Retirement Pension Research Articles

Retirement pathways and pension inequality in China: a grounded theory study

PurposeExisting research focuses on the pension systems and reforms in China from a macro-level and financial perspective. The expectations of mid-life Chinese people regarding their retirement and pensions have been ignored to date, and this research set out to address this lacuna.Design/methodology/approachThe application of qualitative research methods is relatively novel in Chinese social science. As a grounded theory (GT) study, the research reported here deployed semi-structured interviews to investigate middle-aged Chinese women's and men's perceptions of their pensions and retirement. In total, 36 interviews were conducted, following the constructivist GT method.FindingsThe data point to disparities between the choices and perceptions of individuals on the one hand and the official assumptions underlying the current pension regime on the other hand. Research participants had varying interpretations of the inequality in retirement incomes in China, the main division being between enterprise workers and public-sector employees.Originality/valueAlthough there are in principle rigidly fixed retirement ages for men and women in contemporary China, the phenomena of early retirement and working post-retirement are increasing. There are trade-offs between work/retirement and family needs, which influence the choices of middle-aged citizens. Retirement pathways are increasingly individualised, reflecting broader patterns of individualisation and inequality in China.

What Will Retirement Pensions Be Like? Analysis of Spanish Future Pensioner Households in Terms of Poverty

The Spanish public retirement pension system, the same as that of many European countries, faces two important risks in the long term. On the one hand, the sustainability of the current pay-as-you-go system and, on the other hand, the ability to maintain an acceptable standard of living for the retired population. This paper presents a study on the current situation of the Spanish public retirement pension system and its effect on the future retired population. In recent years, the concern for the long-term sustainability of the system, which is based on pay-as-you-go and defined benefit, has been very present. For this reason, two major reforms were carried out in 2011 and 2013; however, different investigations have indicated the reduction in future retirement pensions as a possible consequence. Regarding this dilemma, this paper aims to study the future poverty risk of the retired population due to the current formulation of the system, by conducting, for this purpose, an analysis of the purchasing power of future pensioners based on the EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2016 of the National Institute of Statistics of Spain. As a result, a future reduction in the replacement rate was observed, affecting the younger population to a greater extent, as well as an increase in poverty in pensioner households using two different scenarios.

Una mirada interpretativa y constitucional de los derechos sociales: la reducción de las pensiones jubilares

This article analyzes the problematic of the reduction of the retirement pensions from the critical constitutional perspective of the democratic and guarantee-based State, which includes reasonable dialogical interpretations that possess the main objective to reassure the retirees the real satisfaction of their rights within the bureaucratic and judicial apparatus, which must be specified in the practice. On the contrary, this brings a regressivity on the normative and the jurisprudential activity. For that, this investigation is developed in three different sections. The first two sections, acknowledged from the theory and the practice of social rights, social security and retirement as an object of knowledge and reflexive coherence. For that, the following methods will be usage: the hermeneutic interpretative method and hermeneutic logical method. The third performs a systematic theoretical analysis of the problem of the decreasing element of the pensions, from which can be inferred that any regressive measure of this rights requires a reasonable justification; otherwise, it is constitutionally objectionable. In conclusion, the correct functioning and operation of the institutions through progressive lectures of the norms,principles and public politics that are pro of social rights, legitimate the general well-being lecture of society.

Mediating Effect of Corporate Welfare Satisfaction in the Relationship between Retirement Pension System's Income Security and Job Commitment

Mediating Effect of Corporate Welfare Satisfaction in the Relationship between Retirement Pension System's Income Security and Job Commitment

Effects of retirement pensions according to contribution time and age on Brazilians' health and wellbeing

Aging of the Brazilian population with the country's diversity of demographic and territorial characteristics motivated this study on the effects of retirement pensions on health and wellbeing. The study thus analyzes the effects of retirement pensions in Brazil by age and contribution time through measures of overall self-rated health, depressive symptoms on the CES-D scale, and household and head-of-household income. The analyses were also disaggregated by gender and locality. The method used was Propensity Score Matching with data from 9,412 individuals 50 years or older obtained from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil), collected in the years 2015 and 2016. In overall self-rated health, there was an increase in the probability of rating health as good or excellent for women in urban areas, both for those retired by contribution time (more than 9%) and by age (more than 7%). There was a reduction in the probability of depressive symptoms for women that retired by contribution time (11%), while for men from rural areas there was a reduction of more than 16%. There were important increases in income in all the subgroups. The study aimed to help offset the lack of evidence on the effects of retirement pensions in Brazil, and the results generally suggest that the effects of retirement pensions on individuals´ health and wellbeing are beneficial but quite heterogeneous between men and women and between rural and urban areas.

