Proposals to Keep Older People in the Labor Force

Proposals to Keep Older People in the Labor Force. Brookings Institution. Alicia H. Munnell and Abigail N. Walters. January 24, 2019

Older people need to work longer in order to ensure a secure retirement. Social Security, the backbone of the retirement system, will not replace as much preretirement income in the future as it does today. Employer-sponsored retirement plans also involve considerably more uncertainty, given the shift from defined benefit plans to 401(k) plans. With these institutional saving arrangements on the decline, people could decide to save more on their own. But personal saving outside employer plans is virtually nonexistent, with the exception of home equity—an asset that retirees are reluctant to tap. Combine the retirement income crunch with the dramatic increase in life expectancy and growing health care costs, and continued employment in later life is the best option for ensuring financial security. The challenge is to ensure that older Americans plan to keep working and that employers retain and hire them. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 25 pages].

We’ll Live to 100 – How Can We Afford It?

We’ll Live to 100 – How Can We Afford It? World Economic Forum. May 26, 2017.

This paper addresses the challenges facing retirement systems, including the impact of ageing societies, and quantifies the size of the savings shortfall. It provides recommendations for system design and actions for policy-makers to ensure we can adjust to societies in which living to 100 is commonplace and affordable for all. The paper is accompanied by the Case Studies in Retirement System Reform which presents 12 examples of pension reform from governments, pension funds and companies around the world. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 24 pages, 1.68 MB].

Case Studies in Retirement System Reform

Case Studies in Retirement System Reform. World Economic Forum. May 26, 2017.

The challenges of providing ageing societies with a financially secure retirement are well known. In most countries, standards of living and healthcare advancements are allowing people to live longer. While this should be celebrated, the implications for the financial systems designed to meet retirement needs, which are already under severe strain in many nations, must be considered.
Besides increasing life expectancies and lower birth rates, additional factors are increasing the strain on global retirement systems such as lack of easy access to pensions, inadequate savings rates, long-term low growth environment and low levels of financial literacy.

This handbook presents 12 case studies on the approaches that governments, pension funds and companies have taken to address the challenges that their own retirement systems face. It highlights initiatives undertaken and lessons learned to guide those seeking future pension reforms. The handbook accompanies the white paper We’ll Live to 100 – How Can We Afford It? [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 60 pages, 3.36 MB].