The past decade has brought an increasing recognition to the importance of pension systems to the economic stability of nations and the security of their aging populations. During this time, the ...World Bank has taken a leading role in addressing this challenge through its support for pension reforms around the world. Old-Age Income Support in the 21st Century attempts to explain current policy thinking and update the World Bank’s perspective on pension reform. The Bank has been involved in pension reforms in nearly 60 countries, and the demand for its support continues to grow. This book incorporates lessons learned from recent Bank experiences and research that have significantly increased knowledge and insight regarding how best to proceed in the future. The book has a comprehensive introduction and two main parts. Part I presents the conceptual underpinnings for the Bank’s thinking on pension systems and reforms, including structure of Bank lending in this area. Part II highlights key design and implementation issues where it signals areas of confidence and areas for further research and experience, and includes a section on regional reform experiences, including Latin American and Europe and Central Asia. This book will be of interest to Bank clients, the international community, and anyone interested in pension systems and reform.
Population aging will affect the performance of pension funds and financial markets in the former transition economies and require determined policy actions to complete financial market development ...and to promote financial literacy through education.
Depending on the age definition applied (e.g., chronologic, demographic, physiologic), a horse may be considered old at 15 years, 20 years, or even at an older age. The management of a horse is ...likely adjusted once it is considered old, however, details concerning these changes are currently sparse. Similarly, it is unclear at what age owners typically consider their horses to be old and why. To learn more about these and other topics related to older horses, a US-wide survey was conducted with owners of horses aged ≥ 15 years. The objectives of the present subsection of this survey were to 1) determine at what age horses were considered old by their owners, 2) identify the reasons for this decision, and 3) assess management changes made because the horse was considered old. The anonymous survey was distributed through social media and a press release and was online from Oct. 15th to Nov. 21st, 2020. 2717 of 2927 started surveys were eligible for analysis. Responses were received from all US states with southeastern states being most represented (38%; n = 2607). Data were analyzed descriptively with frequency counts expressed as percentages. Percentages amounted to maximally 100% for single-choice questions (s-c q.) but could exceed 100% for multiple-choice questions (m-c q.). All responses were discrete variables. At the time of the survey, about half (47.4%)of the participants considered their horse to be old (n = 2528 total responses to question; s-c q.). Most indicated to have first considered their horse old at an age of 20 (22.8%) or 25 years (14.1%) (n = 1181; s-c q.). Other ages were overall less commonly reported and hence grouped: < 15 years (1.0%), 15–19 years (24.0%), 21–24 years (22.4%), 26–30 years (13.9%), and > 30 years (1.9%). The top 3 reasons for considering their horses old were: 1) horse showed reduced ability to work/exercise (43.6%), 2) horse showed first signs of age-related disease/disorder (43.5%), 3) horse's hair turned gray/increase in gray hair (29.3%) (n = 1153; m-c q.). Ninety-one percent (90.6%) made changes to their horse's management once it was considered old (n = 1187; m-c q.). The top 3 changes were: 1) changed diet and/or supplements (65.9%), 2) exercised horse less intensely (31.3%), and 3) stopped riding/driving exercise (29.6%) (n = 1187; m-c q.). In conclusion, horses were often considered old at distinct ages (20 and 25 years), with changes in fitness level, health status, and physical characteristics (i.e., gray hair) reported as the main reasons. For almost all horses, management was adjusted once they were considered old, and changes mainly pertained to exercise regimen and diet.
Closing the Coverage Gap Holzmann, Robert; Robalino, David A; Takayama, Noriyuki
2009, 06-16-2009, 20090101
eBook, Book
Odprti dostop
Closing the Coverage Gap discusses how social pensions and other retirement income transfers can be used to close the coverage gap of mandatory pension systems. The book is organized in three parts. ...The first part makes the case for these programs by assessing the extent of the coverage gap around the world and evaluating the vulnerability to poverty of the elderly. The second part reviews the experiences of low, middle and high income countries with the design and implementation of retirement income transfers. The last part focuses on design issues. It analyses the incentive effect of these programs on labor supply and savings, fiscal costs, the role of targeting mechanisms, and alternatives in terms of institutional design and administration. The book also discusses the role of promising instruments such as matching contributions to reach parts of the informal sector.
