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Retirement plans can create strong financial incentives that have important labor market implications, and many states have adopted alternative plan designs that significantly change these incentives. The authors use longitudinal data to investigate the impact of Washington State's 1996 introduction of a hybrid retirement plan on late-career attrition. The unique setup of Washington's plans allows them to provide empirical evidence on the influence of financial incentives created by statutory retirement eligibility thresholds. Findings show that despite facing very different financial incentives, teachers enrolled in the hybrid and traditional plans respond similarly to reaching a key retirement eligibility threshold. The authors hypothesize that teachers are anchoring to the eligibility thresholds, muting the influence of the financial incentives. They also provide evidence that, in the presence of bright-line eligibility thresholds that can anchor workers' separation behavior, commonly used structural models may overpredict workers' responsiveness to the financial incentives embedded in retirement plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis article studies the local lineage of neoliberalism in Lithuania, examining its intellectual pedigree, early proponents and the structural shifts that facilitated its rise. The latter are attributed to the openings created by perestroika and the development of the communication network linking economists within the Reform Movement of Lithuania, émigré intellectuals and Hillsdale College in Michigan. Information exchanges produced within this network generated embryonic neoliberal ideas before 1991. The network also contributed to the establishment of an influential think tank, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI), whose policy influence is illustrated by surveying monetary and pension privatisation reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin American countries have been at the forefront of pension privatization and since 2008 they have also pioneered reform reversals. Previous studies have focused on single cases or a small number of them, given that pension reform is a complex phenomenon arising from the combination of different causes. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), the article analyzes a set of 32 pension reform cases in eight countries from the early 1990s until 2021. It finds four different pathways that combine institutional, structural and policy legacy conditions. It demonstrates that fsQCA is a useful tool for broader comparative policy work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAs the severity of rural old-age care in China becomes increasingly evident, the manner in which rural elderly individuals obtain economic support has emerged as a significant societal concern. Central to this paper is the question of whether the new rural pension scheme, as the first government-provided institutional pension, influences the longstanding intergenerational economic support within families. Drawing upon classic altruism theory and exchange motivation theory, this study analyzes the complex rural social reality in China. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) for the years 2013 and 2015, we employ a two-part model to examine the policy effects of new rural pension scheme, as well as the 2014 pension insurance reform and pension increase. Our findings reveal that (1) altruism and exchange motivation coexist in the rural Chinese social reality and jointly influence the behaviors of rural families. (2) Intergenerational economic support for the elderly in rural Chinese families primarily depends on the exchange motivation aspect of intergenerational care. Thus, it is vital to strengthen the intergenerational support of the family in addressing the pensions of the elderly in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is commonly regarded as a successful alternative to neoliberal economic policy and development strategy. But China's social policies, which were adopted at a pivotal global moment of postsocialist transition in the 1990s, bear significant traits one would associate with neoliberal economic policy. This article uses the case of old age pensions to support this claim. Pension reforms of the early 2000s transferred unprecedented costs and risks to Chinese households under a new social insurance scheme. Twenty years later, the inherent flaws in financing healthcare and pensions through employer-financed and individualized social insurance have become apparent. The concluding section discusses Xi Jinping's dominance of Chinese politics and the risks and economic insecurities that have afflicted Chinese society under these neoliberal social policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the effects of emigration on the sustainability of the Pension system in North Macedonia. In this study three different sets of tests are used for empirical analysis: a stochastic forecasting method in order to predict the movement of demographic and fiscal variables in the future; a time series investigation in order to quantify the effect of emigration on pension expenditure, and a microsimulation dynamic model in order to analyze the potential effects of different pension reform alternatives on the sustainability of the pension system in North Macedonia. The results suggest that mass emigration has a significant negative effect on pension sustainability in North Macedonia. The results suggest that massive emigration of young people from North Macedonia will negatively affect the growth prospect and labor market in the future. The results suggest that immediate reforms are needed and gradually increasing the contribution rate to 20% and retirement age for men and women to 65 years would stabilize the Pension system in North Macedonia