Social Security

Allspring Global Investments' Annual Retirement Survey Finds "Retirement Readiness Disconnect"

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a disconnect between financial advisors and retirees and near-retirees on retirement readiness, as shown by the 21st annual Allspring Global Investments retirement survey. The survey, which for the first time included advisors, found that advisors' perceptions of their clients' retirement preparedness was far less than the retired or near-retired individuals themselves.

Key Points: 
  • CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a disconnect between financial advisors and retirees and near-retirees on retirement readiness, as shown by the 21st annual Allspring Global Investments retirement survey.
  • The survey, which for the first time included advisors, found that advisors' perceptions of their clients' retirement preparedness was far less than the retired or near-retired individuals themselves.
  • "Advisors have the experience and tools to help those in or nearing retirement get a clearer picture of what it will take to achieve financial security."
  • While more than two-thirds of retirees and near-retirees see themselves as ready for retirement, that number dropped among advisors, who see only 40% of their clients as ready for retirement.

doola Launches doola Money Allowing Founders Worldwide to Start a US Business, Deposit $USD and Move Money Internationally in Minutes, All in One Go

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

- doola Money supports founders on every continent, with no US SSN required, and no visit to the US required.

Key Points: 
  • - doola Money supports founders on every continent, with no US SSN required, and no visit to the US required.
  • doola announced today that they have launched a fintech product for global businesses that will allow founders to deposit $USD and move money internationally, remotely, from any continent, with no US Social Security Number required.
  • doola Money provides the best of business banking with everything you need to move money from anywhere in the world.
  • As our customers like to say, we're a Business-in-a-Box(TM), and the launch of doola Money brings our day-one vision to reality."

Demographics, labor market power and the spatial equilibrium

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Abstract

Key Points: 
    • Abstract
      This paper studies how demographics affect aggregate labor market power, the urban wage
      premium and the spatial concentration of population.
    • I develop a quantitative spatial model
      in which labor market competitiveness depends on the demographic composition of the local
      workforce.
    • If these factors differ across workers, labor market power has a role to
      play in explaining wage inequality.
    • This paper contributes to the literature on differences in labor market power by analyzing a
      new dimension of heterogeneity: demographics.
    • Since older workers are less mobile in terms of
      switching workplaces, firms have more labor market power over older workers.
    • I start by estimating labor market power by measuring the sensitivity of worker turnover to
      the wage paid.
    • I find a strong
      role of demographics in determining the degree of labor market power enjoyed by firms.
    • Next, I provide evidence of the importance of differences in labor market power for spatial
      wage inequality.
    • To explore the consequences of labor market sorting, I build a spatial general equilibrium
      model in which labor market competitiveness depends on the demographic composition of the

      ECB Working Paper Series No 2906

      2

      local workforce.

    • If these factors differ across workers, labor market power has a role to
      play in explaining wage inequality.
    • In
      the model, geographic sorting by age matters and leads to higher labor market power in rural
      areas, which implies an urban wage premium that is 4% larger than with uniform labor supply
      elasticities.
    • I follow Manning (2013) and estimate labor market power by measuring the sensitivity of worker
      turnover to the wage paid.
    • Bachmann et al., 2021; Ahlfeldt et al., 2022a; Berger et al.,
      2022) that nest a monopsonistic labor market in a spatial general equilibrium model (Redding
      and Rossi-Hansberg, 2017).
    • As firms have more labor market power
      over older workers, they face an upward-sloping labor supply curve that is less elastic in regions
      with an older workforce.
    • Firms choose in which labor market to operate in the sense that there is free
      entry at fixed costs into all locations.
    • How are differences in labor market competitiveness across space sustained in spatial equilibrium?
    • I use the model to quantify the importance of heterogeneity
      in labor market power for the urban wage premium and the spatial concentration of population.
    • My work is complementary to but quite different
      from this paper since I argue that population aging increases labor market power rather than
      product market power.
    • By analyzing the effects of a changing age composition of the workforce in the context
      of labor market power, I relate to literature on the labor market effects of population aging.
    • ECB Working Paper Series No 2906

      7

      after controlling for age, differences in labor market power between East and West Germany
      vanish.

