Pub Date : 2023-08-22DOI: 10.1017/s1474747223000112
Olga M. Fuentes, Olivia S. Mitchell, Félix Villatoro
Abstract At the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, and with one of the largest and best-funded defined contribution programs in Latin America, Chile held over USD $200 bn in assets (or more than 80% of GDP). Reacting to populist pressures during the pandemic, however, the Congress gave non-retired participants three separate opportunities to tap into their retirement accounts, leaving some 4.2 million participants with zero retirement savings and draining around $50 bn from the system. This paper explores several hypotheses regarding why people withdrew their pension money early, and it also presents evidence regarding the likely impact of this short-term policy on long-term retirement wellbeing. We conclude with lessons for global policymakers seeking to protect pension assets critical for retirement security.
{"title":"Early pension withdrawals in Chile during the pandemic","authors":"Olga M. Fuentes, Olivia S. Mitchell, Félix Villatoro","doi":"10.1017/s1474747223000112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747223000112","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract At the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, and with one of the largest and best-funded defined contribution programs in Latin America, Chile held over USD $200 bn in assets (or more than 80% of GDP). Reacting to populist pressures during the pandemic, however, the Congress gave non-retired participants three separate opportunities to tap into their retirement accounts, leaving some 4.2 million participants with zero retirement savings and draining around $50 bn from the system. This paper explores several hypotheses regarding why people withdrew their pension money early, and it also presents evidence regarding the likely impact of this short-term policy on long-term retirement wellbeing. We conclude with lessons for global policymakers seeking to protect pension assets critical for retirement security.","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":"80 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135716818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-18DOI: 10.1017/s1474747223000094
R. Clark, Kevin S. Milligan, J. Newhouse
{"title":"Changing labor market for older workers: short and long-term trends","authors":"R. Clark, Kevin S. Milligan, J. Newhouse","doi":"10.1017/s1474747223000094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747223000094","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43406905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-21DOI: 10.1017/s1474747223000100
N. Charupat, M. Kamstra
We examine the behavior of Canadian life annuity prices by measuring how quickly and fully they respond to changes in market interest rates. The price responses, though not immediate, start relatively quickly and become more complete over time. Over the whole sample period, the responses appear to be asymmetric – annuity providers generally raise prices faster when interest rates decline than reduce prices when the opposite occurs, which is disadvantageous to annuity customers. In addition, we find unusual annuity price behavior during the period of the 2008 financial crisis.
{"title":"Behavior of Canadian life annuity prices","authors":"N. Charupat, M. Kamstra","doi":"10.1017/s1474747223000100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747223000100","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 We examine the behavior of Canadian life annuity prices by measuring how quickly and fully they respond to changes in market interest rates. The price responses, though not immediate, start relatively quickly and become more complete over time. Over the whole sample period, the responses appear to be asymmetric – annuity providers generally raise prices faster when interest rates decline than reduce prices when the opposite occurs, which is disadvantageous to annuity customers. In addition, we find unusual annuity price behavior during the period of the 2008 financial crisis.","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48098823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-19DOI: 10.1017/s1474747223000082
Stefania Innocenti, G. Clark, Sarah M. McGill
We examine whether an individual's inability to save in the last 12 months affects the extent to which they are concerned about their future financial security and their propensity to plan for retirement. We use an original survey based upon representative samples of working individuals in 16 countries. We show that individuals who were unable to save over the 12-month period prior to the survey are less likely to consider well-being in retirement as their major financial concern. They are also less likely to invest in supplementary pension funds than those who were able to accumulate savings. We provide evidence that these findings are robust under several specifications and are mediated by respondents' perceived income prospects and assessment of their current financial situations.
{"title":"Experience of financial challenges, retirement concerns, and planning: evidence from representative samples of workers in 16 countries","authors":"Stefania Innocenti, G. Clark, Sarah M. McGill","doi":"10.1017/s1474747223000082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747223000082","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 We examine whether an individual's inability to save in the last 12 months affects the extent to which they are concerned about their future financial security and their propensity to plan for retirement. We use an original survey based upon representative samples of working individuals in 16 countries. We show that individuals who were unable to save over the 12-month period prior to the survey are less likely to consider well-being in retirement as their major financial concern. They are also less likely to invest in supplementary pension funds than those who were able to accumulate savings. We provide evidence that these findings are robust under several specifications and are mediated by respondents' perceived income prospects and assessment of their current financial situations.","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44752679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-10DOI: 10.1017/s1474747223000070
Jeffrey R. Brown, James M. Poterba, David P. Richardson
Abstract This paper documents trends over the last two decades in retirement behavior and retirement income choices of participants in TIAA, a large and mature defined contribution plan. From 2000 and 2018, the average age at which TIAA participants stopped contributing to their accounts, which is a lower bound on their retirement age, rose by 1.2 years for female and 2.0 years for male participants. There is considerable variation in the elapsed time between the time of the last contribution to and the first income draw from plan accounts. Only 40% of participants take an initial income payment within 48 months of their last contribution. Later retirement and lags between retirement and the first retirement income payout led to a growing fraction of participants reaching the required minimum distribution (RMD) age before starting income draws. Between 2000 and 2018, the fraction of first-time income recipients who took no income until their RMD rose from 10% to 52%, while the fraction of these recipients who selected a life-contingent annuitized payout stream declined from 61% to 18%. Among those who began receiving income before age 70, annuitization rates were significantly higher than among those who did so at older ages. Aggregating across all income-receiving beneficiaries at TIAA, not just new income recipients, the proportion with a life annuity as part of their payout strategy fell from 52% in 2008 to 31% in 2018. By comparison, the proportion of all income recipients taking an RMD payment rose from 16% to 29%. About one-fifth of retirees received more than one type of income; the most common pairing was an RMD and a life annuity. In the later years of our sample, the RMD was becoming the de facto default distribution option for newly retired TIAA participants.