in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of an increase in the work horizon of middle aged workers on the school-work transition of their offsprings aged 15–29 years. I exploit the variation in the parental work horizon induced by the 2012 Fornero reform in Italy that abruptly changed the age and years of social security contribution requirements for pension eligibility. Utilising a difference-in-difference strategy in a multi-valued treatment setting, the study shows that the reform-induced increase in the work horizon of mothers caused an increase in the probability of their offsprings seeking their first job and a decrease in these offsprings' probability of being a student. This effect is higher among offsprings who are male, those aged 15–21, those with mothers without a University degree and those in southern Italy. Fathers did not significantly affect the student status or any labour market outcomes of their offsprings. Mechanisms behind these findings include the longer reform-induced work horizon for mothers vs. fathers, and the consequent positive effect on mothers' lifetime earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social phenomenon of extended working age has been subject to broad scholarly and social policy interest, as part of such trends as the aging of the population, increased life expectancy, shortage of the labor force, and policy debates on pension reforms. A major question about extending working age, or working after retirement, is whether it is a matter of choice, taking control of one’s later life, or is coerced, part of entering the precariat. This study provides a nuanced examination of the social processes that direct labor market participation among older workers by conducting an analysis of in-depth interviews with 42 low-income older workers in Israel. The study exposed several institutional constraints that increase their economic vulnerability, demonstrating how interrelated structural factors related to the labor market, gender, and immigration shape the precarity of the life of older workers and coerce their continuous labor market participation. We conclude by emphasizing the responsibility of governments to ensure that older workers’ labor market participation truly represents their “choice and control,” rather than being a matter of coercion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Politicians must navigate the complexities of social policy reform to ensure sustainable fiscal policies while considering their impact on citizens. News media play a crucial role as a source of political information, influencing public attitudes towards policy changes through selective framing of issues. This study focuses on how European news media frame the controversial policy reform of raising the retirement age, and explores factors that potentially explain variations in framing across contexts. Using a manual content analysis of newspapers in Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom over the period 2011–2020 (n = 1059 articles), we examine country-, newspaper-, and time-related factors to explain the relative presence of issue-specific diagnostic and prognostic frames in European news coverage of pension reform. While the results show that all three types of factors determine the coverage of the reform measure to some extent, in particular variations across newspapers and over time are prevalent. The most striking differences are that left-leaning newspapers emphasize frames related to inequality, and that over time, framing crystallizes into a more concentrated set of diagnostic and prognostic frames. This article sheds light on European news coverage of a much-debated policy issue and its contextual dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can autocratic policy generate incentives for the accumulation of social capital and political engagement? This question is important to understand stability in authoritarian regimes that increasingly rely on governance to build legitimacy and social support. While existing research shows that the incentives for societal interaction embedded in policies can yield new forms of social capital and political engagement in democratic regimes, the top-down nature of policy and the corrupt and information-poor context of policy implementation could undermine this mechanism in authoritarian regimes. We explore this question by examining the effect of the Moscow Housing Renovation Program, a massive urban renewal project, that required residents to organize to obtain new housing. Comparing a matched sample of 1,300 residents living in buildings included and excluded from the program, we find that interactions induced by the program led to changes in the level of social capital among residents in included buildings. We also find spillover effects on political engagement and collective action against pension reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the relationship between social policy reforms and issue salience in public opinion? Extensive research analyses policy feedbacks on policy preferences and the influence of policy preferences on policy change. Scant research, however, considers the link between reforms and issue salience – i.e., the perception of importance citizens attach to a topic. We address this gap in the literature through the comparative study of the salience of the 'pension issue'. Drawing on a novel dataset covering 2010–2020 and 28 European countries, we argue that the passage of pension reforms shapes pension salience. Multilevel fixed effects models indicate that pension reforms that include either contracting or expansionary provisions are positively related to pension salience. In contrast, expansionary and contracting reforms, by themselves, are not robustly associated with pension salience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Netherlands is on the brink of reforming its system of