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on Economics of Ageing |
| By: | Ilmakunnas, Ilari (The Finnish Centre for Pensions); Sten-Gahmberg, Susanna |
| Abstract: | Flexible partial retirement schemes are intended to give individuals the opportunity to reduce working hours before moving into full retirement, the expectation being that the reduced workload will contribute to postponed retirement. Yet, there is limited research about whether and how flexible partial pensions are used as a way of exiting the labor force, as an income supplement, or as a way of bridging the transition into retirement through part-time employment. In Finland, individuals can take up part of their accrued old-age pension after reaching age 61 regardless of their employment status. Using high-quality register data with monthly information on retirement and wage income, we use sequence analysis analyze previously employed persons’ wage income trajectories around the take-up of partial old-age pension. We find that only around one in five continue to work at a reduced wage income level, indicating a reduction in working hours. Around one in six left paid employment just before or after pension take-up. Most individuals do not reduce their working hours when taking up a partial pension. Our findings suggest that the Finnish partial old-age pension scheme is currently not likely to extend working lives, raising concerns about its effectiveness in meeting its policy goal. |
| Date: | 2025–03–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:6mznd_v1 |
| By: | Alejandro Herrera (INESAD Associate Researcher); Beatriz Muriel (INESAD Executive Director) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the social protection challenges faced by quinoa farmers in the southern Altiplano of Bolivia, with a focus on certified quinoa producers. Using a mixedmethods approach and insights from existing literature, the study examines the retirement planning and financial literacy of farmers affiliated with RED-QUINUA, a network of Fairtrade®-certified quinoa producer associations in the region. It highlights critical issues such as low participation in the national pension system, lack of retirement planning, and gaps in financial literacy, with particular attention to their disproportionate impact on women producers. To address these challenges, a pilot program was implemented to improve quinoa farmers' financial literacy and retirement planning. The program provided participants with critical knowledge to formulate their retirement and long-term savings plans. Results from the pilot are encouraging, demonstrating improved financial literacy, increased awareness of retirement planning, and a better understanding of savings options, particularly among women. This study shows that, with appropriate financial and retirement education, quinoa certification premiums could contribute to farmers' long-term financial security and well-being. |
| Keywords: | Quinoa Production, Retirement Savings, Financial Literacy & Education. |
| JEL: | D14 G23 Q12 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adv:wpaper:202419 |
| By: | Matteucci, Nicola (Marche Polytechnic University); Picchio, Matteo (Marche Polytechnic University); Santolini, Raffaella (Marche Polytechnic University); Yebetchou Tchounkeu, Rostand Arland (University of Eastern Piedmont) |
| Abstract: | The growing ageing of the population in developed economies has necessitated the progressive use of advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the home care of elderly individuals. The effect of these technologies on elderly health outcomes remains an open issue. In this study, we analyze the impact of telecare on the mortality rate of elderly people in Italy using data at the municipal level and a doubly robust difference-in-differences design. Our results show that telecare services significantly reduced the mortality rate of the elderly aged 65 and over by 1.7 individuals per 1, 000 inhabitants. This effect was sizeable, since it was a 4% decrease in the elderly mortality rate relatively to the average elderly mortality rate in the treated municipalities. The reduction in the elderly mortality rate was greater in municipalities with a large proportion of childless elderly people, suggesting that telecare may be particularly useful for the elderly who find it more difficult to rely on strong family ties. Moreover, it was stronger in small municipalities, indicating that telecare may be more effective where there is a greater need to compensate for a lower level of traditional social and health care services. |
| Keywords: | telecare, elderly, health, mortality rate, municipalities |
| JEL: | I10 I18 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17827 |
| By: | Martin Drees |
| Abstract: | This paper resolves Aaron's social insurance paradox, which suggests that introducing a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension system increases welfare when population growth plus average wage growth exceeds interest rates. Using a simplified overlapping generations model, we demonstrate this apparent advantage stems from asset reduction rather than inherent superiority. We analyze three pension systems - traditional PAYG, capital-funded, and capital-funded with bonus payments - and establish an equivalence between PAYG and the bonus-payment system. This equivalence reveals that systems with identical contributions and benefits differ only in accounting frameworks and asset positions, challenging the notion of PAYG superiority. Our analysis exposes a fundamental conceptual inconsistency in how sustainability is assessed across equivalent pension systems. As an alternative, we propose $\alpha$-stability, a framework using index shares to evaluate pension systems relative to economic indicators. These findings suggest that perceived advantages between pension systems often result from their formulation rather than substantive economic differences. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.00909 |
| By: | Jared Gars; Laura Prada; Egon Tripodi; Santiago Borda |
| Abstract: | A large share of the global workforce lacks access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. In Colombia, where labor informality is high, the government introduced the Beneficios Economicos Periodicos (BEPS) program to promote voluntary retirement savings. However, many enrollees fail to contribute regularly. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with 2, 819 BEPS users, assigning them to different planning and monthly reminder treatments, where reminders are tailored in their timing. We find that personalized reminders significantly increase both the frequency and amount of savings, with individuals who recognize their forgetfulness more likely to demand reminders. Our findings highlight the role of reminders tailored to individuals’ preferred timing in sustaining engagement in voluntary savings programs. |