    • They conclude that higher
      concentration is associated with higher labor market power (as in the model of Jarosch et al.,
      forthcoming).
    • I offer an alternative explanation why labor market power differs across regions:
      Since denser regions have a younger workforce, workers are more mobile in terms of switching
      jobs which implies lower labor market power of firms.
    • In this case, I infer a
      high labor supply elasticity and low labor market power of firms.
    • I contribute to this growing debate by
      quantifying differences in labor market power across worker groups and their effects on regional
      inequality.
    • While the model shows how demographics affect labor market power, the urban wage premium and agglomeration, one fundamental question remains open for future research: What
      are the policy implications of (differences in) labor market power?

A job scam that college students – and your HR team – need to know about

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

A job scam that college students – and your HR team – need to know aboutCollege students report they’ve been contacted on social media platforms by people claiming to be recruiters for Wall Street firms, national retailers, tech companies, and other attractive places to land a job.

Key Points: 

A job scam that college students – and your HR team – need to know about

  • College students report they’ve been contacted on social media platforms by people claiming to be recruiters for Wall Street firms, national retailers, tech companies, and other attractive places to land a job.
  • The “recruiter” may claim to have a connection at the college and say that the Dean or a professor has recommended the student as top-flight talent for the company’s prestigious management program.
  • – in an attempt to steal personal information or pull off a fake check scam.
  • What advice can you give a student to avoid a bogus employment offer?

Allsup Celebrates 40 Years Of Leadership & Innovation For American Workers, Employers

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

Belleville, Illinois, Feb. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allsup LLC is excited to commemorate 40 years of making a difference through its leadership and innovation in the creation of new services and solutions for American workers and their employers.

Key Points: 
  • Belleville, Illinois, Feb. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allsup LLC is excited to commemorate 40 years of making a difference through its leadership and innovation in the creation of new services and solutions for American workers and their employers.
  • Founder and CEO Jim Allsup started the enterprise in 1984 and has grown the organization to more than 500 dedicated professionals serving individuals, insurance carriers and employers in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
  • “We’ve accomplished a lot, but there is so much more to be done and Allsup will lead the way,” Jim stated.
  • “The world continues to change and Allsup is evolving with it and helping to show how we get there.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa aims for upbeat tone in annual address, but fails to impress a jaundiced electorate

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, February 10, 2024

The country goes to the polls any time between May and August and there was no doubt that Cyril Ramaphosa would use the occasion to burnish the governing African National Congress’s reputation.

Key Points: 
  • The country goes to the polls any time between May and August and there was no doubt that Cyril Ramaphosa would use the occasion to burnish the governing African National Congress’s reputation.
  • Numerous opinion polls suggest the ANC will fall below 50% of the vote nationally for the first time, providing opportunities for opposition coalitions.
  • A party needs to win 50% or more of the seats in parliament to form a government on its own.
  • In his 105-minute address Ramaphosa tried to remind his audience of the government’s achievements over the past three decades of democracy.

The contested record

  • Poverty: In 1994 71% of South Africa’s population lived in poverty; today 55% do, he said, citing World Bank figures.
  • Employment: The president devoted paragraphs of his speech to job opportunities created by various government programmes.
  • Real unemployment – the expanded definition – is around 42%, up from 15% in 1994.
  • Energy: On the continuing power cuts Ramaphosa pledged that
    the worst is behind us and an end to load-shedding is in reach.
  • But evidence shows land reform has a mixed record of successes and failures.
  • Health: the president spoke of a new academic hospital under construction in Limpopo province.

