Learning from Other Countries: Recap of the International Pension Workshop ’20

The aim of this yearly gathering of and for academics is to present research and receive feedback from people working in various countries and disciplines. The IPW is the place to be for researchers to gather information and gain inspiration, learn from other countries, and network with top researchers in the area of pensions, retirement, aging, and the labor market.

Keynotes
Keynote speaker Courtney Coile (Wellesley College) talked about the ongoing, 25-year project she is leading, which is being conducted in 12 countries and explores the impact of pension reforms on the labor market decisions people make.

Jeffrey Robert Brown (University of Illinois at Urbana) discussed the effects of procrastination, the importance of annuities, and the role played by framing in communications for getting people to take action.

Interviews
We are pleased this year to provide you with a sneak preview of the latest international academic research in pensions and retirement being facilitated and funded by Netspar. Over the next few weeks, we will be posting the presentations online (check tab program). Also, we will be publishing several interviews with the two keynote speakers and some of the other researchers on our homepage and via LinkedIn. The topics are:

• Pension reforms highly influential in worker’s choices to work longer (Courtney Coile)
• The effect of pension seminars on saving behavior (Jan Kabatek, University of Melbourne)
• Annuities form a complex puzzle: Procrastination and uncertainty in th way of welfare gains (Jeff Brown (University of Illinois)
• Data-driven approach for retirement adequacy: “In many countries, realized replacement rates may not be sufficient” (Julian Schmied, Max Planck Institute)
• Your memory creates idealized recollections of results obtained in the past (Paul Smeets, Maastricht University)
• Low engagement in personal finance: values help predict who makes the right decisions (Susan Thorp, University of Sidney)
• Knowledge of the pension system makes a positive contribution to labor participation by the elderly (Irene Ferrari, Max Planck Institute)
• Future plans that are not implemented and the role of time-inconsistent preferences (Scott Findley, Utah State University)

Available papers and slides can be found under the tab ‘Program’