A Comparison Standard for Assessing the Adapted Version of the Brazilian Functionality Index

Background: This study aimed to determine the best method of achieving consensus between examiners and workers with disabilities in Brazil regarding their perceived severity of the disability and eligibility for an early retirement pension. Methods: We analysed the agreement between evaluators’ perceptions to create a reference standard for the classification of the disability severity of applicant workers with disabilities. Pairs of expert physicians and social workers applied a computer index, and then assigned their perceived level of severity, independent of the computer classification. Findings: A total of 17,350 applicants aged 18 and 76 years were included in the analysis. The best-perceived agreement represented the ideal comparison standard for validating the index in the future. The severity perceptions of the evaluators and the workers with disabilities yielded three agreement tables portraying the perceived disability severity. Physicians and social workers demonstrated the greatest level of agreement (weighted kappa: 0·2351, 95% confidence interval: 0·2229–0·2473) and the combination of their assessments provided the best standard. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that this method has been used to create a reference standard. Evaluators’ perceptions of disability severity formed the basis for choosing a standard to further analysis the index’s accuracy and validity. Funding Statement: This work was supported by a grant from the Brazilian Ministry of Social Security (No. 44000.001814/2013-60; FUB Technical Cooperation Agreement of 11/21/2013). Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This research was conducted according to Brazilian regulations and in conformance with the Principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, and the study protocol was approved by the Internal Review Board of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Brasilia, (CAAE number: 37058914.5.0000.0030). The requirement for informed consent for this database analysis was waived because the study was based on a retrospective analysis of routinely-collected data.

Equity Mutual Funds: Current Status and Issues

An equity mutual fund is a financial intermediary that collects funds from various investors and invests in equities and other assets. It has the following advantages or functions: record keeping and administration, diversification and divisibility, professional management, and low transaction costs. Compared to the rapid growth of the global equity fund markets over the past decade, the Korean market has shrunk significantly. The main cause is the decline in the reliability of equity funds. This study examines the current status of the global and Korean fund markets and their relationships with private pension markets. Based on the findings, various issues in the Korean equity fund market are identified, and various possible solutions concerning asset management companies, sales companies, and institutional regulations are suggested. If the equity fund market gains the investors’ trust, it will reduce the direct investment of stocks by individuals, benefit the private pension markets, and contribute to the development of the Korean capital market. Key words: Equity Mutual Fund; Retirement Pension; Individual Retirement Account; Exchange Traded Fund; Master Trust JEL Classification: A20, G10, G23

Resource Dependence Theory Approach to Retirement Pension Subscriber Education: Make or Buy Decision

Resource Dependence Theory Approach to Retirement Pension Subscriber Education: Make or Buy Decision

Sex and Gender in the Community

The ECJ Judgment (Court of Justice of European Union) of 26 July 2018 (M.B. Case) declares the discriminatory nature of a national (British) regulation that requires married transgender people to have their marriage annulled to gain full legal recognition of their gender change, as a condition for access to a retirement pension established by national law for people who have changed gender. This judgment is made to Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security. This work analyzes this judicial pronouncement, placing it in the set of the community jurisprudence which dealt with the consequences of the gender change from the community regulations of a socio-laboral nature. It points out the Spanish legal regulation concerning gender change and consequences in terms of social security. The work proves that in many cases wherein, despite the sex-gender differentiation, both terms are used in the same sense. The paper advocates a “de-gendered” and “de-gendering” law indicated by the author in the final epilogue.

Recent cases and the future of Directive 79/7 on equal treatment for men and women in social security: How to realise its full potential

Directive 79/7 on equal treatment for men and women in statutory social security has proven to be more relevant than ever, forty years after its adoption. Two new landmark judgments were handed down in 2019. The first ( Villar Láiz) concerned the calculation of the retirement pensions of part-time workers and the ruling marks an important milestone in the long road towards delivering better social protection for these workers, the majority of whom are women. The second ( WA) dealt with a pension supplement granted to female pensioners with two or more children (to the exclusion of men) and analysed, for the first time, whether affirmative action is permitted in the field of statutory social security. This article describes and makes some comments on the 2019 judgments. It also reflects, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Directive 79/7, on how its full potential can be realised. In particular, it proposes the generalisation of the pro rata temporis principle by removing affiliation thresholds for part-time workers, extending the scope of the Directive to all carers and carers’ allowances following the ruling in Drake, invalidating temporary derogations of the Directive in line with Test-Achats, and using Article 157(3) TFEU as a legal basis so that the Directive can be amended by qualified majority.

