October 2017

Trump says ‘there will be NO change to your 401(k)’ after reports Republicans want new caps on retirement savings

President Donald Trump used Twitter to dispel reports that the forthcoming Republican tax-reform plan would include big changes to how people could save for retirement. Reports on Friday said that GOP leaders were considering a cap on the amount of money that could be placed in a traditional, tax-deferred 401(k) to help pay for part of their tax plan. On Monday, Trump said this change would not take place because it is a popular middle-class tax break. Read More @Business Insider

Homeownership, Social Insurance, and Old-Age Security in the United States and Europe

By Stipica Mudrazija & Barbara A. Butrica (The Urban Institute) Relatively few Americans have accumulated substantial savings outside of their employer-sponsored retirement plans, yet most own their homes. The traditional view of the retirement income system as a three-legged stool supported by Social Security, private pensions, and savings may be better viewed as being supported by Social Security, pensions, and homeownership. Country-specific economic, social, and political developments throughout modern history mean that homeownership rates and the relative importance of homeownership for...

Expanding Canada Pension Plan Retirement Benefits: Assessing Big CPP Proposals

By Jonathan Rhys Kesselman (Simon Fraser University School of Public Policy) Current and growing deficiencies in many workers’ ability to maintain their accustomed living standards in retirement have evoked varied proposals for reform of Canada’s retirement income system. This study focuses on proposals for expanding the retirement benefits of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and undertakes comparative analysis with proposals for reforms affecting workplace pensions and individual savings. It begins by reviewing key policy questions for the retirement income system...

Fiscal Incidence in Belarus: A Commitment to Equity Analysis

By Kateryna Bornukova (BEROC), Gleb Shymanovich (IPM Research Center), Alexander Chubrik (CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research; IPM Research Center) The paper employs the Commitment to Equity framework to present a first attempt at a comprehensive fiscal incidence analysis for Belarus, encompassing the revenue and expenditures components of the fiscal system, including direct and indirect taxes, as well as direct, indirect, and in-kind transfers. The analysis reveals that fiscal policies in Belarus effectively redistribute income from the top...

UN’s $61 Billion Pension Fund Gets New Chief After Shortfalls

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres named Sudhir Rajkumar, a top official at the World Bank Treasury, to head the global body’s $61 billion pension fund in an attempt to reverse three years of below-target returns. Rajkumar will replace Carolyn Boykin, the former chief investment officer of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, in January, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday. In December, the UN General Assembly criticized the pension fund’s performance, singling out $3.4 billion in foreign-exchange costs,...

US. Government report sounds alarm on retirement crisis

A new government report is sounding the alarm to Congress about a looming retirement crisis if nothing is done to fix existing roadblocks to financial security for many Americans. The Government Accounting Office paper calls on lawmakers to create an independent commission to "comprehensively examine" the U.S. retirement system — including Social Security, workplace retirement plans and individual savings — and make recommendations for improvements. The goals, the report said, should be to: Promote universal access to retirement savings Ensure greater...

ESMA Receives Mandate on Fund Performance from European Commission

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has received a mandate from the European Commission (EC) requesting the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and ESMA – to issue recurrent reports on the cost and past performance of the main categories of retail investment, insurance and pension products. The request supports the action, included in the EC’s Mid Term Review of the Capital Markets Union of 8 June 2017, on...

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $102.31 Million Position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,754,607 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,675 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.12% of Starbucks Corporation worth $102,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge...

Costa Rica: fondo de pensiones de empleados de la Caja se desfinanciará a partir de 2021

Las pensiones especiales de los trabajadores de la Caja Costarricense de Seguros Social (CCSS) se desfinanciarán a partir del 2021, y una década después se agotará la reserva. El más reciente estudio actuarial al Fondo de Retiro de Empleados de la Caja (FRE), de setiembre del año pasado, detalla que este régimen tiene un déficit de ¢619.000 millones. Para equilibrar el sistema se requiere un fuerte ajuste en la contribución al régimen y reducir el monto de la jubilación...

Politics ensnares South Africa’s biggest asset manager

THE rot in South African politics, which has eaten away at state companies, is spreading. This week McKinsey, a consultancy, apologised for the “distress” it had caused the South African people. Political mud had already drowned Bell Pottinger, a British public-relations firm, and forced resignations at KPMG, an auditor. So the shenanigans at the government-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC), have set off alarm bells. One concern is an apparent attempt to oust Dan Matjila, its boss. A linked worry...