of financial well-being on the part of pensioners and its impact on family relations. This data was processed and encoded using the Atlas.ti program. Data from the Bureau of National Statistics made it possible to objectively assess the financial situation of Kazakhstani pensioners. The study found that the concept of financial well-being among Kazakhstani pensioners is more important for men than for women. Pensioners are not happy with their financial well-being, but this does not significantly affect their relationship with their families. The results of the study will allow us to assess the financial well-being of pensioners and can be used in the reform of social policy, pension provision of the country. Through the use of interviews financial literacy has been identified as one of the key factors, which depends on circumstances and the context.

Copyright of Polityka Spoleczna is the property of Institute of Labour & Social / Instytut Pracy i Spraw Socjalnych and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The stereotype content model (SCM) provides a basis to investigate stereotypes of different social groups. Previous SCM research has shown that the "welfare recipients" are stereotyped negatively, with low warmth and low competence. However, prior research has not considered different categories of income support recipients who may be stereotyped differently. Using the SCM, we investigated the stereotypes held by the Australian general population (n = 807) towards five key social groups (unemployed, people with a mental disability, people with a physical disability, single parents, elderly). People with a mental or physical disability and the elderly were similar regardless of whether they were described as receiving income support payments or not. In contrast, the unemployed and single parents were stereotyped with significantly lower levels of warmth and competence when they were receiving payments. This research shows that the needs and circumstances of different groups may be reflected in different levels of community support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Law and the State must guarantee the citizens' rights, providing legal and human security. Therefore, social security has been a historical yearning and a social desire to reach human dignity, solidarity and ethics; in these times of economic globalization, the legal - economic relationship between employer and worker are submerged in a wave of conflicting interests, among social interests and private interests. On the one hand, the generation of profits and earnings, and on the other hand, the concern to satisfy family needs; the analysis and concern on this matter focuses in the final stage of working life, the retirement stage, in the hope of obtaining a sufficient pension to cover the vital minimum, aimed to achieve a dignified life, finding an equilibrium between the binominal State-Market interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Involuntary retirement transitions have a variety of negative consequences for individuals and society as they can lead to poorer health or lower wellbeing. Therefore, it is of high relevance to better understand the factors influencing the voluntariness of retirement transitions. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify the known determinants of the voluntariness of retirement. Our final review includes 14 studies that empirically investigate this topic. Differentiated by micro-, meso- and macro-levels, we present the identified factors and discuss different ways of operationalizing voluntary or involuntary retirement. We found that most studies analyse individual factors. There is a gap in research on influencing factors at the company level as well as the welfare state level. In addition, it is of interest to examine whether and to what extent pension and labour market policy reforms have led to changes over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arbetsmarknad & Arbetsliv is the property of Karlstads universitet, Arbetsvetenskap and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The value of retirees' gratuity and pension will continue to grow as individuals reduce their reliance on family members to care for them in old age and accept the truth that they must care for themselves by saving for the future. Benefits for retirees have piqued the interest of policymakers and experts worldwide. Numerous articles have been written to assess Nigeria's previous pension system, the reasons for its failure, the shortcomings of the new pension system, and the influence of both the old and new pension systems on pensioners' wellbeing in Nigeria. Nonetheless, no study exists in Nigeria on the effect of delayed gratuity and pension payments on postretirement situations. To close this divide, this study explores the effect of delayed gratuity and pension payments on retirees' willingness to keep their current position in Nigeria. This study analyzed secondary data obtained from published and unpublished books, journal articles, and online sources. It used content analysis to determine the relevance of the material collected to the study's scope. The study shows that delayed gratuity and pension payments contribute to pensioners' diminishing status, deteriorating health, and premature mortality shortly after retirement. The study consequently suggests that both public and private employers of labor do regular pre-retirement training for their employees to avoid the shame of seeing their retirees become penniless on the streets or succumb to an early death shortly after retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The aim of this discussion paper is to (i) identify the differentiated roles of health in the work-retirement transition, and, with respect to these, (ii) highlight topics related to conceptual and methodological problems and challenges in research, and (iii) present avenues for future research. Methods This discussion paper summarizes an OMEGA-NET working group discussion ongoing from November 2018 to September 2021 with face-to-face and online meetings as well as a written online discourse. Results 'Health' and 'retirement' are ambiguous concepts. With respect to both, in