NBER (August 2024) Germany, like many other countries, has undergone a series of pension reforms since the 1980s which generally decreased benefit generosity and increased the retirement age due to demographic pressures. This paper investigates whether these reforms have increased income and wealth inequality among retirees.

International Labour Organization (17.07.2024) Oman has launched the implementation of new social insurance maternity benefits that are set to significantly improve labour market opportunities for women in the Sultanate. The new scheme is part of ambitious and wide-ranging social protection reforms in Oman, developed with the support of the ILO and adopted in July 2023. It improves and expands maternity benefits for mothers employed in full-time jobs and includes a provision for paternity leave. The system is in line with key requirements of ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No.

Asian Development Bank (02.04.2024) Developing Asia and the Pacific is unprepared to secure the well-being of its rapidly aging population as the growing share of older people in the region face challenges from low pension coverage to health problems, social isolation, and limited access to essential services. While longer lifespans reflect the region’s development success, comprehensive policy reforms are urgently needed to support the welfare of older people, according to Aging Well in Asia: Asian Development Policy Report, released today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at its 57th Annu

OECD iLibrary (12.07.2024) What factors influence satisfaction with social protection? This report investigates differences in perceptions of social protection across countries, with a focus on France, using novel data from the OECD’s Risks that Matter Survey. Compared to respondents in Germany and the United Kingdom, French respondents are systematically the least satisfied with social protection in their country, even as France performs well on many social programme outcome indicators.

The HR Observer (24.01.2023) The Omani’s National Employment Programme launched a self-employment platform collaboration with AWJ Innovation and Occidental Oman to encourage the self employed individuals to connect with potential employers. “Self employment is one of the initiatives launched by the National Employment programme in partnership with the concerned authorities with the aim of providing integrated and interrelated facilities for self employed individuals in the Sultante of Oman,” said Azhar al Kindi, Executive Director of the National Employment Programme.

politico.eu (25.07.2024) The European Commission said Thursday it is taking legal action against Germany and Italy, accusing both countries of discriminating against EU migrants regarding social security. In 2018 and 2022, respectively, the German state of Bavaria and Italy passed laws reducing the amount of family benefits paid to mobile workers — a term referring to EU nationals working in a country where they are not citizens. As a result, the Commission referred Italy and Germany to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), calling the schemes “discrimination.”

OECD (May 2023) Effective welfare policies need to consider interactions among economic, social and environmental outcomes. This paper, prepared to support Finance track discussions during Japan’s 2023 Presidency of the G7, describes a variety of national and international initiatives to improve the measurement of multidimensional welfare and well-being "beyond GDP". For example, the 2025 System of National Accounts (SNA) will provide greater visibility to the digital economy and free digital services, unpaid household activities, and the depletion of natural capital.

oecd (20.06.2024) Society at a Glance 2024: OECD Social Indicators, the tenth edition of the biennial OECD overview of social indicators, addresses the growing demand for quantitative evidence on social well-being and its trends. The report features a special chapter on fertility trends which discusses evidence from recent OECD analysis on the effect of labour market outcomes, housing costs and different aspects of the family policy framework (e.g. parental leave, childcare, and financial supports) on fertility trends and highlights key policy challenges.

elpais.com (21.06.2024) The country’s aging population and low fertility rate jeopardizes the solvency of Social Security and the Medicare program, according to a new study by Brookings

European Commission (20.06.2024) The report highlights that European pension systems have protected retired Europeans’ living standards in the face of global challenges. Resilient public pensions, indexation, and redistribution mechanisms have maintained pension adequacy during crises. However, pensions are predicted to decrease, calling for reinforced policies to promote longer careers, healthy ageing policies, inclusive labour markets, and greater flexibility in retirement pathways.