{"title":"Trends in retirement and retirement income choices by TIAA participants: 2000–2018","authors":"Jeffrey R. Brown, James M. Poterba, David P. Richardson","doi":"10.1017/s1474747223000070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747223000070","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper documents trends over the last two decades in retirement behavior and retirement income choices of participants in TIAA, a large and mature defined contribution plan. From 2000 and 2018, the average age at which TIAA participants stopped contributing to their accounts, which is a lower bound on their retirement age, rose by 1.2 years for female and 2.0 years for male participants. There is considerable variation in the elapsed time between the time of the last contribution to and the first income draw from plan accounts. Only 40% of participants take an initial income payment within 48 months of their last contribution. Later retirement and lags between retirement and the first retirement income payout led to a growing fraction of participants reaching the required minimum distribution (RMD) age before starting income draws. Between 2000 and 2018, the fraction of first-time income recipients who took no income until their RMD rose from 10% to 52%, while the fraction of these recipients who selected a life-contingent annuitized payout stream declined from 61% to 18%. Among those who began receiving income before age 70, annuitization rates were significantly higher than among those who did so at older ages. Aggregating across all income-receiving beneficiaries at TIAA, not just new income recipients, the proportion with a life annuity as part of their payout strategy fell from 52% in 2008 to 31% in 2018. By comparison, the proportion of all income recipients taking an RMD payment rose from 16% to 29%. About one-fifth of retirees received more than one type of income; the most common pairing was an RMD and a life annuity. In the later years of our sample, the RMD was becoming the de facto default distribution option for newly retired TIAA participants.","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135573209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-11DOI: 10.1017/s147474722300001x
Maria D. Fitzpatrick, G. Goda
State and local employees comprise a significant proportion of the workforce and are largely covered by defined benefit pensions. Many of these retirement plans have been facing funding gaps, but legal restrictions often prevent them from reducing benefits for current employees. However, retirement plans can reduce liabilities by changing cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, which are commonly applied to benefits each year to allow retirees to maintain purchasing power in retirement. In this study, we examine the prevalence of COLAs in public sector retirement plans through original data collection for 49 plans in 30 states, which cover approximately 52% of public sector workers overall. Among these samples, on average 45% of workers each year experienced some change in COLAs between 2005 and 2018, with more than half of these workers experiencing negative changes. We consider stylized examples of public sector workers subject to reductions in COLAs to understand how COLAs may affect workers’ retirement decisions. Our analysis suggests that eliminating a 3% COLA could delay retirement of affected workers by approximately 4.5 months.
{"title":"The prevalence and nature of COLAs in public sector retirement plans","authors":"Maria D. Fitzpatrick, G. Goda","doi":"10.1017/s147474722300001x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s147474722300001x","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 State and local employees comprise a significant proportion of the workforce and are largely covered by defined benefit pensions. Many of these retirement plans have been facing funding gaps, but legal restrictions often prevent them from reducing benefits for current employees. However, retirement plans can reduce liabilities by changing cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, which are commonly applied to benefits each year to allow retirees to maintain purchasing power in retirement. In this study, we examine the prevalence of COLAs in public sector retirement plans through original data collection for 49 plans in 30 states, which cover approximately 52% of public sector workers overall. Among these samples, on average 45% of workers each year experienced some change in COLAs between 2005 and 2018, with more than half of these workers experiencing negative changes. We consider stylized examples of public sector workers subject to reductions in COLAs to understand how COLAs may affect workers’ retirement decisions. Our analysis suggests that eliminating a 3% COLA could delay retirement of affected workers by approximately 4.5 months.","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46859838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-11DOI: 10.1017/s1474747223000069
Gopi Shah Goda, Emilie Jackson, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Sarah See Stith
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a large and immediate drop in employment among U.S. workers, along with major expansions of unemployment insurance (UI) and work from home. We use Current Population Survey and Social Security application data to study employment among older adults and their participation in disability and retirement insurance programs through the second year of the pandemic. We find ongoing improvements in employment outcomes among older workers in the labor force, along with sustained higher levels in the share no longer in the labor force during this period. Applications for Social Security disability benefits remain depressed, particularly for Supplemental Security Income. In models accounting for the expiration of expanded UI, we find some evidence that the loss of these additional financial supports resulted in an increase in disability claiming. Social Security retirement benefit claiming is approximately 3% higher during the second year of the pandemic.