retirement research, the choice of concept and indicator influences the findings. In addition, the impact of health on retirement is not necessarily a direct one, but can be influenced by further factors such as the ability, motivation and opportunity to work. The strong overall association of poor health with retiring early (path 1) bears the risk of masking distinct and deviating mechanisms in subgroups. In fact, there is evidence that also good health may lead to early retirement (path 2), while both poor health (path 3) and good health (path 4) may also make people retire later. Conclusions An increased awareness of the differentiated roles that health may have in the work-retirement transition as outlined in this discussion paper may support research to address questions relevant for policy and practice and increase the impact of research. Recommendations for occupational health and social research are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using four-wave national longitudinal survey data, this study estimates the influence of pension and medical insurance on risky financial market participation for individuals aged ≥ 45 years in China. Three key findings emerge. First, both pension and medical insurance positively affect the probability of holding risky financial assets and their shares. However, both insurances' influences are almost insignificant when addressing the heterogeneity problem. Second, pension's positive effect is greater for lower-risk financial assets (bonds) than for higher-risk financial assets (stocks), but the results are reversed for medical insurance. Third, the influences of social insurance differ by age and the hukou group, as well as by the type of pension and medical insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Al-Adab / Al-ādāb is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigates the value relevance and persistence of the excess of expected return over interest income on pension assets (excess return on pension assets) and pension-related other comprehensive income (OCI) components under SFAS No. 158. I find that firm value is positively associated with the excess return on pension assets and prior service cost OCI adjustments, but not associated with net pension loss OCI adjustments. The Mishkin test indicates that investors overestimate the persistence of the excess return on pension assets and treat transitory prior service cost OCI adjustments as if prior service cost represents an intangible asset. Consequently, the market overprices firms with large amounts of the excess return on pension assets and prior service cost OCI adjustments. In contrast, investors appear to correctly understand the transitory feature of net pension loss OCI adjustments. Overall, the results have important implications for a broad audience including investors, firms, and standard setters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The pension system in Poland is undergoing another major reform. Between 2019 and 2021 Employee Capital Plans (ECP) are being implemented. This common system of voluntary pension savings schemes is a new element of the third pillar. The purpose of the ECP is to cover the majority of employees and to provide additional pension security for the large part of the labour force in Poland. Since Poland is still implementing the reform, and the system is still quite young, the research background is limited. Aim: This article tries to provide deeper, both legal and economic, analysis of the ECP. On the legal ground, it considers whether ECP provide “cover against biometric risk” or “guarantees a given level of benefits” for the purposes of Article 13(2) of EU Directive 2016/2341 (the “IORP II Directive”). If no such cover and no such guarantee are provided, then an ECP scheme is not required to comply with the technical provisions, buffer, and other funding requirements applicable to an IORP which is classified as a “regulatory own fund” in Article 15 of the IORP II Directive. From the economic perspective, the purpose of the article is to answer the question of how much the ECP members are covered against the risk of longevity. To achieve the research objective the method of critical legal dogmatics and the economic analysis of law method are employed. Results: The article explores how the ECP schemes are classified under the IORP II Directive. It also answers the question of how much the ECP members are covered against the risk of longevity. The main finding of this analysis is that the ECP, as a defined contribution plan, does not protect participants from either biometric risk or asset value declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to rapid demographic ageing and to sustain its pension system, the Netherlands recently initiated a pension reform that increased the retirement age, with the intention to increase labour force participation among older workers. However, there is little evidence on the preferences of workers concerning their retirement age, and on how these preferences have changed over time. To identify personal and work-related determinants of the preference toward earlier or later retirement, and how these determinants and preferences have changed over time. We use data from three consecutive measurements (waves) of a large Dutch panel. Ordered logit regression is used to investigate the predictors of retirement preferences. Analyses are performed for two groups; all workers and a subsample of workers aged 50 years or older. Furthermore, the analyses are performed for each wave separately and for the combined dataset. A preference for later retirement is primarily related to university education, high job satisfaction, and high income. Age is only positively related to later retirement among older workers. Earlier retirement is preferred by female workers and workers living with a partner. The preference toward an earlier retirement age has increased over time. The preferences toward retirement can be primarily explained by personal characteristics, job satisfaction, and net income. Furthermore, with the increase in the retirement age defined by current legislation, the preference for an earlier retirement age has increased