admin, Author at Pension Policy International

15MayMay 15, 2017

Asia’s ageing population is enough to give policymakers grey hairs

“Asia remains the growth champion of the world,” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week, but in the medium term there’s a large grey cloud on the horizon. Asia is fast getting old and the harsh reality is that it could do so before it gets rich. Policymakers across the region will have to contend with these demographic challenges. “Institutional support is not yet in place to respond to the rapid rise in ageing. Pension systems remain unsustainable despite...

May 15, 2017

News

15MayMay 15, 2017

UK. May Pledges Protections for UK Gig Economy Workers, Pensions

Theresa May on Monday will pledge to broaden employment rights in Britain as the country pulls out of the European Union, outlining a raft of promises designed to safeguard pensions, gig economy workers with companies such as Uber Technologies Inc., and wages. The prime minister will say that if her Conservative Party wins the June 8 general election, she’ll follow up on recommendations made in a review into U.K. working practices she commissioned in 2016 by Matthew Taylor, former policy...

May 15, 2017

NewsUK

15MayMay 15, 2017

Zimbabwe. IPEC drafts law to deal with pension funds trustees

The Insurance and Pension Commission has completed draft regulations that empower it to deal with errant trustees of pension funds, an official said. Commissioner Tendai Karonga said IPEC had observed several poor cooperate governance practices, prompting the commission to come up with tight controls. The draft regulations have already been submitted to the Ministry of Finance for approval. "We are in the process of developing new procedures to control the unacceptable behaviour by some of the trustees," said Mr Karonga "Basically it...

May 15, 2017

NewsZimbabwe

14MayMay 14, 2017

The Importance of Social Security Benefits to the Income of the Aged Population

By Irena Dushi & Howard Iams (US Social Security Administration); Brad Trenkamp (Government of the United States of America) Social Security benefits comprise the most important source of income for people aged 65 and over. However, changes in the last decades in employer-provided pensions, Social Security program, and societal changes may have altered the composition of income sources among the elderly. Some researchers have argued that the Current Population Survey (CPS ASEC) doesn’t properly measure income from retirement accounts and...

May 14, 2017

Aging, Articles, Labor MarketLabor Market, Social Protection, Social Security

14MayMay 14, 2017

Pension Reforms in the EU since the Early 2000's: Achievements and Challenges Ahead

By Giuseppe Carone & Per Eckefeldt (European Commission); Luigi Giamboni, Veli Laine & Stephanie Pamies Most EU Member States have carried out substantial pension reforms over the last decades in order to enhance fiscal sustainability, while maintaining adequate pension income. The intensity of pension reforms has been particularly strong since 2000. These reforms have been implemented through a wide range of measures that have substantially modified the pension system rules and parameters. One of the most important elements of pension...

May 14, 2017

Articles, Pension design, RegulationPolitical economy, Sustainability

14MayMay 14, 2017

Pension Reforms in the EU since the Early 2000’s: Achievements and Challenges Ahead

By Giuseppe Carone & Per Eckefeldt (European Commission); Luigi Giamboni, Veli Laine & Stephanie Pamies Most EU Member States have carried out substantial pension reforms over the last decades in order to enhance fiscal sustainability, while maintaining adequate pension income. The intensity of pension reforms has been particularly strong since 2000. These reforms have been implemented through a wide range of measures that have substantially modified the pension system rules and parameters. One of the most important elements of pension...

May 14, 2017

Articles, Pension design, RegulationPolitical economy, Sustainability

14MayMay 14, 2017

Contributory Retirement Saving Plans: Differences across Earnings Groups and Implications for Retirement Security

By Irena Dushi, Howard Iams & Christopher R. Tamborini (US Social Security Administration) This article examines how savings in defined contribution (DC) retirement plans vary across the earnings distribution. Specifically, the authors investigate the extent of an earnings gradient in access to, participation in, and levels of contribution to DC plans. Using a nationally representative sample of Survey of Income and Program Participation respondents to data from their W-2 tax records, the authors find that DC plan access, participation, and...

May 14, 2017

Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, SavingsMandatory pensions, Occupational Pensions, Voluntary pensions

12MayMay 12, 2017

UK. Pensions regulator director to leave for local government scheme

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) director Andrew Warwick-Thompson will leave his role to join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Warwick-Thompson (pictured) has been executive director for regulatory policy at TPR since 2013. In the role he is responsible for TPR's policies on pension schemes, including master trusts. Warwick-Thompson will become chief executive of LGPS Central in July, which administers defined benefit schemes for some local authorities in Midlands and the North West. TPR is in the process of appointing a successor to Warwick-Thompson. Lesley...

May 12, 2017

NewsUK

12MayMay 12, 2017

US. How United Technologies created ‘the retirement plan of tomorrow’

United Technologies Corporation was ahead of its time when it came to employee retirement benefits. The Fortune 500 company — the parent to Otis, Pratt & Whitney, UTC Aerospace Systems and UTC Climate, Controls & Security— made a point of offering its employees an in-plan guarantee of retirement income well before the topic of lifetime guarantees in 401(k) plans took center stage in the national discussion. Five years ago, the company decided to revamp its retirement plan, and worked with Prudential...

May 12, 2017

NewsUS

12MayMay 12, 2017

UK. ACA opposes additional powers for The Pensions Regulator

On member protection and new powers for the Pensions Regulator, the ACA response says ‘we do not believe that there is any significant evidence that members need additional protection or that substantial new powers are needed for the Pensions Regulator. Whilst several recent high-profile cases have raised the question of whether members have adequate protection, the outcome of these cases has seen members generally receiving (or expecting to receive) benefits above PPF minimum levels, which should be regarded as...

May 12, 2017

NewsUK

May 2017