According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one in three men between ages 55 and 61 did not work in January 2011 (US). This statistic includes men who were unemployed and looking for work, as well as those who were no longer in the labor force or never worked. Although the share of nonworking older men increased dramatically because of job losses created by the Great Recession, it has been steadily on the rise since 1990 when only around one in four older men was not working.

The 2007-09 recession was the most severe economic downturn of the post-World War II era. The nation’s output (GDP) fell 8 percent below trend between the fourth quarter of 2007 and mid-2009, and the unemployment rate doubled to over 9 percent. On average, households lost one-quarter of their wealth between the middle of 2007 and early 2009, and a third of those losses were in home equity. The total magnitude of the economic losses can be estimated with some precision from aggregate economic statistics, such as the national accounts and the flow of funds accounts. In the immediate aftermath of the recession, however, we knew much less about the distribution of those losses across the general population. Information from more detailed surveys about changes in the economic circumstance of households is now becoming available.

Det er mange som har gitt råd fra ulike pensjonseksperter om når man bør starte uttaket av pensjon. Rådene har ofte vært at tidlig uttak av alderspensjon – gjerne fra 62 år – lønner seg. Vi har sett på i hvor stor grad dette stemmer. Det er mange ulike forhold som har betydning for når det lønner seg å ta ut alderspensjonen rent økonomisk. Valg av forutsetninger har stor betydning for resultatene. I denne artikkelen gir vi en oversikt over de viktigste av disse forholdene, og viser beregningseksempler med ulike forutsetninger for å illustrere hva som lønner seg i ulike situasjoner.

Fra 2007 har det vært en stadig sterkere økning i antall nye uførepensjonister hvert år, særlig gjelder dette for yngre aldersgrupper og for kvinner. Dette har gitt opphav til uro og spekulasjon om hva som er i ferd med å skje. I denne artikkelen vil vi ta for oss to viktige årsaker til de trekkene vi observerer, nemlig den demografiske utviklingen, og konsekvensene av store reformer innenfor det helserelaterte stønadssystemet.

In particular due to increasing female employment over the last decades employment has become more flexible in regard to the contract form and we observe more discontinuous employment careers. This paper discusses in how far retirement pension systems in Europe are suited to cover the specific risks of flexible workers. Recent reforms to these systems (e.g. the strengthening of private elements) and their outcomes on flexible workers are also scrutinised.

The French pension system has for long been characterised by its very low reliance on funded pensions, which have almost become a taboo subject since the Second World War. While other countries have often complemented statutory pensions with funded occupational pension schemes, in France, the social partners have put in place an encompassing network of supplementary pension arrangements financed on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis.

The old Swedish pension system combined both Beveridgean features – in the form of a
universal tax-financed flat-rate basic pension (folkpension) and pension supplements – and a
Bismarckian insurance system – the earnings-related contribution-financed defined-benefit
allmän tilläggspension (ATP) – that guaranteed very generous and encompassing protection
against old age risk. The ATP system entered serious fiscal difficulties from the 1980s, when
a 10-year long reform effort started.

Indkomsten er en meget vigtig indikator for vores levevilkår. Penge giver i sig selv tryghed mod det uforudsete, og penge kan også konverteres til god bolig, sund mad, spændende fritidsfornøjelser og meget andet, som forbedrer vores levevilkår. For almindelige familier er privatforbruget og de indkomster, der giver grundlaget for det, i en vis forstand slutresultatet af de økonomiske aktiviteter i samfundet.

This paper provides a comparative analysis of defined contribution (DC) pension systems in Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are considerable similarities in the systems which have evolved out of employer sponsored trust-based defined benefit (DB) systems and have expanded at different rates as DB has declined.

The Government intends to end the requirement for defined contribution personal pension scheme members to annuitise their pension fund by the age of 75. This report looks at the likely effects and consequences of this policy.

The ageing of society demands action as the window of opportunity to adequately prepare for this shift is closing fast. While immediate concerns about rising healthcare costs and pension structures require attention, fundamental longterm questions should not be neglected. Although the current global economic turmoil has put further pressure on already stretched resources, heightening the urgency of addressing demographic shifts, it is also presenting a once-in-a-generation opportunity for transformational change. Times of uncertainty create space for radical and creative thinking, and now may be an ideal time to attempt reform while people are more open than ever to new ideas.

Japan has a major asset to address the impact of population ageing on its public pension system in the form of the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). The GPIF is the largest pension fund in the world at JPY140tn (USD 1.4tn), representing nearly one quarter of the country‘s GDP and three and a half years of annual public pension expenditure as of September 2009.