over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines and analyzes the essence of pension relations in modern Russia. The aim of the article is to study and test the hypothesis that an important factor in ensuring the effectiveness of the Russian pension system is a clear definition of the essence of economic relations in it, as well as adequate legal and organizational formalization of these relations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the validity and adequacy of applying (from terminological to organizational and practical levels) the classical insurance principles in the organization of the pension system, as well as the possibilities of increasing the efficiency of this system on the basis of the insurance sector. The research methodology is based on the analysis of the genesis and current state of the Russian pension system. The results of the study indicate that the structure of the Russian pension system requires serious reorganization, in particular, a clear distinction between the insurance (pension insurance) and non-insurance (pension provision) segments. The authors substantiated that pension insurance should be based on the classical principles of life insurance, and insurers who have an appropriate license obtained under the Law “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation” should be involved in the implementation of this insurance. At the same time, non-state pension funds must either be transformed into life insurers, or acquire new functionality within the framework of pension provision (the non-insurance part of the pension system). The practical implementation of the research results and related recommendations will allow, according to the authors, to organically structure the insurance and non-insurance segments of the Russian pension system and increase its efficiency. The authors conclude that the construction of pension insurance on the basis of the classical principles of life insurance will make it possible to fully use the accumulated global and domestic experience of using life insurance as a reliable instrument for financing pensions. At the same time, it is necessary to extend to pension relations the norms of regulation of the insurance market and state insurance supervision, which have proven their effectiveness.

Целью данного исследования является проведение сравнительного анализа ассоциативных полей русскоязычного понятия "пенсия" и его англоязычных коррелятов "retirement" и "pension" для установления сходства и различия в восприятии пенсии как социального феномена в русскоязычной и англоязычной культурах. В качестве метода исследования применялась схема дистрибутивного анализа, предложенная Д. Дизом. материалом для исследования послужили данные свободных ассоциативных экспериментов, размещенных на нескольких Интернет-ресурсах. Статистическая обработка материала позволила, во-первых, выстроить иерархическую структуру ассоциативного значения исследуемого понятия: от доминантных до второстепенных и маловыраженных ассоциаций, и, во-вторых, сопоставить реакции, полученные на русскоязычный репрезентант и его английские аналоги, установив, таким образом, культурно-специфические особенности восприятия пенсии.

The article analyzes in detail and comments article by article the main legal aspects of the Law of the Republic of Moldova on the provision of benefits in the event of the death of one of the spouses No. 156/2019 through the prism of the norms and prescriptions of the national legislation on social insurance and social security, as well as their practical and correct application, with the formulation in the process of presenting the material of substantiated conclusions and recommendations on the multifaceted and topical topic under consideration. At the same time, the comments contained in this article are intended to assist faculty, doctoral students, undergraduates and students of law schools / faculties and scientific researchers of organizations / centers in the field of science and innovation in the systemic assimilation of social insurance and social security norms. , regulating the procedure for registration and payment of benefits due to the death of one of the spouses. In addition, these comments are aimed at correct / accurate understanding and application of the provisions of the current laws and regulations on social insurance and social security by employees of social insurance and social assistance / protection authorities at all levels, lawyers, inspectors of human resources services, representatives of social partners and non-governmental organizations. , entrepreneurs, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, mediators, trade unionists and activists, interested employees and government officials

World practice shows that non-state pension funds (NPFs) are not only a tool for supplementary pensions, but also a source of significant investment in the economy. This study aims at determining the investment potential of 65 Ukrainian NPFs currently functioning in the country. The analysis of Ukrainian NPFs has shown their insignificant role as an investment resource (the volume of their assets is 0.09% of GDP). At the same time, NPFs operate with significant funds (UAH 3.1 billion in 2019), but the lack of a developed stock market and effective financial instruments in the country narrows the opportunities for their investment activities. A study of the structure of NPF assets allocation showed that it is far from optimal in terms of investment portfolio diversification and is very conservative – almost 85% of invested NPF assets are government guaranteed securities and funds in bank deposit accounts. But in the context of tightening the requirements for disclosure of information on the activities of NPFs, promoting the stock market development, formation of reliable mechanisms to protect depositors’ pension savings,and formation of an effective investment portfolio, NPFs in Ukraine

