Many industrialized countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and South Korea are now faced with the phenomenon of aging Baby Boomers.  These Baby Boomers, who created much of the wealth of the West in the last four decades, are hitting their retirement age. 

In Canada, for instance, the government’s Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) programs provide mechanisms by which retirement can mean comfort instead of financial insecurity.

The OAS pays monthly pension benefits to all Canadians 65 and over who meet the residence requirements, and some supplementary benefits to eligible low-income seniors 60 and over. Meanwhile, the CPP is a social-insurance program based on contributions on earnings that ensure a measure of protection to contributors and their families against the loss of income due to retirement, disability or death.  

The fear of retiring, a fear of the unknown, is not just a financial issue, but also an emotional one that all potential retirees must face. After more than 40 years of work, retirement can be difficult for many.

The absence of a dependable retirement plan—and thus the financial uncertainty that goes with it—could make retirement a source of insecurity rather than comfort. Unlike their counterparts in developed countries, Filipino workers generally look at retirement with apprehension as it translates to a loss of income and the lack of retirement benefits.

Take, for instance, the experience of OFWs.  They provide for their families’ present consumption—buying a house, paying for their children’s tuition, setting up small businesses—leaving very little savings for their retirement.

They are not covered by the Social Security System (SSS) retirement benefits. And those who do voluntarily contribute to the SSS cannot expect much in terms of monthly pension, which averages P2,546 a month. 

The lack of a dependable retirement plan is true not only for OFWs but also for most of the domestic labor force. The country has a labor force of about 35.81 million, of which only 78 percent are members of government-initiated pension funds. This means that about 8 million Filipinos, including their dependents, have absolutely nothing to look forward to in their retirement years.

In Congress, the pending PERA Act is a privately and voluntarily funded retirement fund. It allows private individuals to set aside P50,000 a year, withdrawable when the contributor reaches the age of 55. It would fill up a big void in the country’s retirement scheme where a large number of working Filipinos are slipping through.

IN these days of brain drain everywhere, there’s no longer any sense for companies to expect eternal “loyalty” from their employees.

The Licensing Executives Society (LES) Philippines, the local society of LES International, the preeminent global association of professionals engaged in the licensing and commercialization of intellectual-property rights, recently held a forum to explore the question of whether or not the Philippines has what it takes to establish its own version of Silicon Valley.

It is a fascinating situation that “experts” have such a difficult time figuring out the Philippine economy. What is it that makes our social/economic environment so far outside the conventional wisdom of analysts who observe our economy?

Mirror on the wall: Comprehensive tax reform a failure from the very start 

Not quite a long time ago, a previous administration, upon the suggestion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), passed the Comprehensive Tax-Reform Program (CTRP) to impose what then-Finance Secretary Jesus Estanislao called sin taxes on liquors and cigarettes.

Many industrialized countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and South Korea are now faced with the phenomenon of aging Baby Boomers.  These Baby Boomers, who created much of the wealth of the West in the last four decades, are hitting their retirement age. 

‘That dollar isn’t funny anymore.’’ That’s how economist Stephen Green and his colleagues at Standard Chartered Bank titled a recent report, and their observation was as spot on as any.

The recent agreement in Lisbon on the Reform Treaty marks the end of six years of debate on improving the workings of European Union (EU) institutions in order to help it meet the challenges of the 21st century. The EU has developed so much over the recent decades, not least expanding to 27 member-states at the beginning of 2007, and there is now an urgent need to modernize the way we do business both inside and outside the Union.