nep-age New Economics Papers
on Economics of Ageing
Issue of 2025–03–31
five papers chosen by
Claudia Villosio, LABORatorio R. Revelli


  1. Toward an Inclusive, Equitable, and Sustainable National Pension System in Iraq By World Bank
  2. The Brazilian Pension System Under an Equity Lens By Asta Zviniene; Tsukada Raquel
  3. Making Pension Savings Easy and Efficient for Informal Sector Workers - Learning from Kenya’s Haba Haba Pilot By World Bank
  4. Pensions can work without economic growth By Wiman, Laua
  5. Personalized Reminders: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Voluntary Retirement Savings in Colombia By Jared Gars; Laura Prada; Santiago Borda; Egon Tripodi

  1. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Social Protections and Labor-Pensions & Retirement Systems Social Protections and Labor-Social Funds and Pensions
    Date: 2024–07
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:41926
  2. By: Asta Zviniene; Tsukada Raquel
    Keywords: Social Protections and Labor-Pensions & Retirement Systems
    Date: 2024–05
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:41521
  3. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Social Protections and Labor-Pensions & Retirement Systems Social Protections and Labor-Social Funds and Pensions Social Protections and Labor-Employment and Unemployment Social Protections and Labor-Social Protections & Assistance
    Date: 2024–05
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:41578
  4. By: Wiman, Laua
    Abstract: This working paper is a tentative, solutions-oriented response to concerns that pensions would not work without economic growth. It aims to concretize post-growth visions, but also validate post-growth thinking to those who consider it too far outside the mainstream. To the contrary, this analysis begins from mainstream policy aims and economic concerns, and as its result proposes institution types that are already widespread. A pension system can be widely acceptable if it promotes three 'provisioning aims': poverty alleviation, income maintenance, and voluntary provisioning. Without economic growth, possible 'adverse economic conditions' of pension systems include low earnings; low, negative, or volatile interest rates; high inflation; and demographic aging. Additionally, even financially sustainable pension funds can have 'adverse social effects'if their interest income is extractive, exploitative, or inequality-amplifying. I argue that three broad institution types could constitute a post-growth pension system: non-contributory (governmentfinanced) minimum/basic pensions, contributory pay-as-you-go pensions, and collective pension funds. Together they promote all three provisioning aims. The provisioning aims make tradeoffs against each other and their institutions have different weaknesses regarding adverse economic conditions and social effects. Still, even without economic growth, most wealthy economies could probably promote at least poverty elimination and income maintenance without paradigmatic reforms. To close, I anticipate four interesting aspects of post-growth pensions governance: benefit protection versus cost control, distribution versus redistribution, challenging of economic individualism, and property rights within funded pension schemes.
    Keywords: growth dependence, eco-social policy, sustainable welfare, inequality, financialization, provisioning
    Date: 2025
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:penwps:313652
  5. By: Jared Gars (University of Florida); Laura Prada (University of Southern California); Santiago Borda (Istintivo); Egon Tripodi (Hertie School)
    Abstract: A large share of the global workforce lacks access to employer-sponsored retire- ment plans. In Colombia, where labor informality is high, the government introduced the Beneficios Económicos Periódicos (BEPS) program to promote voluntary retirement savings. However, many enrollees fail to contribute regularly. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with 2, 819 BEPS users, assigning them to different planning and monthly reminder treatments, where reminders are tailored in their timing. We find that personalized reminders significantly increase both the frequency and amount of savings, with individuals who recognize their forgetfulness more likely to demand reminders. Our findings highlight the role of reminders tailored to individuals’ preferred timing in sustaining engagement in voluntary savings programs.
    Keywords: retirement savings; personalized reminders; limited attention; financial inclusion;
    JEL: D91 G41 O16
    Date: 2025–03–05
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:528

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