• This research focused on the effect of three forms of intergenerational mutual supports on cognitive functioning in middle-aged adults. • The moderating role of personal income in those relationship was explored. • A nationally representative population with a follow-up period of 7-year was used. • The effects of time-varying variables and adequate confounding factors were considered. To analyze the effects of personal income on the relationship between intergenerational support (IS) and cognitive functioning. Data were obtained from four waves of nationally representative surveys of the 2011–2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), involving 8,207 participants aged 45 ∼ 60 at baseline. Multivariate linear regression models using generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the effects of three forms of intergenerational mutual supports on cognitive functioning in middle-aged adults, and subgroup regressions were used to analyze the moderating role of personal income in this relationship. The results showed that financial and caregiving support from children impaired the cognitive functioning of their parents; whereas providing financial support to children and mutual emotional support with them positively affected their cognition; however, childcare was not significantly associated with cognitive levels in middle-aged adults. Moreover, the effect of IS on the cognitive level of Chinese middle-aged people disappeared or was attenuated by having pensions or earning their own post-tax income. IS has a significant effect on cognitive functioning in middle-aged adults, but this effect is moderated by personal income. These results are informative for the development of intergenerational relationship intervention programs for the prevention of cognitive decline in middle-aged adults with different personal income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pension entitlements are influenced by individual career paths and labor market conditions, which often result in gender-based disparities. Women face several challenges during their working lives, such as late entry into the labor market, the gender pay gap, discontinuous working careers, and early retirement due to family caregiving, which lead to lower pension incomes. This paper investigates the gender pension gap in nine European Union countries from 2004 to 2020. Our study adopts a non-parametric estimation strategy that utilizes additively decomposable inequality measures to provide a more informative perspective on gender inequality. We aim to demonstrate that this approach surpasses the standard gender gap in pension index in capturing between-gender inequality in societies. Employing data from the SHARE database, we find that gender inequality in the studied countries is decreasing on average, with a convergence trend observed from 2011 onwards. This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the gender pension gap phenomenon, which is crucial for developing effective policy responses in a welfare perspective.

Copyright of Anthropology Magazine is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article examines the factors that intervene in decisions to leave the labour market in the Czech Republic from a gender perspective. It uses binary logistic regression to identify the variables that predict the economic inactivity of men and women at the age of 60 plus and the interactions of variables to examine whether the factors that determine when people exit the labour market are the same for men and women. The analysis uses data from the Labour Force Study (LFS) collected in the fourth quarter of 2017 and focuses on people between the ages of 60 and 69 and five independent variables: gender, education, pension eligibility, marital status, and type of job. It studies how gender intersects with other characteristics in the decision to retire from the labour market. Although pension eligibility is the central predictor of economic inactivity after the age of 60, when eligibility is controlled for here, it is evident that gender, education, job type, and marital status all influence the timing of labour market exits. Women leave work earlier than men, and this is found to be true even when we control for their education or pension eligibility. They are also more likely than men to leave work even if they are not yet eligible to collect a pension. The effect of education is not as straightforward for women as for men: women with the lowest and with the highest levels of education are more likely to continue to work than men with the same educational attainment. Policies to prolong people’s working lives may thus have a different impact on each gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays commodity trading research is gaining greater attention among researchers. The reason is that commodity trading is the deciding factor of product-price fixation, price-fluctuation gain, and economic development. The study attempts to find out the investor's awareness level of commodity trading in the region selected for the study and is impact. The sample size is 279, data was collected at Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and Kallakurichi districts of South Tamil Nadu. The results show that lack of commodity trading awareness and technical knowledge is a real barrier to entering into trading. Still, most of the village people do not know much about commodity trading. Government, policy makers and trading agencies have the responsibility to create the awareness and educate the public to enable the people to be potential investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We draw on the latest edition of the Global Findex Database (2017) to investigate the responses of 17,717 respondents from 143 countries to gain a perspective on the retirement savings by the young working adults aged between 18 to 30 years using the multilevel binary logistic regression. The evidence brings into light the gender gap in retirement savings and the positive influence of education, household income and the economic development on retirement savings. The findings add to the debate on pension reforms and social security and motivate informed policy initiatives to address the low level of retirement savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid fuel use is harmful to the health of human beings and hinders the sustainable development of society. Although a considerable literature has sufficiently researched the negative consequences of solid