The economic implications of aging societies : the costs of living happily ever after /
Nyce, Steven A.,1973-
Schieber, Sylvester J.
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press,
2005.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Introduction -- 2. Population developments in a global context -- A brief historical perspective -- Underlying forces driving changing population structures -- Changing life expectancy -- Changing fertility rates -- Immigration rates -- Evolving national populations -- National population age structures -- The prospects of growing age dependency -- 3. Pension options, motivations and choices -- Retirement plans as a consumption allocation mechanism -- Approaches to financing pensions -- Factors behind national retirement choices -- Why pay-go pensions became so popular -- New realities spur new considerations on pension choices -- Demographics and the efficiency of alternative pension systems -- Labor supply patterns and the efficiency of alternative pension systems -- Interest rates and wage growth and the efficiency of alternative pension systems -- Aging populations in the context of total economic dependency -- New realities raise concerns for policy analysts -- 4. Pension structures and the implications of aging -- Contemporary approaches to providing income security for the elderly -- Public first tiers in the retirement system -- Public second tiers in the retirement system -- Employer-sponsored third tiers in the retirement system -- Retirement ages, retirement patterns, and retiree populations -- Retiree income levels -- Sources of retiree income -- 5. Retirement systems and the economic costs of aging -- Consumption and savings rates under alternative retirement systems -- Retirement saving versus consumption loans -- Another view of consumption and savings rates under retirement systems -- Retirement patterns under alternative retirement systems -- Retirement living standards under alternative retirement systems -- Pension funding realities -- What appears to be pension funding might not be real funding -- Funded pensions cannot overcome all demographic challenges -- Pension transitions are costly and raise equity issues -- 6. Beyond pensions to health care considerations -- Age and health consumption patterns -- Factors other than aging driving up health costs -- Longer lives and health care consumption in old age -- Explaining the intensity spiral in health care consumption -- Policy concerns over the evolution of health technology -- Long term care provision in changing societies -- The health care dilemma -- 7. Labor supply and living standards -- Building blocks for producing national output -- The story behind changing labor productivity levels -- Improving productivity leads to improved living standards -- Demographics and output demand -- The linkages between output demand and labor demand -- The foundation for growth in the coming decades -- Retirement systems' role in determining retirement burden levels --
8. Too many wants or too few workers? -- Framework and baseline for viewing the labor market options -- Increasing labor force participation generally -- Increasing female labor force participation rates -- Increasing labor force participation of older people -- Increasing labor force participation of young adults -- Matching labor force participation rates of high-rate countries -- Immigration as a potential source off added workers -- 9. Alternatives to finding more workers -- Capital deepening as a possible alternative to additional labor supply -- Utilizing existing human capital more efficiently -- 10. Aligning retirement policy with labor needs -- The role of plan structure on retirement and work behavior -- Factors affecting early labor force withdrawals -- Effects of occupational programs on labor markets -- Workforce incentives created by non-employment benefits -- 11. Funding pensions and securing retiree claims -- Case studies of nations shifting to funded pensions -- Asset management and utilization in funded pension systems -- Investing pension funds in government bonds -- Motivations for individual account systems and their operation -- Foreign investment as a means to achieving fair returns -- Potential international demand for pension fund savings -- 12. Macroeconomic policies for improved living standards -- Pursuing higher labor force participation levels -- Pursuing higher rates of productivity growth -- Spreading the benefits of added economic growth -- Investing in developing economies  -- 13. Risks associated with alternative public policies -- Insuring against economic risks during the working period -- Insuring against economic risks during the retirement period -- The political economy risks in aging societies -- The risks of denial of a problem -- Political risks from delay in addressing aging issues -- 14. Roadmap to the future -- Principles for reforming national pensions -- Maintain disability and early survivors programs as social insurance -- Continue to provide extra protection to the economically vulnerable -- Saving through retirement savings programs increases flexibility -- Pension reform should provide equitable treatment between participants -- Pension funding transition costs should be spread across generations -- Pension accounting should be done on an accrual basis -- The pension system should be structured to encourage economic efficiency -- Assure that risks borne by individuals are diversified and at tolerable levels -- Keep administrative costs low -- Some portion of retirement savings should be annuitized at retirement -- Annuitization should be on a joint and survivor basis for couples -- Reforms should assure long-term solvency of the pension system -- Pension reforms should be explicit and transparent -- Benefits in reformed pension systems should be transparent -- Pension reforms should be undertaken as soon as possible -- Principles for reforming employer-based pensions -- Bringing health care under control -- Facilitating cross-national capital flows -- Conclusion.
Life span, Productive.
Pensions
Age distribution (Demography)
Retirement
Labor supply.