The Efficacy of the Retirement Pension Provision System: Modeling, and Assessing of the Case of Kazakhstan

This research is aimed at developing a methodology for assessing the efficacy of a macroeconomic model of the Kazakhstani pension provision system. A hierarchy of indicators of the pension system efficacy is built using the graph method. The representativeness of these indicators is confirmed by using expert assessment and factor analysis. A multi-factor assessment model is built using an additive convolution of the normalized values of the 2014–2019 resulting indicators with a breakdown by regions, regarding the coefficients of their significance. A regression model is developed to show the dependence of the pension system efficacy on the share of the accumulative system in the structure of retirement scheme financing. The optimal part of the accumulative system amounting to 79.5% of the total system is determined to be the level at which the pension system efficiency is maximized. A neural model for predicting the pension system efficacy under the influence of labor market indicators is built. The size of the minimum required annual payroll deductions from the wages of persons working according to the accumulative system is calculated depending on the length of service; this minimum size ensures a replacement rate of 40% with regard to the optimal ratio of the accumulative and solidarity pension systems. These findings will be useful to state bodies when developing and clarifying directions for reforming the pension system in Kazakhstan.

Can Asia provide models for tax-based European health systems? A comparative study of Singapore and Sweden.

Singapore's health system generates similar levels of health outcomes as does Sweden's but for only 4.4% rather than 11.0% of gross domestic product, with Singapore's resulting health sector savings being re-directed to help fund both long-term care and retirement pensions for its elderly citizens. This paper contrasts the framework of financial risk-sharing and the configuration and management of health service providers in these two high-income, small-population countries. Two main institutional distinctions emerge from this country case comparison: (1) Key differences exist in the practical configuration of solidarity for payment of health care services, reflecting differing cultural roots and social expectations, which in turn carry substantial implications for financing long-term care and pensions. (2) Differing arrangements exist in the organization of health service institutions, in particular balancing public as against private sector responsibilities for owning, operating and managing these two countries' respective hospitals. These different structural characteristics generate fundamental differences in health sector financial and delivery outcomes in one developed country in Far East Asia as compared with a well-respected tax-funded health system in Western Europe. In the post-COVID era, as Western European policymakers find themselves forced to adjust their publicly funded health systems to (further) reductions in economic growth rates and overall tax receipts, and as the cost of the information revolution continues to rise while efforts to fund better coordinated social and home care services for growing numbers of chronically ill elderly remain inadequate, this two-country case comparison highlights a series of health system design questions that could potentially provide alternative health sector financing and service delivery strategies.

Pensions, annuities, and long-term care insurance: on the impact of risk screening

We examine the interaction between an individual’s pension scheme and her purchase of long-term care insurance in a context where individuals learn their longevity risk type over time. We show that the structure of an individual’s retirement pension scheme is an important component of her selection of long-term care insurance coverage. When individuals purchase their retirement product and long-term care insurance after learning their risk type, low-risk individuals signal their type solely on the retirement product market, which allows all individuals, irrespective of their risk type, to perfectly insure against the incidence of long-term care shocks. When individuals purchase their retirement product before learning their risk type, then the retirement product will pool all risk types, which prevents any signaling in that market. If individuals still learn their type before purchasing long-term care insurance, then having to signal their type in the long-term care insurance market considerably reduces the take-up rate for such protection for all risk types.

Senior policy in contemporary Poland: declarations and actions

At the beginning of the article an analysis is made about new applications of commonly known terms, such as retirement pension, geriatric, grey or silver tsunami, and “election retirement pensions”, covering among others civic retirement pension, maternal retirement pension, 13th and 14th bonus retirement pension, guaranteed retirement pension and non-taxed retirement pension. There are also presented demographic changes in Poland in the last half-century (1967–2017) and their consequences. Another thematic thread concerns senior policy, its genesis and attempt to defining what it is, and its main goals. Senior policy which is being created in Poland can be successfully implemented on three basic levels: governmental, self-governmental and non-governmental (civic). Activities addressed to seniors can be divided in at least six areas: 1) activity and activation of older people; 2) education; 3) culture and mass media; 4) legislation and legal assistance; 5) social assistance and support, and 6) health and preventive care. This paper discusses examples of activities in the above ranges, and in the final passage of this text we have discussion on the senior policy in contemporary Poland trying to answer vital questions: do we have in Poland social policy addressing the problems of elderly people?, and if the term ‘senior policy’ not a ‘semantic abuse’?

