Old Age Pension Scheme Research Articles

A Informal Sector Self-Employed Workers’ Old Age Pension Scheme in Retail Sector in Zimbabwe

The high incidence of informality in Zimbabwe implies that a large proportion of the adult population does not have access to contributory pension schemes during their working lives, rendering them ineligible for old-age pensions. The primary goal of this research is to develop a pragmatic informal retail sector noncontributory old-age pension scheme in Zimbabwe. The study drew empirical evidence from a comprehensive countrywide study using mixed-methods research. The study concluded that several factors, including the respondents' demographic characteristics, are important considerations in developing an effective non-contributory old-age informal sector pension scheme. Based on the study's findings, the study proposes alternative non-contributory old-age informal sector pension schemes, such as financing the non-contributory old-age social pension, determining the monthly amount of a non-contributory old-age pension, and gradually covering a non-contributory old-age pension gap. The study recommends the introduction of a non-contributory informal sector retirement pension fully funded by the government. Keywords: retail informal sector old-age pension scheme; social security; informal sector; Zimbabwe.

Payout Phase of Defined Contribution Systems: the Case of Slovakia

The paper aims to assess various aspects concerning the payment phase of the old-age pension scheme, the socalled second pillar of the pension system in Slovakia. However, the conclusions may also be useful for other pension systems. Using the Lee-Carter model and standard actuarial methods, we conclude that the second pillar is advantageous for the high-income groups or in case of high performance of pension funds. We also address the issue of deferring the purchase of a lifetime annuity. Deferral can be beneficial when the yield of the pension fund exceeds a certain threshold value. This threshold usually raises with increasing age. We argue that the temporary pension is a disadvantageous product and its recent cancellation is correct. The main contribution of the paper subsists in a three-state model of long-term care insurance, using which we calculate corresponding replacement rates. Combined with a lifetime annuity, long-term care insurance can be beneficial.

Do the COVID-19 Crisis, Ageing and Climate Change Put Swiss Fiscal Sustainability at Risk?

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic crisis as well as demographic and climate change pose major challenges for public finances. This article deals with the implications of demographic trends in Switzerland, i.e. the progressive ageing of the population and its impact on the country’s public finances in the long run. As the analysis shows, the brunt of the demographic burden is borne by the old-age pension scheme, health and long-term care. This article also addresses the financial ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis and shows the need for economic policy action over the longer term to ensure the sustainability of public finances in Switzerland. Furthermore, a qualitative assessment of climate change is included, as it constitutes an additional major long-term challenge for public finances.

Researching the Dynamics of National Social Policy in a Globalized Society. A Proposal for a De-Nationalized Analytical Framework

Abstract Epistemological hierarchies in the social sciences stipulate that sedentarism is naturalised as a normality, and that mobility is viewed as a deviation. This article sets out to propose an analytical framework that takes the analysis beyond this kind of nationalized knowledge production, and to empirically show the gains of de-nationalized frameworks for analysis of social protection and dynamics of in-/equality in the globalised society. I will do this relying on the empirical example of the public old-age pension scheme in Sweden.

Old-Age Pensions and Female Labour Supply in India

Whether cash transfers have unintended behavioural effects on the recipient household's labour supply is of considerable policy interest. We examine the 'intent to treat effect' of the Indira Gandhi National Old-Age Pension Scheme on prime-age women's labour supply decisions in India, where female labour force participation continues to decline over time. We find that having a pension-eligible individual in the household increases the probability of working by 3.2 percentage points for women aged 20-50, with the effect stronger for urban women.

The historical origins of old-age pension schemes

AbstractOld-age pensions are the most widespread social security programmes around the world. While many case studies have focused on the historical origins of old-age pensions, global and comparative studies are limited mainly due to missing data. To address this shortcoming, this article introduces the novel PENLEG dataset (Pension Legislation around the World, 1880–2010), which comprises data on: (1) the timing of the first pension introductions; (2) the pension design; (3) the mode of financing; (4) eligibility criteria; (5) benefit generosity and (6) coverage rates for all independent countries. Additionally, the article describes global pension patterns and highlights case evidence. It shows that economic development strategies, political incentives to bind citizens to the state, administrative reasons as well as colonial legacies and the Soviet model of social security have strongly affected the origins of old-age pensions.