occupational pensions as part of a more general reform of its three‐pillar pension system. This reform features important changes to first pillar pension benefits. The focus of this article is however on the coming reform of occupational pensions, the second pillar of the system, which concerns both pension contributions and benefits. This reform is related to a series of reforms that have gradually transformed the pension contract that was dominant 20 years ago, a final salary defined benefit contract, into a collective defined contribution contract. We argue that these reforms are a response to changes in the external environment, such as population ageing and a secular decline of interest rates. The coming reform responds to the call for a pension scheme that is more individualistic, more closely connected to the labour market, and which does not share interest rate risks between generations. The New Pension Contract remains in part collective, since the assets of participants are invested collectively, and a mandatory solidarity fund can be used for intergenerational risk sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the substitution between pension wealth and household saving. To identify the effect of reductions in social security pension wealth on household saving, we utilize variations in changes in social security pension wealth induced by Norway's 2011 reform across different cohorts, time periods, and sectors. Our study focuses on the saving behaviors of individuals between the ages of 57 and 61, and we find that the annual saving rate increased by around 1.4 percentage points after the reform. When considering the overall life‐cycle changes in household saving, this corresponds to a crowd‐out effect of about 50 percent of the total loss in pension wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to research and analysis of the amount of indexation of pension payments related to inflationary processes. The object of the study is the state of pension provision in Ukraine. The subject of the study is the process of indexation of pension payments as a result of the implementation of social policy in Ukraine. An analysis of the history of the development and reform of pension provision in Ukraine was carried out. This allowed for a deeper understanding of the content of events related to the establishment of pension provision in Ukraine. The research methodology involves the synergy of mathematical methods of analytical geometry and economic-mathematical modelling. It is shown that the presence of inflationary processes in the national economy leads to the need to increase the pension provision of citizens. At the same time, the size of the increase in pension payments should be differentiated in order to ensure social "justice". The scientific task set in the article is to demonstrate a modern approach to choosing a strategy for implementing the state pension policy in Ukraine. As a result of the research, two models of appropriate indexation of pension payments in Ukraine are presented. The calculation made it possible to choose the most significant model. In the future, it is advisable to direct the research to the search for other more effective ways of indexing pensions. It is assumed that for this it is necessary to formalize the mathematical formulation of the problem of finding the optimal value of the index of pension payments as extreme, taking into account the necessary restrictions. A scientific novelty in solving this issue is the receipt of practically significant recommendations regarding the indexation of pensions. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the elimination of social defects in the indexation of pension payments. Further research should be directed to the search for rational solutions that will stimulate the creation of an effective pension system in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifting from Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to National Pension System (NPS) was a major financial reform undertaken by Govt. of India during the last decade and this paradigm shift has significant impact on the retirement benefits of employees as well as on public exchequer. The OPS createdhuge financial challenges on public exchequer and leads to the introduction of the NPS.However the absence of a guaranteed minimum pension under NPS and its link with the market has sparked demand for OPS restoration by the employees of various States and Center. To address these concerns, a Committee is formed by Central Government to review the existing NPS. The pension under NPS is significantly lower than the pension under OPS and largely depends upon the rate of return on Dr. Parmod Kumar parmod.cwa@gmail.com Dr. Parmod Kumar is presently working as Assistant Professor of Commerce in Govt. PG College for Women, Rohtak. The author had previously worked as Jr. Accounts Officer in BSNL and as Sr. Manager (Accounts) in HSIIDC also. He is a Fellow Member of Institute of Cost Accountant of India. He has total experience of 20 years of teaching and administration. NPS Corpus and length of service. Present paper aims to determine the rate of contribution needed under NPS to achieve equilibrium with OPS benefits. Regression analysisreveals a statistically significant relationship between length of service, rate of return and NPS contribution rate. These results will be helpful for the policymakers in drafting a sustainable pension system that helps in compensating employees against potential losses due to NPS implementation. Ultimately this research contributes to the ongoing pension reforms debate in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As aging populations put pressure on pension systems worldwide, pension reforms have dominated the (political) agenda in many countries for years. The media are essential information providers on such hotly debated issues. By