Distributional Implications of Social Security Reform for the Elderly: The Impact of Revising COLAs, the Normal Retirement Age, and the Taxation of Benefits

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-529
Author(s):  
Richard W. Johnson
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-231
Author(s):  
Mariarosaria Coppola ◽  
Maria Russolillo ◽  
Rosaria Simone

Purpose This paper aims to measure the financial impact on social security system of a recently proposed indexation mechanism for retirement age by considering the Italian longevity experience. The analysis is motivated by the progressive increase in life expectancy at advanced age, which is rapidly bringing to the fore noticeable socio-economic consequences in most industrialized countries. Among those, the impact on National Social Security systems is particularly relevant if people live longer than expected; this will lead to greater financial exposure for pension providers. Design/methodology/approach Referring to the Italian population for illustrative purposes, the authors contemplate different scenarios for mortality projection methods and for the implementation of pension age shift while accounting for gender and cohort gaps and model risk. Synthetic indicators to measure the impact of the indexation mechanism on social security system are introduced on the basis of pension cash flows. Findings An indexation policy that manages gender gap while adjusting retirement age for varying life expectancy is proposed. As a result, sustainability of public retirement expenditure is improved. Originality/value The paper is a concise scenario analysis of the reduction of costs and risks that pension providers would have if the system resorted to link retirement age to life expectancy. The ideas fostered by the paper follow a recent proposal of the Authors on a flexible retirement scheme that deals with model risk for mortality projection and accounts for gender gap in mortality rates.


1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-65
Author(s):  
Monika Miśkiewicz-Nawrocka ◽  
Katarzyna Zeug-Żebro

The age structure of EU countries has changed significantly in recent years. These changes are mainly due to longer life expectancy, low fertility rates, and population migrations. Countries are trying to cope with the consequences of demographic changes by reforming the social care system, extending the retirement age, introducing additional social benefits promoting parenthood and supporting large families. Social security programs in EU countries are very diverse. The financial aspect plays an important role in social security systems. Social security is based on the redistribution of income between persons receiving remuneration from work and persons who, due to reaching retirement age, poor health, lack of employment or having many children receive social benefits. In view of the changing demographic situation, social security functions such as health care, pensions and benefits for large families require Member States to take immediate structural and financial change. In the study will carry out spatial analysis of social care system development in the European Union and will research the impact of social spending on the unemployment rate, household structure, birth rate or poverty level. In addition, the forecast of social expenditure in the EU will be designated. The use of spatial analysis will allow to determine the existing relations between the studied countries due to the level of development of the studied phenomenon. The analysis will be carried out on the basis of actual data from Eurostat.


1996 ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olle Lundberg ◽  
Ingemar Kåreholt

Social class differences in mortality among the elderly have received only limited interest. In this paper we analyze the impact of social class on mortality from mid-life onwards. In 1968 1,860 persons born between 1892 and 1915 were interviewed and followed in the national cause of death registry for the period 1968-1991. In addition. 537 of the 563 survivors were fe-interviewed in 1992. We employ proportional hazard regressions to analyze the impact of social class on death risks over time. There are fairly small class differences in the probability of reaching old age. However, it appears that mortality differentials were steeper before retirement age than after. Still, the size of class differences in mortality seem smaller than expected on the basis of other studies. At the same time steep class gradients in illness and functional abilities exist among survivors. Some possible explanations for these somewhat contradictory findings are discussed.


Subject Social security reform in China. Significance China's social security system is targeted for reform. Premier Li Keqiang's 'work report' to the National People's Congress (NPC) on March 5 pledged to increase the basic pension, lower premiums for unemployment insurance and centralise the country's fragmented urban pension system. Several days later, human resources minister Yin Weimin said, on the sidelines of the NPC, that the government intends to introduce a plan in 2017 to raise the country's statutory retirement age. Impacts Lower employers' and employees' contribution rates would encourage compliance, and thus coverage, by making contribution more affordable. Statutory retirement ages will have to be raised, in the face of strong public opposition. Increasing the statutory retirement age will have to be accompanied by more job opportunities for middle-aged and elderly workers. The competing interests of different provinces and regions could hamper social security reform. Further relaxation of the household registration system will be needed to expand social insurance coverage.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luc Behaghel ◽  
David M Blau

We use a US Social Security reform as a quasi-experiment to provide evidence on framing effects in retirement behavior. The reform increased the full retirement age (FRA) from 65 to 66 in two-month increments per year of birth. We find strong evidence that the spike in the benefit claiming hazard at 65 moved in lockstep along with the FRA. Results on self-reported retirement and exit from employment go in the same direction. The responsiveness to the new FRA is stronger for people with higher cognitive skills. We interpret the findings as evidence of reference dependence with loss aversion. (JEL D91, H55, J14, J26)


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