Shocking Mother Russia Chandler, Andrea
Shocking Mother Russia,
2004, 20041019, 2014, 2004-01-01, 20040101
eBook
Examining the reform process of the old age pension system in Russia, from its Soviet origins to the Putin era,Shocking Mother Russiaadds significantly to the growing body of literature on ...comparative social policy and the political challenges of pension reform. Andrea Chandler explains why Russia's old-age pension system went into decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, even though it was a prominent issue in the political arena at the outset of the post-communist transition.
While tracing the roots of the system's difficulties to the Soviet Union's first efforts to establish a national social welfare system after 1917, Chandler nonetheless devotes the bulk of her study to the period from 1990 to 2001. While political factors impeded reform for much of this eleven-year period, ultimately Russia's striking policy reversals provide a case study for developing nations. In 1990, a new Russian pension law was adopted during the Soviet reform process ofperestroika. The system was again significantly altered in 2001 when a market-reform-oriented package of pension legislation was passed.Shocking Mother Russiaplaces the Russian experience in comparative perspective, and suggests lessons for pension reform derived from analysis of the Russian case.
For all these rights Klein, Jennifer
2003., 20100102, 2010, 2003, 2006, c2003., 2003-01-01, 20030101, Letnik:
42
eBook
The New Deal placed security at the center of American political and economic life by establishing an explicit partnership between the state, economy, and citizens. In America, unlike anywhere else ...in the world, most people depend overwhelmingly on private health insurance and employee benefits. The astounding rise of this phenomenon from before World War II, however, has been largely overlooked. In this powerful history of the American reliance on employment-based benefits, Jennifer Klein examines the interwoven politics of social provision and labor relations from the 1910s to the 1960s. Through a narrative that connects the commercial life insurance industry, the politics of Social Security, organized labor’s quest for economic security, and the evolution of modern health insurance, she shows how the firm-centered welfare system emerged. Moreover, the imperatives of industrial relations, Klein argues, shaped public and private social security.
This review provides policy recommendations on how to improve the Slovenian pension system, building on the OECD's best practices in pension design. It details the Slovenian pension system and ...identifies its strengths and weaknesses based on cross‑country comparisons.
Workers' Capital Mees, Bernard; Brigden, Cathy
2017, 20200716, 2020-07-16
eBook
Superannuation was once a privilege granted only to company head office staff and career public servants. Now in Australia nearly all workers have access to employer-contributed superannuation, and ...it is a fundamental pillar of Australia's retirement income system.
Workers' Capital tells the story of the Australian superannuation revolution led by trade unions in the 1980s. After a series of hard-fought industrial campaigns, an enormous financial industry was created, involving hundreds of thousands of employers and covering millions of fund members. From having one of the worst retirement savings systems in the developed world, in three decades Australia had one of the best. Now the funds held in Australian superannuation accounts exceed the entire market capitalisation of all the companies on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Drawing on interviews with the key players and extensive archival research, Workers' Capital is the first systematic history of the unique Australian system of industry superannuation.
Although average incomes in China have
risen dramatically since the 1980s, concerns are increasing
that the rural elderly have not benefited from growth to the
same extent as younger people and the ...urban elderly.
Concerns about welfare of the rural elderly combine spatial
and demographic issues. Large gaps exist between conditions
in coastal and interior regions and between conditions in
urban and rural areas of the country. In addition to
differences in income by geography, considerable differences
exist across demographic groups in the level of coverage by
safety nets, in the benefits received through the social
welfare system, and in the risks of falling into poverty.
This book aims to do two things: first, it provides detailed
empirical analysis of the welfare and living conditions of
the rural elderly since the early 1990s in the context of
large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and second, it
explores the evolution of the rural pension system in China
over the past two decades and raises a number of issues on
its current implementation and future directions. Although
the two sections of the book are distinct in analytical
terms, they are closely linked in policy terms: the first
section demonstrates in several ways a rationale for greater
public intervention in the welfare of the rural elderly, and
the second documents the response of policy to date and
options to consider for deepening the coverage and effects
of the rural pension system over the longer term.