selecting and highlighting certain aspects of an issue and glossing over others, also known as framing, news media can propagate a particular interpretation of the issue to the public. This study therefore approaches pension reform from the perspective of the media by examining how news frames of pension reform (i.e. responsibility frame and justice frame) influence how citizens perceive and respond to pension reform. Findings of an online survey-embedded experiment (N  = 762) show that citizens who encountered a news frame that emphasized individual or collective responsibility for pensions showed a stronger preference for this type of responsibility; however, this effect was only positive if news media also framed individual or collective responsibility for pensions as just. In fact, exposure to an unjust frame leads to more negative attitudes toward the specific form of responsibility. Regarding individual differences, lower-educated people are more strongly impacted by the responsibility frame than higher-educated people. The strength of framing effects did not differ among citizens of different ages or levels of solidarity, nor between citizens who received the frames via their primary mode of news use and the ones exposed to a less preferred mode of news use. This study shows the importance of news framing in shaping citizens' attitudes toward pension reforms, suggesting that media coverage matters in the public debate on pensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One crucial decision made at retirement in Chile is whether to acquire an annuity or a phased withdrawal (PW) scheme. Annuities, unlike PW, do not allow for inheritance and provide smaller initial pension benefits while protecting against longevity and capital market risks. If preferences show decreasing absolute risk aversion (DARA), then an annuity (insurance) should be considered an inferior good. We test this hypothesis on Chilean data using a binary choice model. Our results reject the DARA hypothesis for the whole sample. However, after splitting the sample into low- and high-income groups, we find that the former have increasing absolute risk aversion (IARA) behavior, whereas the latter have DARA behavior. These findings suggest that policy programs encouraging retirement savings, such as tax breaks and subsidies, should be approached with caution depending on the balance of high and low-income individuals, particularly in less-developed economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short-term economic fluctuations caused by green transition are underestimated, and there is limited research on the dynamic effects of compound risks on transitioning economies. We propose the SERENE flow-of-funds behavioral model to simulate and calibrate the Chinese economy, considering pension systems, policies, public expectations, long-term risks, and environmental constraints factors. We analyze the impacts of compound risks and exam the appropriateness of low-carbon transition policies. The results indicate the presence of non-linear loss amplification effects due to compound risks, which can lead to a decline in economic resilience. Additionally, three green transition policies exhibit varying degrees of effectiveness in transitioning the economy under long-term risk environments. Furthermore, it has been observed that by promoting green investments through pension funds, it is possible to promote green transition in terms of both scale and depth, while effectively reducing poverty and addressing income and distribution inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies whether forced increases in the residual working life, determined by a restrictive pension reform, induce additional training activities. By exploiting a sizable Italian pension reform, in a difference-in-differences setting, I find that a lengthening of the working horizon increases, through training, workers' human capital. Additionally, I show that the response to the reform appears very heterogeneous and depends on gender, age, education, marital status, sector of employment and firm size. My estimates suggest, furthermore, that these individual positive effects are not attributable to employers' sponsorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Taiwan Law Review is the property of Angle Publishing Co., Ltd 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 aims to analyze the opinions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) citizens regarding mandatory pension insurance and the possibility of incorporating private insurance in future reforms. The research involves evaluating the satisfaction of BiH residents with the current pension system, understanding their perception of the pension fund’s risks, and identifying their attitudes towards possible pension system reforms, including the potential involvement of private insurance. The study also seeks to highlight any differences in attitudes towards socio-demographic characteristics, such as gender, employment, length of service, professional qualification, and monthly income. A survey of 812 BiH adults (representative but potentially not fully capturing the entire population) explored these aspects. While acknowledging limitations, the study reveals significant differences in attitudes based on demographics. For example, men are more optimistic about future pensions, while employed individuals are more inclined towards reform. The findings suggest general public support for pension system reform and openness to private insurance. However, the study highlights the need to consider these varying attitudes across different population groups when designing future reforms. This research provides the first quantitative data on BiH residents’ views on private insurance reform, contributing to public discourse and informing future policy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the various theories