Does the old-age pension scheme improve household welfare? Evidence from India

Abstract As India’s population has been ageing due to declines in fertility and mortality rates, more policy emphasis has been placed on reducing poverty among the elderly. The present study aims to examine the effect of Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) on household welfare indicators, such as consumption expenditure, income, assets, and poverty. Using the household longitudinal data based on the India Human Development Survey in 2004–5 and 2011–12, we have applied the Propensity Score Matching to build a counterfactual group and have used the propensity-score weighted fixed effects model to eliminate time-invariant unobservable household characteristics. The results show that the IGNOAPS participation increased consumption expenditure, food and non-food expenditure and assets, while reducing the household labour supply. The sub-sample estimations show that these effects are observed only when recipients are women. However, the results of Difference-in-Difference model imply that the poverty-reducing effect deteriorated in 2011–12 after the government made several changes to programme specifications in 2007. This was likely because some households which accessed IGNOAPS after 2007 reduced the labour supply significantly while keeping the level of consumption.

The Intergenerational Impact of China's New Rural Pension Scheme

The Intergenerational Impact of China's New Rural Pension Scheme

Universal old-age pension: Can Africa overcome it’s challenges?

Background: Social security is an important human right recognised in several international legal instruments and by non-state actors and most countries of the world. In Africa, as a result of the increasing number of aged people in most countries, the need to implement social security in the form of old-age pension schemes and workers’ compensation remains compelling. Aim: The aim of this article is to examine the nature of old-age pension in selected countries in Africa. Setting: The article takes a critical look at the nature of old-age pension schemes in some African countries. It observes that while most countries in the global north take social security seriously especially as it relates to the aged, in most countries on the continent of Africa, social security schemes are taken for granted. Methods: The article is qualitative in nature, it relies on secondary sources of data. Results: The findings shows that the implementation of old-age pension and workers compensation are especially taken for granted in most countries in Africa with the exception of South Africa that has old age pension shemes for both formal amd informal sectors. Conclusion: It concludes that the implementation and management of social security systems require quite complex institutions which, again, are not available in most of these countries.

Rural migrants’ participation in old-age insurance: a case study of the inter-provincial migrant workers from Sichuan, China

ABSTRACTOld-age pension, a fundamental part of the Chinese social security system, is perceived by the Chinese government as the last support for rural-to-urban migrant workers upon retreating from the labor market. Using survey data collected by the authors, this paper examines a host of factors which influence migrant workers’ participation in the old-age scheme. The result shows that individual characteristics, employment status, attitudes toward old-age support and perception of the old-age pension system significantly differentiate two groups of migrant workers between those that have participated in and their counterparts who have not participated in the old-age pension schemes. Among a number of factors, age, educational attainment, holding labor contract, etc. are found to be significant factors influencing migrants’ behavior participating (or not participating) the available age-pension schemes. Policy implications for how to improve the rate of participation in existing old-age pension schemes a...

Independent Choices and Extrinsic Pressure: EU Membership and the Development of Residence-Based Social Security Schemes in Finland

The article addresses the impact of the principles of free movement of persons and services of the European Union on Finnish residence-based social security schemes. Three particular schemes are analysed: the minimum old-age pension scheme (national pension), income support and the healthcare system (both municipal health services and the social insurance-based system of reimbursement of the costs of private medical treatment). In regard to each scheme, it is asked: (1) how the legislation has changed during Finland's EU membership, (2) whether the changes reflect broader changes in values, and (3) what the practical consequences of the changes have been, for instance on migration or cross-border mobility? The analysis shows that the eventual impact of EU law on these three residence-based schemes has been relatively insignificant. Perhaps the most significant change has been the transformation of the national pension into a pro-rata scheme. In other respects, many changes in the schemes have been induced by internal political and economic factors rather than by external requirements resulting from EU law. Thus there seems to exist, at least for the present, a balance between Finnish residence-based social security and the principles of free movement in the EU.

CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF OLD-AGE PENSION SYSTEM BASED ON THE NDC PRINCIPLES

The topicality of the research subject. The foundations of the old-age pension scheme based on notional accounts, also referred to as the “notional defined contribution” or “non-financial defined contribution” (NDC) old-age pension scheme, were laid in Sweden in 1994, when the prevailing view was that a sustainable defined-contribution PAYG old-age pension scheme is impossible. Since then, the NDC system modifications have been implemented in several countries; since 2000, this scheme is also part of the Latvian pension system and works significantly better than the other part of the pension system - the funded pension scheme. However, the sustainability of NDC scheme is still being questioned. To prevent the NDC pension system sustainability problems, the authors (Pukis, M., & Dundure, I., 2012) in their publication “The Sustainability of the Pension System in Latvia” and (Dundure, I., 2015), the article “Sustainable Old-age Pension System by Developing Notional Defined Contribution Pension Scheme” have proposed a modified NDC model that provides sustainability of the pension system considering the known risks inherent in the pension system. The aim of the paper is to research and analyse the conditions for building a sustainable pension system by developing a Notional Defined Contribution pension scheme and working out an adjusted (modified) old-age pension calculation formula. In order to achieve the above mentioned aim, the authors set the following tasks: __Define the old-age pension system based on NDC principles; __Define the primary objectives of pension systems and perform analysis of pension adequacy; __Define the conditions for achieving a sustainable old-age pension system based on NDC principles; __Develop an adjusted (modified) old-age pension calculation formula based on NDC principles. In order to achieve the established aim and tasks, the following scientific research methods have been used in the work: analytical method, comparative method, logically and abstractedly constructive method. The analytical method and the comparative method are employed for conducting pension adequacy analysis and examination of pension capital indexation and indexation of pensions after retirement, as well as for the purpose of studying the Notional Defined Contribution pension system. The logically and abstractedly constructive method is employed for making forecasts and defining the main research results – the conditions for ensuring pension system sustainability that have been determined by the authors in the course of the research. The authors proved that by basing on the principle of generation solidarity and equity and through improvement of NDC pension calculation formula, it is possible to create the old-age pension system, which would be capable of excluding the old-age pension instability causes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.9.12798

Ageing with Dignity: Old-Age Pension Schemes from the Perspective of the Right to Social Security Under ICESCR

The ‘dignity and worth of the human person’ emphasised in international human rights instruments resonate strongly in relation to the world’s ageing population, which is projected to be the fastest growing population group in the world and often among the most vulnerable. While elderly persons as a group are heterogeneous and their socio-economic life situation varies significantly between individuals, the need for universal support mechanisms such as non-contributory old-age benefits have been recognised by many states, and currently, over 100 countries around the world provide some form of social pension targeted towards the elderly populations. This article appraises a sample of these old-age pension schemes from the perspective of the right to social security, with particular emphasis on the dignity and worth of the human person as espoused within the international human rights regime.

Pension system development and the sustainability of the principle of generation solidarity

The problem of pensions is one of the social topical issues because a complicated demographic situation makes it difficult to observe the principle of generation solidarity in long-term formation of the pension funds. The phenomenon of pension in its evolutionary development has been investigated with an attempt to assess its social significance and efficiency. The given article describes the results of the conducted research in which various pension schemes are compared from the point of view of their social worthiness. The suggested assessment of various systematized public old age pension schemes arranged chronologically, became the basis that allowed creating a short and the most popular assessment of the systematized public old-age pension scheme. It shows that the public old age pension system of this country is based on the principle of solidarity between generations and that this principle has started to use up its positive potential. It will also be the final conclusion. The article examines first forms of old age security; explores some features of systematized pension systems; describes a socially responsible approach to the problem of pension provision by the state; and assesses the principle of generation solidarity as a basis of pension capital formation, the consequences of this principle application, its sustainability and reliability.

Old-age pensions and population health: A global and cross-national perspective

Social security schemes can reduce poverty risk and increase resources available for individuals and families, and these schemes may therefore have an important role to play in population health in both high- and middle-income countries. This article analyses the linkage between effective coverage of old-age pension schemes and life expectancy in a sample of 93 high- and middle-income countries at the end of the twenty-first century. The analyses support the notion that social security schemes, and especially programmes with a universal approach, may have positive effects on population health, even after taking into account the effect of levels of economic development, income inequality and essential characteristics of health care systems. This article also demonstrates that there is no evident relationship between levels of economic development and social security legislation: historically, late industrialisers were often first in introducing major social security schemes, and today there is no clear cross-national relationship between levels of economic development and the proportion of the population covered by old-age pension schemes.