What was left unsaid

  • In one ill-advised one in 2019, the president fantasised about bullet trains, when his audience were desperately waiting for the resumption of service on slow train commuting routes.
  • The 2024 speech offers fertile material for opposition parties to score points against the ANC.
  • It will be more of the same from both sides all the way to voting day.


Keith Gottschalk is a member of the African National Congress, but writes this piece in his professional capacity as a political scientist.

Trinity Universal Insurance Company and Its Subsidiaries Address Data Incident

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

CHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Trinity Universal Insurance Company ("TUIC") and its subsidiaries* today announced that it identified and addressed a data incident.

Key Points: 
  • CHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Trinity Universal Insurance Company ("TUIC") and its subsidiaries* today announced that it identified and addressed a data incident.
  • TUIC completed an investigation into an incident involving backup tapes that went missing from a company office that was in the process of moving to another location.
  • These backup tapes were contained in a padlocked case ("lockbox") and went missing sometime between July 7, 2023 and July 10, 2023.
  • * TUIC's subsidiaries include: Alpha Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Charter Indemnity Company, Response Insurance Company, Kemper Financial Indemnity Company, Response Worldwide Insurance Company, Warner Insurance Company, Response Worldwide Direct Auto Insurance Company, Financial Indemnity Company, Kemper Independence Insurance Company, Merastar Insurance Company, Unitrin County Mutual Insurance Company, Infinity County Mutual Insurance Company, Unitrin Advantage Insurance Company, Unitrin Auto and Home Insurance Company, Unitrin Direct Insurance Company, Unitrin Direct Property & Casualty Company, Unitrin Preferred Insurance Company, Unitrin Safeguard Insurance Company, and Valley Property & Casualty Insurance Company.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s aims for upbeat tone in annual address, but fails to impress a jaundiced electorate

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

Numerous opinion polls suggest the ANC will fall below 50% of the vote nationally for the first time, providing opportunities for opposition coalitions.

Key Points: 
  • Numerous opinion polls suggest the ANC will fall below 50% of the vote nationally for the first time, providing opportunities for opposition coalitions.
  • A party needs to win 50% or more of the seats in parliament to form a government on its own.
  • Adding to the moment was the fact that this was the last state of the nation address of Ramaphosa’s term.
  • In his 105-minute address Ramaphosa tried to remind his audience of the government’s achievements over the past three decades of democracy.

The contested record

  • Poverty: In 1994 71% of South Africa’s population lived in poverty; today 55% do, he said, citing World Bank figures.
  • Employment: The president devoted paragraphs of his speech to job opportunities created by various government programmes.
  • Real unemployment – the expanded definition – is around 42%, up from 15% in 1994.
  • Energy: On the continuing power cuts Ramaphosa pledged that
    the worst is behind us and an end to load-shedding is in reach.
  • But evidence shows land reform has a mixed record of successes and failures.
  • Health: the president spoke of a new academic hospital under construction in Limpopo province.

What was left unsaid

  • In one ill-advised one in 2019, the president fantasised about bullet trains, when his audience were desperately waiting for the resumption of service on slow train commuting routes.
  • The 2024 speech offers fertile material for opposition parties to score points against the ANC.
  • It will be more of the same from both sides all the way to voting day.


Keith Gottschalk is a member of the African National Congress, but writes this piece in his professional capacity as a political scientist.

CED Issues Statement on February 2024 Congressional Budget Office Outlook

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board (CED), released the following statement:

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board (CED), released the following statement:
    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)'s Budget and Economic Outlook for 2024 to 2034 is yet another urgent call to address the US' mounting fiscal challenges.
  • Deficits themselves will rise to $2.6 trillion in 2034, now 5.6 percent of GDP and growing to 6.1 percent of GDP by 2034.
  • There is no time to waste in addressing our already outsized and growing national debt, which reinforces CED's longstanding recommendation for a bipartisan Congressional Commission on Fiscal Responsibility.
  • Saving Social Security, reforming Medicare, and enacting comprehensive tax reform should be the most immediate objectives of a commission to address this challenge.