| Keywords: | retirement savings, personalized reminders, limited attention, financial inclusion |
| JEL: | D91 G41 O16 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11738 |
| By: | Donata Stonkute (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Angelo Lorenti (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Jo M. Hale (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Variations in the accumulation and decline of cognitive reserve across different cultural and institutional contexts, as well as selective survival processes that influence which population groups remain at risk for cognitive impairment, may contribute to the heterogeneity of educational disparities in cognitive health across European countries and between genders. We explore how educational disparities in Cognitive Health Expectancies (CHE) for men and women vary across different contextual settings in Europe, with a particular focus on Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Applying multivariate life table approach and the Sullivan methods to the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data, we estimated CHE by gender and education at age 50 and the proportion of CHE relative to remaining life expectancy, across 10 European countries. We found that educational inequalities in cognitive health are significantly influenced by national context, with some of the most pronounced effects in CEE countries, particularly for women. Despite higher overall educational attainment in CEE countries, the benefits typically associated with education did not translate equally across groups. The key divergence, which is most pronounced for women, occurs among those with low educational attainment, who appear to be highly disadvantaged. Substantially smaller disparities, such as observed in Northern European countries, suggest untapped potential for mitigating educational inequalities in cognitive ageing. |
| Keywords: | Europe |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2025-009 |
| By: | Viola Angelini; Joan Costa-Font; Berkay Ozcan |
| Abstract: | We study whether receiving a monetary gift from parents increases the intensity of parent-child social contact. We use unique longitudinal data that follows adult children and their older parents for more than a decade (between 2004 and 2015) across various European countries. We first document that bequests, being more visible and subject to legal restrictions on their division, tend to be equalized among children, whereas gifts are less conspicuous and often unevenly distributed. Leveraging the exogenous variation induced by fiscal incentives resulting from inheritance tax legislation reforms, we use an instrumental variable (IV) and an endogenous treatment strategy to investigate the effect of gift-giving on parent-child social contact. Our findings suggest that financial transfers from parents to children lead to an increase in the intensity of parent-child interactions. We estimate that the receipt of a gift gives rise to a 12% increase in social contact. |
| Keywords: | gift giving, inter-vivos transfers, upstream social contact, inheritance tax-reforms, inheritance tax, gifts, bequests Europe |
| JEL: | J14 H29 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11695 |
| By: | Yi-Chun Ko; Shinsuke Uchida; Akira Hibiki |
| Abstract: | This study explores farmer’s adaptation mechanisms to climate change. We explore how farmer’s age and engagement in community activities affect crop production under extreme temperatures. By using the municipality-level data on Japanese rice production in 2001–2018, we find a nonlinear (inverted U-shaped) age effect on the relationship between temperatures and rice yields. Farmers aged 60 exhibit the most capable of mitigating yield losses from extreme temperatures, while farmers above and below this age threshold suffer significant yield declines. Such declines can be averted by reinforcing networks and relationships among farm community members through active engagement in the community. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tupdaa:67 |
| By: | Riedl, Arno (Maastricht University); Schmeets, Hans (Maastricht University); Werner, Peter (Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | Using an artefactual field experiment, we elicit revealed preferences for solidarity of different age groups toward the same and other age groups among a large, diverse Dutch population sample. Preferences are measured with a solidarity game and linked to a unique administrative database, allowing exploration of demographic and socio-economic correlates. In the game, a winner of a money amount is asked ex-ante how much they are willing to transfer to a loser who gets nothing. Participants, on average, show a strong preference for ex-ante solidarity, willing to transfer about 40% of the money. However, participants are overly pessimistic about what others will transfer. We also observe age-based discrimination, as many show stronger solidarity with their own age group. Using questionnaires, we measure stated preferences in various domains and find revealed preferences correlate with some self-reported attitudes and with opinions on social security and solidarity-related field behavior. |
| Keywords: | social security systems, group identity, age groups, solidarity, large population sample |
| JEL: | D63 D64 D91 C93 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17858 |
| By: | Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov; Emiliano Luttini; Mr. Luca A Ricci |
| Abstract: | Income-support policies can boost consumption during a catastrophic episode like the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on Chilean municipalities, we investigate the impact on private consumption of income-support policies, such as lump-sum transfers and withdrawals of funds from the contributors’ mandatory pension accounts. We find that both emergency income and pension withdrawals had statistically significant effects with an estimated average marginal propensity to consume of about 20 percent. Consumption of durable goods is more sensitive to these policies than other goods, especially in the programs’ initial stages. Higher educational attainment and financial leverage, proxying better access to bank credit, are associated with weaker consumption reaction across municipalities. |
| Keywords: | Covid-policies; Marginal propensity to consume; Pension withdrawals; Income support programs; Ricardian equivalence |
| Date: | 2025–04–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2025/064 |