Rising Preferred Retirement Age in Europe: Are Europe’s Future Pensioners Adapting to Pension System Reforms?

This study investigates whether older workers have adapted their preferred retirement age to the pension reforms aimed at extending working life. Based on data from Eurobarometer and the European Social Survey in 12 European countries, the analysis shows that future pensioners have indeed increased their preferred retirement age and adjusted to the new credo of late retirement. However, the strength of the increase was found to vary between different groups of older workers: It is much stronger for the higher-educated than for the lower-educated. This finding supports recent concerns regarding the reemergence of social inequality in the retirement process.     

中国农村养老问题研究

农村养老问题直接关系到中国农村秩序的稳定与农业的可持续发展。由于固有的道德体系的崩溃和农村商品经济的发展 ,通过构建和不断完善农村养老法律体系来规范农村养老已是大势所趋。“以家庭养老为主导 ,强化社会养老保险、引进商业养老保险 ,建立多种形式并存的农村养老保障体系”的价值定位既符合中国农村的实际 ,又有利于操作和实施。     

Pension policy design changes in EU countries since the mid‐1990s

Recent decades have been characterised by significant pension reforms. This article reviews this process, focusing on five policy design issues that have concerned policymakers: optimising poverty alleviation effectiveness; redefining the state's role in smoothing incomes over the life‐course; balancing contributions to benefits; adjusting the system to respond to demographic, economic and social changes; and ensuring that reforms will be long‐lasting. While the role of state pensions is diminishing, there is a growing realisation of the need to ensure that they remain adequate, reigniting interest in minimum pensions and contribution credits. The expanding role of private pensions has led governments to intervene more in their operation. Policymakers have shown interest in automatic adjustment mechanisms to bring about required economic changes. However, there is greater understanding that for these to happen, the state has to engage more with its citizens.     

退休对男性老年人健康的影响--基于断点回归的实证研究

退休是个体从过去工作生涯中抽身出来的转折点，退休后个人福利的变化是老龄化社会值得关注的问题。基于中国家庭追踪调查（ CFPS）2012年数据，以男性为例采用模糊断点回归的方法识别退休对个体心理、生理健康的因果影响。结果显示，退休对个体的生理健康并没有显著影响，但对其心理健康有显著的正向效应。从影响渠道来看，退休后个体压力减少，认知功能、记忆力以及对生活满意程度提升是导致健康（尤其是心理健康）改善的主要原因。本文的研究为未来退休政策的制定提供参考。     

Bayesian estimation of a proportional hazards model for double-censored durations

Double-censored data consist of uncensored, left- and right-censored observations and occur in survival time analysis. In this paper, parametric Bayes estimation is investigated for a proportional hazards model with durations subject to double-censoring. We prove consistency and asymptotic normality of the posterior mean with the Bernstein–von Mises theorem. In addition, we estimate asymptotic standard errors. A simulation study shows that the finite-sample performance is similar to that of the maximum likelihood estimator. Finally, the proposed model is applied to rating transition data. The analysis suggests that an upgrade of a rating increases the duration in that class by about 10 days on average.     

The adolescent family environment and cohabitation across the transition to adulthood

This study draws upon a sample of men and women from Waves I and IV of Add Health to examine the linkages between the adolescent family environment and cohabitation behavior across the transition to adulthood. Using event history modeling the current paper considers the association between a variety of family factors and both the timing of first cohabiting unions and their outcomes (marriage, break up, still cohabiting). This paper also considers whether the impact of predictors for cohabitation timing and outcomes varies depending on the age of individuals. Results indicate that exposure during adolescence to family instability, parental cohabitation, lower parental SES, and low family belonging were associated with an elevated likelihood of entering into cohabiting unions, but primarily during adolescence and early adulthood. Family factors, including family belonging and parental relationship history, were also associated with the outcomes of first cohabitations.     

A Possible Pension-Savings Paradigm for a Sustainable Future: A Developed Country Case Study (UK)

Abstract

For millennia, the percentage of the population aged sixty-five and older never exceeded 3 or 4 per cent (), while the percentage of children under the age of 5 numbered between 15 and 20 per cent. By 2050 this picture will be reversed due to various demographic mega-trends. This means that many developed nations need to rethink their assumptions regarding their existing pension-savings and accumulation paradigm and rebuild their very conceptual foundations. Some countries try infusing into the defunct current pension-savings’ model small adjustments; but what is required is an entirely new pensions funding and accumulation paradigm. The new paradigm proposed in this paper is based on ten pillars addressing the demographic and economic challenges projected ahead. Two principles guide the proposed model. One is that it must foster confidence among the citizens who will retire in mid-twenty-first century that they may have sufficient financial resources for long retirement years. The second principle is that the new pension funding system must leave them with enough available funds for social and economic development as they save for the long years of retirement.     

A place to heal: a qualitative focus group study of respite care preferences among individuals experiencing homelessness*

Homeless patients have longer hospital stays than housed persons due, in part, to a lack of safe discharge locations. Respite care for homeless individuals decreases hospital length of stay and readmissions rates. This study aimed to develop client-centered recommendations for medical respite care. We conducted four focus group interviews (n?=?25 participants) between August 2010 and February 2013 of homeless adult residents in Minnesota. Four domains of respite care were identified from content analysis of interviews: physical, relational, facilitation, and amenities. Novel recommendations include (a) a facility equipped to address mental health and substance dependence needs, (b) a standardized training protocol for respite staff, (c) the creation of a patient advocate, and (d) the creation of a respite case manager to facilitate post-discharge instructions and connection to primary care and social services. These new and actionable recommendations could help inform policies and the development of future medical respite care facilities.     

Living in a Retirement Village: Choice,Contracts, and Constraints

Retirement village living is a growing housing option for older people. Research to date has focused primarily on the social milieu of the village with limited attention to the legal and financial obligations associated with this form of specialized seniors' housing. Using data from a survey of 312 Australian residents, this article suggests while residents place financial and legal obligations at the forefront when considering relocation and during residency, there is variability in professional advice and constraints on choices when needs and capacities change. The distinctive obligations associated with retirement village living require greater attention to ensure an informed lifestyle decision.     

“Wish you were here”? Geographies of exclusion: young people,coastal towns and marginality

ABSTRACT

Within youth studies there is a growing body of research that pays attention to the importance of place in shaping young people’s identities, life opportunities and intergenerational relationships [Cuervo, H., and J. Wyn. 2014. “Reflections on the Use of Spatial and Relational Metaphors in Youth Studies.” Journal of Youth Studies 17 (7): 901–915; Farrugia, D. 2014. “Towards a Spatialised Youth Sociology: the Rural and the Urban in Times of Change.” Journal of Youth Studies 17 (3): 293–307; Woodman, D., and J. Wyn. 2015. Youth and Generation: Rethinking Change and Inequality in the Lives of Young People. Sage Publications]. Of critical importance to these discussions is the need to explore notions of ‘belonging’ and social citizenship, interrogating the extent to which differing perceptions and experiences contribute towards variations in the outcomes and life chances of disadvantaged young people. This article draws upon ethnography, participatory arts-based research, and semi-structured interviews (n31) with young people (15–25) who live in a deprived coastal town in the North of England. The research investigated processes of marginalisation and disconnection from the perspectives of young people who were deemed as disengaged, or ‘at risk’ of disengagement, from education, employment or training. The research took place during a time of rapid change and uncertainty as Britain voted to leave the EU. The findings of this study will ‘throw light’ on the how contemporary classed subjectivities are formed, how experiences of inequality and austerity are made sense of, and how, within a turbulent political context, young people negotiate complex transitions to adulthood.