{"title":"Older workers’ employment and Social Security spillovers through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Gopi Shah Goda, Emilie Jackson, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Sarah See Stith","doi":"10.1017/s1474747223000069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747223000069","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a large and immediate drop in employment among U.S. workers, along with major expansions of unemployment insurance (UI) and work from home. We use Current Population Survey and Social Security application data to study employment among older adults and their participation in disability and retirement insurance programs through the second year of the pandemic. We find ongoing improvements in employment outcomes among older workers in the labor force, along with sustained higher levels in the share no longer in the labor force during this period. Applications for Social Security disability benefits remain depressed, particularly for Supplemental Security Income. In models accounting for the expiration of expanded UI, we find some evidence that the loss of these additional financial supports resulted in an increase in disability claiming. Social Security retirement benefit claiming is approximately 3% higher during the second year of the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":"190 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134955715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-01Epub Date: 2021-10-14DOI: 10.1017/s1474747221000391
John Giles, Xiaoyan Lei, Gewei Wang, Yafeng Wang, Yaohui Zhao
This paper documents the patterns and correlates of retirement in China using a nationally representative survey, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. After documenting stark differences in retirement ages between urban and rural residents, the paper shows that China's urban residents retire earlier than workers in many Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and that rural residents continue to work until advanced ages. Differences in access to generous pensions and economic resources explain much of the urban-rural difference in retirement rates. The paper suggests that reducing disincentives created by China's Urban Employee Pension system, improving health status, providing childcare and elder care support may all facilitate longer working lives. Given spouse preferences for joint retirement, creating incentives for women to retire later may facilitate longer working lives for both men and women.
{"title":"One country, two systems: evidence on retirement patterns in China.","authors":"John Giles, Xiaoyan Lei, Gewei Wang, Yafeng Wang, Yaohui Zhao","doi":"10.1017/s1474747221000391","DOIUrl":"10.1017/s1474747221000391","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper documents the patterns and correlates of retirement in China using a nationally representative survey, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. After documenting stark differences in retirement ages between urban and rural residents, the paper shows that China's urban residents retire earlier than workers in many Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and that rural residents continue to work until advanced ages. Differences in access to generous pensions and economic resources explain much of the urban-rural difference in retirement rates. The paper suggests that reducing disincentives created by China's Urban Employee Pension system, improving health status, providing childcare and elder care support may all facilitate longer working lives. Given spouse preferences for joint retirement, creating incentives for women to retire later may facilitate longer working lives for both men and women.</p>","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":"22 2","pages":"188-210"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10187591/pdf/nihms-1793907.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9486942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-01DOI: 10.1017/s1474747221000342
Emma Aguila, Zeewan Lee, Rebeca Wong
Mexico and the United States both face rapid population aging as well as older populations with high poverty rates. Among the most vulnerable populations of retirement age in either nation are Mexican immigrants to the United States. This work uses data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study and the Mexican Health and Aging Study to assess retirement decisions among persons born in Mexico and working in either nation as well as such decisions by non-Hispanic Whites in the United States. Social security system incentives matter for the retirement of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. but not for return-migrants in Mexico.
{"title":"Migration, work, and retirement: the case of Mexican-origin populations.","authors":"Emma Aguila, Zeewan Lee, Rebeca Wong","doi":"10.1017/s1474747221000342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747221000342","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mexico and the United States both face rapid population aging as well as older populations with high poverty rates. Among the most vulnerable populations of retirement age in either nation are Mexican immigrants to the United States. This work uses data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study and the Mexican Health and Aging Study to assess retirement decisions among persons born in Mexico and working in either nation as well as such decisions by non-Hispanic Whites in the United States. Social security system incentives matter for the retirement of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. but not for return-migrants in Mexico.</p>","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":"22 2","pages":"167-187"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10181811/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9821313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-24DOI: 10.1017/s1474747223000057
Mark Skidmore, Camila Alvayay Torrejón, David Pare
Abstract This article examines the G-Fund, which is one of the five funds in the federal government employee retirement Thrift Savings Plan. The G-Fund is held as internal debt by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Our examination shows that the fund balance is exclusively composed of 1-day notes that are redeemed/reissued every business day, generating $55 trillion in annual debt reissuance. We also show that the fund balance drops substantially as resources are transferred to the general fund when the government is constrained by a debt ceiling and returns to pre-constraint levels when the ceiling is expanded/suspended.
{"title":"Explaining fluctuations in the Thrift Savings Fund daily balance at U.S. treasury","authors":"Mark Skidmore, Camila Alvayay Torrejón, David Pare","doi":"10.1017/s1474747223000057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474747223000057","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article examines the G-Fund, which is one of the five funds in the federal government employee retirement Thrift Savings Plan. The G-Fund is held as internal debt by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Our examination shows that the fund balance is exclusively composed of 1-day notes that are redeemed/reissued every business day, generating $55 trillion in annual debt reissuance. We also show that the fund balance drops substantially as resources are transferred to the general fund when the government is constrained by a debt ceiling and returns to pre-constraint levels when the ceiling is expanded/suspended.","PeriodicalId":46635,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pension Economics & Finance","volume":"99 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136090926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}