that have been proposed to explain Denmark's remarkable economic growth and prosperity, known as the "great enrichment." These theories include institutionalism, exploitation theory, and free trade theory. However, a new explanation called "innovism" suggests that Denmark's success is due to the fostering of creativity through classical liberal ideas about dignity and liberty. The article provides a historical overview of Denmark's economic development, highlighting the impact of political and economic reforms, the role of the cooperative movement, and the influence of patriotic corporate governance and trade. The authors argue that Denmark's prosperity can be attributed to the adoption of universal ideas of human dignity and economic freedom, and suggest that other nations can learn from Denmark's success by investing in human capital and embracing these principles. [Extracted from the article]

CEE countries introduced funded pensions in the early 2000s. The stated objectives of funded pensions were to diversify old age pension income, to attract additional financing sources to pension systems, to assure adequate income for future retirees, and to balance future state obligations in aging societies. The state in CEE countries encouraged participation in funded pensions with the help of several incentives. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the costs and benefits for public finance of state participation in the funded schemes in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The results show that the fiscal costs of state participation do not exceed future benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main objective of the research conducted was to evaluate the image of the military as an employer in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The authors have identified shortcomings in the research results pertaining to the image of public organisations as employers. They have particularly noted the inadequacy of reports on the quality of the armed forces' image as an employer. In light of these observations, the authors have conducted a new research study to explore this issue in greater depth. With the use of the CATI and CAWI techniques, it was possible to identify the co-occurrence of psychological, economic and functional benefits resulting from possible entry into professional service, as well as to indicate the level of trust towards the military. Findings: The survey revealed that the military enjoys a generally positive image in Poland and a positive image as an employer. This translates into considering the military as an attractive employer and a trustworthy institution. From a social perspective, the attractiveness of the military is fuelled primarily by the military's vital role in the state in terms of maintaining the security of citizens, the certainty of employment and the attractiveness of the pension system. The possibility of early retirement is especially appreciated by those who perceive the situation in the local labour market as difficult. Research limitations/implications: The research was conducted among Pols, what means that only external image of the army as an employer was analysed. In the future studies it is worth to conduct research among employees, what gives an opportunity to compare those two perceptions (internal and external). Practical implications: Revealing the results of the research connected with the image of a public employer – the image of the army, gives a possibility to plan and organize activities toward shaping the better image of the army, implement changes in the employer branding process, as well as understanding the opinion of the generations on the labor market. Originality/value: The paper reveals the image of the army as an employer in the public opinion of Poles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of unexpected defined benefit (DB) pension contributions on employee productivity. The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA), implemented in the U.S. in 2017, decreased the corporate tax rate from 35 percent in 2017 to 21 percent in 2018. This change incentivized firms to increase DB pension contributions in 2017. The TCJA provides an opportunity to study the motivation effect of unexpected employee benefits. We empirically find that resulting increases in DB pension contributions motivate employees to produce, and that labor intensity and length of operating cycle can enhance this association. We also find that general unexpected pension contributions have no pronounced effect on employee productivity. We further show that such a change in pension contributions does not significantly increase overproduction costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aging of society is one of the most important trends shaping the social, economic and political life of the 21st century. However, with the increasing number of people of retirement age, the problem of ensuring adequate conditions for a longer life arises. The state influences these conditions through the pension security system, including taxation of pensions. The paper attempts to answer the question whether taxation of remunerations and public pension benefits may have a significant impact on making decisions about choosing a country of work in the common market. For this purpose, Member States have been ranked in terms of two dimensions—the conditions of taxation of wages and the conditions of taxation of retirement benefits. The countries were classified using a multi-criteria comparative analysis and the agglomeration method. The study shows that taxing salaries and pension benefits is of marginal importance from the point of view of an employee's decision-making. The main factors are the average expenditure on net salaries and the average expenditure on net pension benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the heterogeneity in life