fuel use, fewer studies have explored the determinants of residential polluted energy use in the framework of culture and socioeconomics by focusing on ethnic diversity groups. This paper fills this gap by investigating the impact of religion on the decision to use solid fuel for rural households in ethnic minority regions of China. In particular, we argue that to a large extent, religion provides spiritual support in ethnic minority regions, and it is positively associated with solid fuel use. We examine the issue by employing a large-scale dataset, namely, the China Household Ethnic Survey. Furthermore, this paper identifies two channels of the above finding. First, a pension is regarded as a living support that has a moderate effect in shifting towards clean energy adoption. Second, households located in less remote regions are able to counteract the sole spiritual support of religion, which also mitigates solid fuel use. The results are robust after addressing endogeneity and applying recent developments of alternative models. This paper further confirms that households with various religious activities turn out fewer working hours and have larger related expenditures, which results in less disposable income for energy use. In terms of policy implications, this article suggests the importance of recognizing the role of substantial living support and social inclusion in mitigating the negative impact of religion on clean energy use among rural households of ethnic minority regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2018, this paper analyzes the influencing factors of empty nest family tourism consumption. It is found that family assets, pension income and Internet usage have a significant impact on empty nest family tourism consumption, positively promoting it. Internet usage has the greatest impact. This paper also carries out a heterogeneity test. The results show that the factors affecting the tourism consumption of empty nest families are different among middle-aged and elderly empty nest families, urban and rural empty nest families, and empty nest families in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Crónica Tributaria is the property of Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, Ministerio de Hacienda y Funcion Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Population ageing in advanced economies could have significant macroeconomic implications, unless more individuals choose to participate in labour markets. In this context, the steep increase in the share of older workers who remain economically active since the mid-1990s is an overlooked yet encouraging trend. We identify the drivers of the rise in participation of the elderly relying on cross-country and individual-level data from advanced economies over the past three decades. Our findings suggest that the bulk of the increase in their participation is driven by gains in educational attainment and changes in labour market policies, such as the tax benefit system, and pension reforms. Urbanization and the increasing role of services also contributed, while automation weighed on their participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate the effect of the 2008 pension reform in Chile, applying a difference-in-difference estimation method to longitudinal survey data representative of the Chilean population. Our evidence suggests that those who started to receive a basic pension increased their debt more than their assets. We interpret this as an indicator of debt sustainability. The debt ratio increased significantly more for women, who may be particularly exposed to financial crises. The results raise concerns about the potential financial vulnerability of the population targeted by the reform, due to over-indebtedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: The demographic changes in Europe underline the need for an extension of working lives. This study investigates the importance of physical work demands and psychosocial work factors for working beyond the state pension age (65 years). METHODS: We combined data from three cohorts of the general working population in Denmark (DWECS 2005 and 2010, and DANES 2008), where actively employed workers aged 55–59 years replied to questionnaires about work environment and were followed until the age of 66 years in the Danish AMRun register of paid employment. Using logistic regression analyses, we calculated prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between physical and psychosocial work factors and working beyond state pension age, adjusted for age, sex, cohort, cohabiting, sector, income, vocational education, working hours, lifestyle, and previous sickness absence. RESULTS: Of the 2884 workers aged 55–59 years, 1023 (35.5%) worked beyond the state pension age. Higher physical work demands was associated with a lower likelihood (PR 0.69, 95% CI 0.58–0.82) and a good psychosocial work environment was associated with higher likelihood (average of 7 items: PR 1.81, 95% CI 1.49–2.20) of working beyond state pension age. Stratified analyses did not change the overall pattern, ie, a good overall psychosocial work environment – as well as several specific psychosocial factors – increased the likelihood of working beyond state pension age, both for those with physically active and seated work. CONCLUSION: While high physical work demands was a barrier, a good psychosocial work environment seems to facilitate working beyond state pension age, also for those with physically active work.

Den norske pensjonsreformen er en langsiktig prosess som har endret folketrygdens alderspensjon, AFP og tjenestepensjonsordningene. I denne artikkelen diskuteres de samlede fordelingsvirkningene i de tre delsystemene – mellom høye og lave inntekter, og mellom kvinner og menn – med vekt på hvordan de forsterker eller kompenserer for hverandre. Folketrygden omfordeler fra høye til lave inntekter, men høyinntektsgruppene kompenseres ofte gjennom tjenestepensjoner. Fordelingsprofilen i AFP likner folketrygdens, men AFP omfatter ikke alle arbeidstakere og opparbeidede rettigheter kan mistes. Alt i alt er fordelingsvirkningene av det samlede systemet mindre egalitære enn virkningene av folketrygden alene.

