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Low-income retirees, financial position and wellbeing
- Authors:
- PARRY Will, LLOYD James
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 4
- Place of publication:
- York
Reports on research to examine the relationship between income, wealth and the experience of retirement of low-income older households. The study analysed data from Wave 6 (2012-13) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). It found that different levels of low income, around or below the government's guaranteed minimum income level for older people, do not lead to different experiences of retirement. However it found that non-housing wealth, such as 'buffer savings', are what makes the difference in people's experiences of retirement. Statistically significant relationships were identified between non-housing wealth and older people's experience of retirement in relation to: health and mental wellbeing, participation in leisure activities, participation in the community, and other aspects of life satisfaction. The findings show the importance of 'buffer savings' in supporting the wellbeing of poorer older people and the important role of savings policy in ensuring that as many people as possible enter retirement in possession of buffer savings, in addition to pension savings. (Edited publisher abstract)
Challenges in the new world of pensions
- Author:
- INTERNATIONAL LONGEVITY CENTRE UK
- Publisher:
- International Longevity Centre UK
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 4
- Place of publication:
- London
This brief explores the challenges posed by recent pension reforms, which have introduced flexibility in the defined contribution arena and opened up income options for retirees by allowing access to more of their savings through changes to flexible drawdown and trivial commutation rules. The state pension has also been overhauled with the introduction of a flat rate state pension of £144-a-week from April 2016 (to those who are eligible). While the reforms have been broadly welcomed they are not a panacea to the problems created by the UK’s ageing population and in fact present new challenges. This brief addresses a number of issues including: people’s underestimation of their longevity; under saving; the possibility that people may leave their pension funds as cash savings; and the need for people to work longer. For each of these challenges, the paper briefly outlines key solutions. (Edited publisher abstract)
Financial security protections in Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines: a perspective of two generations
- Authors:
- MOHD Saidatulakmal, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Hong Kong Journal of Social Work, 44(2), Winter 2010, pp.89-104.
- Publisher:
- World Scientific Publishing Company
- Place of publication:
- Singapore
Southeast Asian countries are experiencing a rapid aging of the population. This study investigated the formal and informal financial security protections of the elderly and how that compares with financial security preparedness of the younger generations in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. The role of family support as important source of old-age protection in Asian countries was also investigated. Data were collected by means of interviews of working people aged 18 to 59 years and elderly people aged over 60 years in all 3 countries. The participants were: 250 working and 250 elderly people in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 250 working and 250 elderly people in Manila, Philippines; and 206 working and 161 elderly people throughout Singapore. Venn diagrams were constructed to analyse the overlapping of availability of the various financial security protections for the 2 generations and their relative sizes among the 3 regions. The findings showed similar financial protection in all 3 countries. There was general agreement on the inadequacy of the formal old-age benefits, and many participants reverted to informal protections such as insurance, savings and family support. With the exception of Manila, reliance on the family support as perceived by the younger generations has lost its importance.
At a cross-roads: the future likelihood of low incomes in old age
- Author:
- CENTRE FOR LATER LIFE FUNDING
- Publisher:
- International Longevity Centre UK
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 19
- Place of publication:
- London
This white paper from the ILC-UK considers how recent successes in poverty reduction at older ages could be undermined in the absence of a long term strategy for later life funding. Key risk factors include: continuing reductions to social care budgets; variations amongst the baby boomers with nearly 1 in 3 having no pension wealth whatsoever; and the continued uncertainty about whether those who are in their 40s today, will be able to depend on the state in the future to provide adequate levels of support given the rising fiscal pressures of supporting an ageing population. The paper provides a detailed analysis of current and future retires, which are split into three distinct groups: the pre-boomers – now in their mid-70s and older, many requiring long-term care and generally, at best, asset rich and income poor; the boomers themselves, who have either recently entered retirement or are approaching that point, often labelled as having had it all – housing, final salary pensions and the promise of generous pensioner benefits to come; and the post-boomers, a group in their 40s and early 50s, perhaps the last generation to have invested in property on a large scale but less likely to be able to rely on final salary pension schemes to generate an income in retirement. Each of these groups face different sorts of challenges and the paper outlines possible solutions. It argues that a strategy for later life funding must: secure effective funding for adult social care; implement the Dilnot reforms; find ways of ensuring the provision of mass market financial advice; develop default options for those who “sit on their pension pots and do nothing”; be clear around what constitutes the deliberate deprivation of assets within the context of the new pension freedoms; incentivise downsizing; support innovation in the equity release market; and support policy which extends working lives. (Edited publisher abstract)
How depression and other mental health problems can affect future living standards of those out of the labour force
- Authors:
- SCHOFIELD Deborah, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 15(5), July 2011, pp.654-662.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study assessed whether those leaving the workforce early through mental health problems have less savings by the time they reach retirement age. Data were obtained from Health & Wealth MOD - a micro-simulation model of Australians aged 45-64 years that predicts accumulated savings at age 65. Findings revealed that females who retired early due to depression have an average value of total savings by the time they are 65 of $300. For those with more serious mental health problems the figure was $0. This is far lower than the average of $227,900 for females with no chronic condition who remained employed full-time. Males showed similar differences. Both males and females who were out of the labour force due to depression or other mental health problems had at least 97% less savings and retirement income by age 65 that those who remained employed full-time. The authors concluded that those who retire early due to mental health problems will face long term financial disadvantage.
Income, wealth and financial fragility in Europe
- Authors:
- CHRISTELIS Dimitios, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 19(4), October 2009, pp.359-376.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The economic conditions of the elderly and the incidence of financial distress among ageing households are of major policy interest, as older households have less ability to offset income and expenditure shocks by varying their labour supply or by borrowing against future income. This article provides a comprehensive description of the characteristics of income and wealth distribution among Europeans aged 65 and over, and explores the role of income and wealth in supporting consumption in old age. The data was drawn from the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and focused on households where the household head was over 65 years of age, which typically rely on pension income and asset decumulation. It looks at how cross-country comparisons of income, wealth and debt are affected by differences in purchasing power, household size and taxation, and shows that some seemingly wide international differences appear less so when the proper adjustments are made. The article reveals wide differences in income, wealth and indebtedness of elderly households in Europe, and provides background information on social issues such as the adequacy of savings at retirement, and the financial fragility of the elderly.
How pensions can meet consumer needs under the new social care regime: an overview
- Author:
- PENSIONS AND LONG TERM CARE WORKING PARTY. Product Research Group
- Publisher:
- Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 55
- Place of publication:
- London
This paper considers how pensions, pension wealth, and pension based products might be used to help fund long term care needs of older people following the implementation of the Care Act. It also considers the financial impact of the proposed cost cap for individuals in England from April 2016. Main sections of the report cover: the profile of potential consumers of care, care needs and current care costs; the probability of individuals reaching the cap by age, gender and region; potential product designs how they could be funded, together with their main advantages and disadvantages. The report also looks at the communications plans and legislative changes that would be necessary for individual/private funding of long term care to be viable. Recommendations include the need for: a good communication strategy on the likely impact of the cost cap for the population; good information and advice on different products for individuals in different situations; and regulatory and tax changes to encourage greater use of pensions for long term care. (Original abstract)