expectancy by socioeconomic status increases, many pension systems imply a wealth transfer from short- to long-lived individuals. Various pension reforms aim to reduce inequalities that are caused by ex-ante differences in life expectancy. However, these pension reforms may induce redistribution effects. We introduce a dynamic general equilibrium-overlapping generations model with heterogeneous individuals that differ in their education, labor supply, lifetime income, and life expectancy. Within this framework we study six different pension reforms that foster the sustainability of the pension system and aim to account for heterogeneous life expectancy. Our results highlight that pension reforms have to be evaluated at various dimensions. Reforms that may increase the sustainability of the pension system are not necessarily conducive to reduce the redistributive wealth transfers from short- to long-lived individuals. Our paper emphasizes the need for studying pension reforms in models with behavioral feedback and heterogeneous socioeconomic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pension reform implemented in Russia in 2018, primarily associated with raising the retirement age, has become evidence of a 'miscalculation' of media controllers. Such a 'miscalculation' is explained by the improvidence of the ongoing campaign in promoting pension reform. This is mainly due to the lack of elaboration during the prediction of the risks associated with naming the legislative initiative and the intensity of its representation. As a result, the 'pension reform' frame, constructed and subsequently promoted by Russian federal TV channels, caused the non-linearity of the media process, inspiring protest moods in the social environment. The media controllers had to modify their editorial policy strategy. After facing challenges, the 'Big Trio' was forced to choose a new frame and decide on a new approach and strategy of representation. This helped them to bring stability to the social environment, decrease the risk of reputational damage to the ruling class, and create a foundation to introduce more political initiatives successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides causal estimates showing that in developing economies, future pension benefits influence workers' decisions with respect to choice of employment sector. From the perspective of a worker, a formal job (i.e., a job that complies with government regulation) offers long-run gains because it increases the worker's expected pension benefits in the future. If workers take those gains into account when they search for formal jobs, the pension system affects formal labor supply. Using a cohort-based pension reform undertaken in Colombia, I show that a reduction in future pension benefits generated a reallocation of labor supply from taxable (formal) to nontaxable (informal) jobs as early as 9 years before the minimum retirement age was reached. Moreover, this reduction did not affect labor force participation. The estimated effect is heterogeneous, and it is concentrated among workers for whom the minimum qualifying conditions are binding and among workers with higher expected pension gains. The results presented here suggest that pension reforms have the potential to create offsetting costs, an effect that should be considered when designing pension programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We study an OLG model with child policies and a PAYG pension with endogenous retirement and fertility. The result of the planned economy is compared to the decentralized competitive equilibrium deriving optimal policies. We show that in the presence of a PAYG pension system, the optimal policy mix includes an education subsidy and a subsidy for the supply of labor in old age. Fertility should be taxed or incentivized depending on whether there is full or partial retirement, and on the parameters. We focus on the parameter reflecting the deterioration of human capital and show that a child tax may be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in life expectancy across socioeconomic groups create a serious problem of inequality within the public part of the pension system. This article considers two actuarially sound ways of addressing longevity inequality. The first is to allow low life-expectancy workers to retire earlier and delay the retirement of the high life-expectancy workers so that the two groups receive the same amount, equal to the expected discounted value of future pension benefits received by the average worker under the current system. The second, and more radical, is to delegate to occupational pension funds the task of paying out the public pension benefits to each retiree, based on a lump-sum transfer from the government to the pension funds of an amount for each retiree equivalent to the payout in the first scenario. (JEL codes: E21 and E24) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use an overlapping generations model to study the challenge in developing countries with a large informal sector and aging population. We use Thailand as a case study and incorporate its labor market structure and its public pension system into the calibrated model. Unlike developed countries, workers in developing countries commonly transit from the formal sector to the informal sector, which can be in the early stage of their working life. This labor market feature crucially limits the coverage of the contributory social security (SS) system. We find that 66% of Thai elderly (aged 60 or over) are ineligible for SS annuity benefits because of an insufficient number of years paying into the SS fund. In addition, we use our model to evaluate two schemes to raise the existing universal basic pension income to the poverty line, namely, uniform benefits and pension‐tested benefits. We find that pension‐testing effectively improves the targeting efficiency, and