Solidarity without the State? Business and the Shaping of the Swiss Welfare State1890–2000Leimgruber, MatthieuCambridge, Cambridge University Press (2008), 330p., ISBN 9780521875400 (hardback) and ISBN 9781107405448 (paperback)

Solidarity without the State? Business and the Shaping of the Swiss Welfare State1890–2000Leimgruber, MatthieuCambridge, Cambridge University Press (2008), 330p., ISBN 9780521875400 (hardback) and ISBN 9781107405448 (paperback)

How Do Intentions Affect Future Retirement? A Case Study of the Finnish Flexible Old-Age Pension Scheme

The aim of this study is to examine the factors that impact on older employees in their plans to continue at work or to retire, and to find out to what extent retirement plans are actually realised. The frame of reference for the study is Beehr's model (1986) of the retirement process. It consists of three stages: retirement preferences (thoughts about retirement), retirement intentions, and retirement outcomes. In this study, two stages of Beehr's model have been examined: retirement intentions and realised retirement. Retirement figures from the register data showed that people have retired somewhat later than they planned. Slightly more than half of the older employees retired when they intended, a third retired later, and a small proportion retired earlier than they intended. Intentions to continue working longer were explained by many personal and work-related factors, most of which are consistent with earlier studies on retirement plans, whereas realised retirement was largely explained by work-related factors. The centrality of work, a short working career and financial incentives to continue working were the best predictors of late retirement. With reference to Beehr, we conclude that different factors are emphasised as explanatory variables at different stages of the retirement process.

Economic Satisfaction of the Elderly in Rural Tamil Nadu: A Study with Special Reference to the Madurai District

The elderly in the rural areas of India are suffering due to separation or loneliness resulting from urbanization and emergence or increase of nuclear families. Within the elderly population individuals differ, not only in their socio-demographic, economic and health characteristics, but also by their gender roles in various aspects of life. This paper explores the gender differences of the rural elderly population in their socio-demographic, economic and health characteristics in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu. The data, collected from 160 elderly persons in four villages of the Madurai district selected through a disproportionate stratified random based on the number of households, reveal that most of the rural elderly males were older and married, while most elderly females were widowed. Elderly males mostly lived with their spouses and elderly females with their children. Marital status was found to be the most positive significant variable to an increase in economic wellbeing of the rural elderly, and living arrangements were found to be a significant negative one. The elderly suffer either by not receiving sufficient economic support, physical support, or both to some extent. This is due to a rising cost of living, less or no reliable employment opportunities in the village, and increasing nuclear families. They opined that the government should provide employment opportunities for the elderly, as well as other educational and health infrastructural facilities for their children in their rural localities, and that the government should accelerate the eligibility criteria and proper implementation of an old-age pension scheme. Elderly people requested this so that rural-urban movement of their children could be stopped to ensure their economic and physical supports for the long run.Keywords: Economic well-being, Gender, Madurai, Rural elderly, Tamil Nadu

The Impact of the Basic Old-Age Pension Scheme on Poverty Reduction and Income Guarantee

The Impact of the Basic Old-Age Pension Scheme on Poverty Reduction and Income Guarantee

Enterprise Pensions in China: History and Challenges

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China by the Communist Party in 1949, the government has introduced a social welfare system for both urban and rural populations. Before the economic reform and the open door policy that started at the end of the 1970s, enterprises were not concerned about the effect of their payments because their budgets were not completely separated from the government budget. After more than 50 years of changes and reforms to the pension system, the current system in China is still dominated by the public pillar, a largely urban-based, contributory, partially funded and defined contribution system. for the mainstream of the urban working population, the social security system provides the main source of assistance for maternity, medical service, unemployment, work injury and old-age pensions. This paper focuses only on the old-age pension scheme. the evolution of the Chinese insurance-based state pension system is described. as readjustments and restructuring are taking place in politics as well as in the economy, the current pension system faces many challenges, which are also discussed and suggestions are made for further reforms for addressing these challenges.