Exposure to outdoor PM2.5 in socioeconomically disadvantaged street vendors in Medellin, Colombia

Background: Medellin is not only a city of innovation, but also one of the most air polluted cities in Colombia which has faced at least one environmental emergency per year during the last five years. In the middle of the traffic, about 7000 street vendors do their living. Aim: Describe the exposure to PM2.5 and socio economic conditions of work and living of a sample of street vendors located under the lanes and train station of the elevated metrosystem of transportation in downtown, Medellin.Methods: A survey of socioeconomic conditions was conducted with 74 street vendors. Personal monitoring of PM 2.5 was conducted from Monday to Saturday during 6.69 hours of the workday in the months of September, October or November to a sub-sample of 15 street vendors with a total of 88 personal measurements. Results: 68.9% were men, median age of 54.50 years, 50% studied 5 years or less, 71.6% were migrants. Reason for migration for 35.71% of women was “Displacement due to violence” and for 40.47% of men “Looking for a job opportunity”. More than 50% started working at the age of 13. Median years working as street vendors was 13, median work days was 6 and 10 hours a day. 91.67% had no access to insurance for retirement pension or work accident or occupational disease. For 15 street vendors, exposure estimation to PM2.5 in 24 hours per month was 306.11 μ/m3, 249.12 μ/m3 and 168.89 μ/m3 and maximum average exposure hours, were 10,31 (sd 14,10), 5,40 (ds 7,26) and 8,6 (ds 9,14) in Sept, Oct and Nov respectively. PM 2.5 in 24 hours was between 65.95μ/m3 Tuesdays to 126,39 95μ/m3 Saturdays. Conclusions: socioeconomically disadvantaged migrants looking for better conditions of living find that cities perpetuate social injustices through environmental health hazards as pollution of the place of working.

Homes for the Aged: a study of a Health Region in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Introduction: With the aging of the population, the demand for Homes for the Aged (HFAs) grows. Objective: To analyze resources and population of HFAs and to check the fulfillment of the criteria from the national regulations. Methods: Descriptive quantitative study including 11 philanthropic HFAs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data was collected through a questionnaire applied to the responsible for the facility. Results: The study comprised 318 workers and 522 elders. HFAs presented: some accommodations without private bathrooms (100%); external area and administrative office (72.7%); cafeteria and support room (54.5%); ecumenical room (36.4%); rooms with more than four beds (45.5%). The prevailing reasons for admission were brought by family member (69.2%); social vulnerability (36.4%). Death was the main reason for leaving the facility. The average age of elders was 76.8 years, 58.4% were women. The dependence grade was I for 31.1%; II for 33.9%; and III for 35%. Leisure and cultural activities occurred in 72.7% of HFAs. In 27.3% there were records of visits. Only 9.1% had cooperation from families. Available human resources were nurses (72.7%); physicians and nursing assistants (63.3%); physical therapists (45.5%); psychologists (36.4%); caregivers (27.3%); occupational therapists (9.1%). In 63.3% of facilities, workers carried out mixed activities. The costs were covered by retirement pensions, partnerships, and donations. The main obstacles were financial resources or dependence on donations and rigorous health surveillance or compliance with standards. Conclusion: The HFAs partially fulfill the national criteria, impairing the quality of care provided to elders.

ACTIVITIES OF NON-STATE PENSION FUNDS IN THE FIELD OF EARLY NON-STATE PENSION PROVISION

The system of early retirement pensions was inherited from the USSR and every third Russian pensioner receives a preferential pension. It is assigned to metallurgists, oil workers, coal miners, ballerinas, trolleybus drivers, teachers - the lists of early retired pensioners are huge. The conduction of pension reform involved seeking resources within the system itself. To solve the problem of financing preferential pensions, a system of early non-state pension provision was created, implemented through non-state pension funds. However, the existing legislative regulation does not stimulate employers of hazardous and dangerous industries to create corporate pension programs due to the fact that they will not exempt employers from paying additional insurance premiums in favor of employees on preferential lists. As a result, there are no employers in the country who will not only pay wages on time, transfer insurance premiums in a timely manner, but for this category in an increased amount, but will also form additional contributions for the same employees under the early non-state pension system. The non-state pension paid in the frame of this system does not replace the early insurance old-age pension, that is, it does not entail a decrease in federal budget costs. The purpose of this study is to consider the main legal acts and the process of development of legislation on early non-state pension provision. The result of the study is practical proposals for improving the legal framework of the early retirement pension system.