nontrivially lowers the cost of the basic pension income program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the works of Annie Ernaux, the alliance of desire and disobedience (which I borrow from Georges Didi-Huberman) crystallises a commitment driven by indignation and sustained, as it was in Camus's oeuvre, by a creative revolt against both the indignities endured by the dominated and the government's shameful acts towards them, as well as against the State's disengagement from public services and any instance of declinist discourse. Annie Ernaux's opposition to power transcends mere protest : reminiscent of Camus, who remains a great inspiration, a positive energy 'for' rather than merely 'against' drives her quest for truth, her belief in the exercise of freedom and her fight for dignity. Her engagement against all forms of injustice (whether it be French migration policy, the treatment of the Yellow Vests by the French authorities or the pension reform of 2023) confirms her role as a key protagonist of the re-politicization of the anti-capital movement. If Jean-Luc Mélenchon symbolises a form of counter-power, Ernaux, on the other hand, embodies the power of desire and boundless imagination. Politics and ethics come together in her stylistics (that encompasses accuracy of expression) and carry the hope of another, better life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the life-cycle welfare effects of pension reforms, we provide a dynamic stochastic model of saving, portfolio choice, and retirement featuring a rich characterisation of the pension system. Relying on the exogenous variation from a sequence of Italian pension reforms, we identify and estimate the model, which is then used to draw implications of alternative pension policies. The validated model predicts substantial social security wealth effects on retirement, with the offset between public pension wealth and private savings softened when households can adjust their retirement decisions. We further find important distributional effects of pension reforms, with households' welfare decreasing more the later in the working life they face the reform. Our findings have implications for the design of pension policies and the support they might generate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a two-country overlapping generations (OLG) model to examine how the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension system affects national welfare through changes in capital accumulation. In a closed economy, increase in per capita pension reduces individual savings, and the decrease in capital weakens welfare under dynamic efficiency. However, when a two-country model with capital mobility is considered, the increase in pension plan in a country may increase the welfare of the capital-exporting country. Employing a two-country model in which capital accumulates and moves between two countries, we present the marginal effect of pension plans on countries' welfare for the steady-state generations and initial and transitional generations. We demonstrate that a paradoxical result occurs when the increase in pension plans in a country improves the country's welfare because a higher interest rate improves the capital-exporting country's intertemporal terms of trade. However, we show that the marginal change in a country's PAYG pension plan cannot simultaneously improve both countries' welfare in the steady state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pension signifies periodic expenditures granted by the government to those who have ceased working, as well as to their close relatives. This mechanism functions as a societal safeguard in nations that have welfare states. However, pension obligations have become a significant challenge for governing bodies worldwide, requiring careful management due to their increasing size and economic consequences. The purpose of this review article is to analyze and address the challenges faced by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP) in efficiently managing the growing pension responsibilities. The issue of pension liabilities requires the attention of policy makers and the implementation of robust reform agendas to ensure the longterm viability of pension payments. The pension system for civil servants in Pakistan is completely non-contributory, underfunded, and currently suffering from a concerning lack of management. Within the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP), the pension obligations have surged by a factor of 7 over the previous decade, escalating from 11 billion rupees in the fiscal year 2010-2011 to 92 billion rupees in the fiscal year 2021-2022. The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP) provides retirement benefits to its civil officials through four schemes: Defined Benefit Pension, General Provident Fund (GPF), Retirement Benefit and Death Compensation (RBDC), and Benevolent Fund. The main aim of this study is to clarify the proposed model. The proposed measure seeks to reduce the length of time during which individual retirees and their families receive pension benefits from 40 years to 15 years. The objective is to reduce the pension liability of the Defined Benefit scheme by 2063-64, rather than 2087-88, by the implementation of the proposed parametric adjustments. To address the impending pension issue in Pakistan, it is crucial for the government to expeditiously enforce remedial actions. The government should consider the findings of this research study in order to efficiently handle the burden of the current DB scheme and promptly reap the benefits of introducing a DC system for new employees. It has been concluded that the shift from a defined benefit to a defined contribution system would only be feasible for newly hired employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the effects of increasing the statutory