March 2018

UK. Carillion directors dismissed plan to secure £218m for pension scheme

The board of Carillion dismissed a proposal that could have poured £218m into the government contractor’s ailing pension scheme, believing a month before the company’s collapse that they could still revive its fortunes. Details of a plan drawn up by accountancy firm EY, but rejected by directors, emerged as MPs conducting an inquiry into Carillion’s failure released evidence they said proved “pervasive institutional failings” at the company. They published extracts from a presentation made by EY to the board in August...

HK’s care system struggling to cope with aging population

As the number of elderly people rises, demand for places in public nursing facilities is soaring. When Peter Lam arrived home one morning in October after a brief breakfast outing, he realized something was wrong. He knocked on the door of his mother's room, but there was no response. He knocked again, but she still didn't answer. The 40-something graphic designer pushed the door open, only to discover that what he had dreaded was true; his 80-year-old mother had had a...

Nigeria. 35 Out Of 36 States Owe Workers’ Salaries, Pension – TUC

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has raised the alarm that number of states owing workers has grown to 35 as the 2019 general election closes up. Speaking after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos, TUC said only Lagos State was up to date with salary payment and other benefits, warning state government against diverting money meant for payment of workers salaries and other benefits into electioneering processes. President of TUC, Bobboi Kaigama‎ said with the exception of...

Colombia. Cotizar para la pensión también se puede hacer desde el exterior

Residir en el exterior no es un obstáculo para que un colombiano cotice para su pensión en cualquiera de los dos regímenes que operan en el país: el de Prima Media con prestación definida (RPM - Colpensiones) y el de Ahorro Individual (RAIS - AFP). En la actualidad, cerca de 22 millones de colombianos se encuentran cotizando para su jubilación en el país, de los cuales 14,8 millones lo hacen a través de las administradoras de fondos de pensiones privadas...

España. Rajoy anuncia un debate en el Congreso sobre las pensiones

El presidente del Gobierno, Mariano Rajoy, ha anunciado que este jueves que el Ejecutivo va a registrar una petición en el Congreso para que haya un debate monográfico en el pleno de la Cámara sobre las pensiones. Rajoy ha hecho este anuncio en una entrevista en Telecinco en la que ha explicado que desea que en ese debate todos los grupos expongan sus posiciones respecto a las pensiones, unas prestaciones que ha dicho que él quiere subir pero en función...

México. Pensiones de mujeres podría ser hasta 43% menor que la de hombres: Consar

La inequidad de género es un problema común en esquemas pensionarios del mundo, por lo que, de mantenerse esta tendencia, las pensiones de las mujeres serán considerablemente menores a la de los hombres, advirtió la Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (Consar). El organismo aseguró que la brecha pensionaria entre géneros deriva de tres factores que desfavorecen a la mujer: las acotadas trayectorias salariales, la baja densidad de cotización y la mayor esperanza de vida. Leer Más: MVS Noticias

US. Senate Republicans say pension reform bill will be changed. Crowd says ‘we’ll be back’

Senate Republicans told a vocal crowd Wednesday they will introduce a substitute for the pension reform bill that makes key changes, including curbing a proposed reduction in retired teachers' cost-of-living adjustments. Sen. Joe Bowen, R-Owensboro, said the substitute for Senate Bill 1 will preserve many provisions from the measure he filed last week, but not all. Instead of slashing retired teachers' annual cost-of-living adjustments in half for 12 years, the substitute would reduce that figure from 1.5 percent to 1 percent...

No Pension? You Can ‘Pensionize’ Your Savings

After years of working, many people face the challenge of converting their savings into a sustainable flow of income in retirement. Some researchers think they have a practical solution: Workers should take steps to “pensionize” their nest eggs. The transition from saving to spending was once relatively simple, at least for retirees with traditional pensions offering predictable payments. But such plans are dwindling — in 2017, only 16 percent of Fortune 500 companies offered a defined benefit plan (traditional or...

Nigeria. Ex-Governors’ pensions: Saraki challenges State Assemblies to emulate Kwara

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday, called on other State House of Assemblies to take a cue from Kwara state and pass their own versions of the Bill to suspend the payment of pensions to former governors and deputy governors who have held public office in the state. Saraki, in posts on his official social media pages, commended Kwara state Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ali Ahmad and the State House of Assembly for passing the bill, following...

UK. Pensions – auto-enrolment contributions edge upwards

We are now seven weeks from the first hike in the “minimum” requirements for auto-enrolment compliance (6 April 2018). In practical terms, for employers currently applying those statutory minimums this means that your employees will see an increase in their pension contributions from one per cent of their annual earnings between £6,032 and £46,350 (based on the 2018 figures) to three per cent. This could come as something of a shock for employees who didn’t read the fine print on...