퇴직연금 정책추진을 위한 이해관계자별 관심요소 순위에 관한 연구

퇴직연금 정책추진을 위한 이해관계자별 관심요소 순위에 관한 연구

Career and Financial Situation of Patients Diagnosed with Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Background: After receiving a cancer diagnosis patients face many challenges. The association between career situation and financial problems caused by cancer has a substantial impact on quality of life (QoL) among cancer patients. Indeed, the QoL such as physical and mental health of cancer patients is lower when the risk of psychological disorders or distress increases, and chances for cancer cure are reduced. Progress in therapeutic intervention allows many cancer patients a social reintegration into their careers. About one third of cancer patients are younger than 65 years, and with the constant increase in work life periods, a cancer diagnosis also presents a financial burden for those affected. Objectives: The main objective of this study was to analyse the social QoL in the context of factors related to career and financial situation among patients diagnosed with soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Methods: A descriptive non-experimental research design was used to conduct a cross-sectional survey over a period of 6 months, between May and November 2016, in collaboration with the Sarcoma Unit at the Mannheim University Medical Centre, Mannheim, Germany, the patient organisation “Das Lebenshaus e.V.,” and the German Pension Insurance Hessen (Deutsche Ren­tenversicherung: DRV Hessen)/Pension Fund. We analysed data of 30 patients diagnosed with STS using self-outcome questionnaires in combination with retirement insurance data from the date of first diagnosis up to 3 years afterwards. Out of 280 questionnaires, we received 86 completed forms, of which 56 were excluded. The remaining questionnaires of 30 patients were analysed according to self-determined outcomes and included a calculation of the financial changes caused by the disease. Only patients covered by pension insurance were included in the study. Results: Thirty patients (24 women) whose median age at first diagnosis was 48.7 years (range 31–61 years) were included in the analysis. The average unemployment rate was 8.8 months, and for 67% (20 patients) the employment situation changed after the period of unemployment. Eight patients requested a retirement pension (reduced income insurance), 4 patients reduced their weekly working hours, and 3 patients lost their jobs due to complications of the disease. The data analysis revealed that, among these patients, one benefited from an income increase of about 24%, another one received a regular old-age pension, and 4 patients reported reduced income for other reasons. In total, mean income has been reduced by 26%. Considering only the 8 patients who applied for a pension, partial or total unemployment benefits resulted in an average loss of income of up to 62%. Conclusions: Reduced ability to work may cause severe financial problems for those affected by the diagnosis of STS. We found an average income reduction of 26%, for those requesting pension payments of 62%. This eventually relates to a higher risk of reduced wealth and may lower the patients’ social standing.

Socioeconomic factors in disability retirement due to mental disorders in Finland.

BackgroundPrevious research has identified low socioeconomic status (SES) as an epidemiological risk factor for early retirement and disability pension (DP) due to mental disorders. This study aims to examine these associations in greater detail, with separate consideration of the risk factors for mood disorders (F30–39) and non-affective psychotic disorder (F20–29) DP.MethodsIn this case–control setting the subjects (N = 36 879) were all those granted DP due to a mental disorder for the first time between 2010 and 2015 in Finland. All the subjects were matched with three controls for their gender, age and hospital district (N = 94 388). Three measures of dimensions of SES were used: education, income and occupational status, as well as family type as a control factor. Differences between DP recipients and controls, and between diagnostic groups, were studied using calculated characteristics and conditional logistic regression models.ResultsDP recipients often lived alone and had low educational and income levels. These characteristics were more prominent in non-affective psychotic disorder than in mood disorder DP. In white-collar occupational groups, the risk of DP was greater compared with blue-collar workers. Students were associated with the highest level of risk for all mental and mood disorder DPs.ConclusionsWe found evidence of SES factors associating with mental disorder-related severe loss of working and studying ability in a disorder-specific way. Notably, white-collar workers had an increased risk of mental disorder DP. This could be related to the psychosocially demanding contemporary working life in non-manual work.