Impact of changing the retirement age on health and labor market outcomes: A case study from Italy

As individuals live longer, governments and employers are considering increasing the age at which individuals become eligible for either public or private pensions (e.g., Social Security). Why this fiscal impacts of changing the retirement age has been well-studied, the labor market and health outcomes are less well-known. A paper by Serrano-Alarcón et al. (2023) examines…

Will you have enough money for retirement?

For many individuals, the answer is increasingly ‘no’.   Yahoo and the Wall Street Journal report that: Fifty-seven percent of U.S. workers surveyed reported less than $25,000 in total household savings and investments excluding their homes, according to a report to be released Tuesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Only 49% reported having so…

How to invest your retirement savings and does it matter?

Surprisingly (or perhaps not) most Americans have limited liquid financial resources during their retirement years.  From the NBER Bulletin on Aging and Health: “…for many households “discussions of whether to purchase an annuity or draw down wealth in another fashion are largely moot; the amount of retirement support that their savings will provide is very limited. For example, nearly…

Who should be responsible for your retirement?

The Economist reports that Argentina has recently passed “a law to nationalise the country’s private pension system.”  Is this a good thing? With the stock market in the tank, many individuals yearn for the security of a government-funded retirement plans compared to private, individual investments in stocks and bonds.  However, public pensions may not be so…