retirement age for claiming full pension benefits on the labour force participation of middle-aged individuals and their partners. Identification relies on a difference-in-differences setting that exploits the heterogeneous increase in age eligibility for retirement caused by an unexpected pension reform. We detect a rise in the participation rate of middle-aged women that spills over into the labour supply of their husbands, who choose to postpone their retirement. The overall labour supply response has important implications for the extent of the fiscal externality associated with pension reforms that increase the retirement age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes consumption to evaluate the distributional effects of pension reforms. Using Swedish administrative data, we show that on average, workers who retire earlier consume less while retired and experience larger drops in consumption around retirement. Interpreted via a theoretical model, these findings imply that reforms incentivizing later retirement incur a substantial consumption smoothing cost. Turning to other features of pension policy, we find that reforms that redistribute based on early-career labor supply would have opposite-signed redistributive effects, while differentiating on wealth may help to target pension benefits toward those who are vulnerable to larger drops in consumption around retirement. (JEL E21, G51, H23, H55, J22, J26) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Driven by the aim to increase the participation of older people in the labour force and to extend people's working lives, the Swedish Parliament passed a bill in 1998 to increase the pension eligibility age from 60 to 61 years and establish a notional defined-contribution (NDC) plan. In this article, the authors investigate the impacts towards the prolongation of working lives expected from such an intervention. Design/methodology/approach: The authors apply a multinomial probabilistic model based on Swedish registry data on the birth cohorts 1937–1938 (n = 102,826) and observe differences in exit behaviour between eligible and non-eligible individuals. Findings: The authors find that the cohorts eligible to the pension reform exit the labour market at a later age compared to non-eligible cohorts at the 61-years cut-off. The authors also find that the effect persists in the long term. Furthermore, the authors find that both men and women are equally struck by the reform. Originality/value: While there exist many descriptive reports and theoretical analyses on the costs and benefits of pension reforms, this study is the first one to empirically analyse the effect of the first European NDC pay-as-you go pension plan on the potential exclusion of old-aged workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how expenditure changes at retirement during an institutionally and economically uncertain period when a series of pension reforms and cuts were implemented. Overall, we fail to confirm that consumption declines at retirement using data from Greece (2008–2018). Any estimated declines come from turbulent years when major pension cuts were applied. Expenditure drops at retirement were due to pension income shocks, especially for those who were particularly dependent on pension income. Further checks support the presence of an income shock mechanism for retirees who are relatively more treated during the crisis sub-period. Given an aging population and the ongoing global turbulence, our results offer valuable insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As retirement ages increase around the world, not all workers may be equally able to extend their working lives. In this article, we examine the health and labor market effects of an Italian pension reform that suddenly increased the normal retirement age up to 7 years for women and up to 2 years for men. To do this, we use linked labor and healthcare administrative data, jointly with survey data and difference‐in‐difference methods. Our results show that the reform was effective in postponing retirement among both genders, as pension claiming dropped substantially for older workers. However, there were also side effects as the reform significantly pushed previously employed men and women into unemployment and disability pension. Among women only, the reform also increased sick leave and hospitalizations related to mental health and injuries. These effects were driven by women with previously low health status, suggesting that undifferentiated and abrupt increases in pension age might harm more vulnerable workers. Coherently with the milder tightening of retirement age experienced by men, labor market responses were smaller in size, and they did not suffer any significant health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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What explains variation in African states' commitment to pensions? This article argues that differences in the structure of contestation and legacies of state‐labour relations matter. When competition is confined to fewer and more stable parties, social welfare appeals gain currency to mobilise swing voters and makes it more likely that pensions will become a subject of political competition. However, legacies of labour accommodation can strengthen certain elements of pension reform, but also reinforce certain policy mindsets such as contributory insurance. These ideas are developed with case studies of Ghana and Malawi. The cases utilise process‐tracing evidence to demonstrate how specific structures of contestation and labour legacies led to divergent pathways of pension reform. The article highlights the significant challenges involved in strengthening pensions in Africa, and therefore the limited potential for a reconstitution of state‐citizen relations based on pension access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]