As of 2022, the Dutch pension system will be overhauled. The success of this as well as other pension reforms also depends on how participants react to and accept such changes. We therefore studied participants' attitudes, beliefs, and emotions toward the new pension system. We composed a text to inform them about the new system and qualitatively analyzed their responses. We investigated which beliefs and attitudes prevail among different age groups. The results show that many participants base their comments on previous experiences, misconceptions and (sometimes false) interpretations of the information in the text. Moreover, we find that young people are more optimistic, whilst older participants tend to feel victimized. Since the new Dutch pension rules have yet to be introduced, the results of our study contain valuable information for policymakers and pension funds who should acknowledge and address the oftentimes intense emotions, beliefs, and attitudes that influence the way that intentionally neutral information is perceived and accepted. A diversified communication strategy, mindful of different beliefs, emotions and attitudes among participants should help to empower citizens to get insight in their financial situation after retirement and to make informed choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workers in the global South are becoming increasingly sensitive to their pension rights. In recent years, rural migrant workers in China have staged a series of protests to fight for pension protection. Drawing from two in-depth case studies conducted in the Pearl River Delta, we explain why workers staged pension strikes, what these protests looked like, how the employers and the government responded, and how these protests differed from previous strikes. Building upon insights from the sociology of collective action and labour process theory, we formulate a new framework for examining labour protests. In addition to seeing workers' collective action as defensive or offensive, this framework helps us interpret these actions in relation to the spheres of production and reproduction. It classifies pension strikes in China as defensive actions located in the sphere of reproduction, which are distinct from previous strikes that were either defensive or offensive actions situated in the sphere of production. This synthesised framework assists us in theorising that workers' protest activities, especially in the global South, are not restricted to the traditional production sphere but can also be found in the reproduction sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marital status has long been associated with social and economic vulnerability, namely unmarried individuals were seen as more vulnerable than the married. The current study examines gender inequalities in household income among older Israeli widowed, divorced, and never-married individuals. Israel provides an interesting case for examining the distinction between different marital statuses over time due to demographic, socioeconomic and policy changes that transpired during three distinct decades—the early 1990s, early 2000s, and early 2010s. We found that the unmarried have lower household income as compared to the married; however, in terms of income per capita, unmarried men appear to have higher income than that of married men, in contrast to unmarried women—particularly those divorced and widowed—who are clearly at a disadvantage as compared to married women and to men in general. We also found that over time, gender inequality increased among the divorced but decreased among the widowed. Sociodemographic changes as well as transformations in the Israeli labor market, welfare state and pension schemes explain our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese pension reform of 2011 allowed informal workers to enroll either in the employment‐based pension program or in the residency‐based pension program. Despite this historic pension reform, the question of how labor informality influences one's pension participation under the reformed pension regime has been insufficiently discussed. This article fills this gap by analyzing two waves of a national‐level survey—the China Labor Dynamic Survey of 2012 and 2014. This article makes the following two points. First, the impact of labor informality differs across the two pension programs. Second, local citizenship filters the negative impact of labor informality, but only for the residency‐based pension program. Having "local" citizenship does not offset the negative impact of labor informality on workers' enrollment in the employment‐based pension program. These findings show how the recent reform is ironically reinforcing the existing social cleavages between different types of Chinese workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the global financial crisis of two thousand and eight the Retirement Savings System in Mexico has had significant losses in the workers' accounts. This due to multiple factors like the fact that some Retirement Fund Administrators invest the pension resources to carry out megaprojects in the country, such as the construction of the new international airport of Mexico City in two thousand and eighteen of Mexico (Nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional de Mexico-NAIM). These projects generate uncertainty regarding the funds of the system, because it is usual that they get suspended for a long period of time or permanently. Therefore, the money from the Retirement Savings System is at constant risk, since these funds are in the hands of private initiative, usually invested in the Stock Market, resulting in significant losses that will generate the insufficiency of workers' pensions. Although the right to a pension is established in the Magna Carta, this right lacks of warranties for its protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some experts claim that U.S. local governments are experiencing dramatic increases in pension expenditures and that pension spending is crowding out government services. Others maintain that serious pension problems are limited. This issue is important to political scientists, urban scholars, and policy practitioners, but no existing studies—nor the datasets they rely on—allow evaluation of whether pension expenditures are rising or how they are affecting local government. This article analyzes a new dataset of the annual pension expenditures of over 400 municipalities and counties from 2005 to 2016. I find that pension expenditures rose almost everywhere over this period, but there is significant variation in that growth. On average, local governments are not responding to rising pension spending by increasing revenue. They are instead shrinking their workforces. Moreover, I find that the magnitude of the employment reductions due to pensions varies with key features of the political environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jobs are pivotal in the economic and social development as well as providing the bases for better standard of living. This paper will thus, assess the concept of Decent work and its relevance to contemporary times that is, its contribution to economic development and future of all persons. The paper will zoom in on Ghana's road to achieving all-inclusiveness and job creation goal of the SDG. Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goal suggest the creation of decent jobs for all and its contribution to economic growth and sustainable development. An analysis will be done with the intent to understand social security and the pension system of Ghana. It is imperative that we understand the Pensions Act, Act 766, with specific interest in old age pension benefit. In the final analysis, the paper will provide evidence of a nexus between decent work and a secured old pension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article we estimate the relative contributions to the gender pension gap of career duration and income earned at different points along the pension income distribution, as well as the role played by minimum pensions and other partly or wholly non-contributory policies in reducing this gap. Our research covers all retirees in France in 2012 employed in the public or private sector at least once in their lifetimes. We first highlight that at every point in the distribution, the gender pension gap is wider for private-sector retirees than for those in the public sector. This is because public sector careers are less fragmented and because the calculation of the public sector reference wage does not penalize career interruptions so heavily. This relative advantage of women in the public sector is probably an additional factor explaining their over-representation in this sector. Applying the decomposition method proposed by Firpo et al. (2007, 2009), we show that composition differences in the gender pension gap are essentially due to differences in contribution periods and wages, with a smaller effect of career duration in the public sector than in the private. In the first deciles, the gap can be attributed largely to differences in career duration. This effect gradually weakens, and differences in the reference wage become the main explanation. We also show that minimum contributory pensions play an extremely important role in limiting the gender pension gap in the first deciles, essentially in the private sector. Last, we show that in all cases the unexplained share of the pension gap is substantial only at the bottom of the distribution and, to a lesser extent, in the top decile. The unexplained share is generally smaller than the explained one and favours men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, through an historical case study, addresses the forces driving social policies in the Republic of Congo. During the colonial period, formal sector employment was mainly limited to the colonial administration but was, nevertheless, comparatively large because many civil servants from French Equatorial Africa worked in the French Congo. They benefited from social policies such as family allowances, introduced earlier and set higher than in the rest of the federation. After Congo's formal independence in 1960, the civil service benefited from regular wage increases and a separate pension scheme. The civil service was expanded disproportionately and became a pillar of power for the nominally socialist regime that took power in 1963. Initially, this could be financed by an oil bonanza, but during the 1980s and 1990s there was international pressure to reduce the civil servant payroll. The Labour Party government was better able to muddle through than the first multiparty government. Returning to power in 1997 after two periods of civil war, the post-socialist Labour Party did little to extend social policies to the population outside of the civil service. Health care fee exemptions were announced, but the law creating a universal health insurance fund in 2015 has not yet come into force, and the intended expansion of the Lisungi Cash Transfer Programme failed. Retired civil servants are clearly, still, a main focus of the rather limited policies. Frequent mentions in presidential speeches of salary catch-up and payment of pension arrears and their regular payment signals a continued willingness to support this critical group. This strategic preference, neither pro-poor nor progressive in any way, challenges the dominant focus on social policies in sub-Saharan Africa as donor-driven and concentrated on the informal sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the Italian institutional adaptation to Neoliberalism and contributes to the literature in two ways. First, we analyse Italian and international political economy developments since the late 1960s, employing a historical institutionalist approach, sequencing the shift from the 'roll back' of Fordism to the 'roll out' of neoliberalism. In doing so, we connect the long-standing relevance and re-emergence of neoliberal ideas among technocratic elites and major political parties to the progressive building up of a neoliberal turn in 1992. Second, we develop the notion of selective neoliberalism, defined as a modality of institutional adaptation to neoliberalism which starts from the margins after the 1992 critical juncture, hitting first weak social groups through a dualization process, and then expanding to the rest of society in the form of liberalisation. We illustrate how successive governments circumvented the resistance of trade unions and completed the process of neoliberal adaptation over time, through an analysis of labour market and pension reform processes. The notion of selective neoliberalism might be applied to other countries and policy domains, in particular where an incremental reform process undermines step-by-step the resistance of different veto players to neoliberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]