April 2017

Retirement planning can cut gender wage gap

Equal Pay Day, which was April 4 this year, highlights the gap between women’s and men’s paychecks, calling attention to the fact that women must keep working for more than three additional months in order to earn the same amount of pay that men collected by the end of the previous year. Full Content: Benefits & Pro Remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter for more news or subscribe to our service to get unlimited access.

US Pension Plans Look to the Canadian Model

Given the rising Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums and persistently low interest rates, many US pension plans have been adapting some of the practices of what Cerulli Associates call The Canadian Model. The Model is centered around three attributes, according to Cerulli: cost mitigation, a well-diversified investment portfolio across several asset classes and geographies, and a large appetite for illiquid investments. While the Canadian pension market is considerably smaller than the US pension market—$1.2 trillion in assets compared to $6...

UK Government consults on early exit charges and pension commission regulations

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation on draft regulations regarding the cap on early exit charges for occupational pension schemes and restrictions on member-borne commission payments. The consultation, which will run until 31 May 2017, seeks views on the draft Occupation Pension Schemes (Charges and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2017. These regulations would restrict early exit charges for members of workplace pension schemes to enable eligible members over the age of 55 to take advantage of the...

Sólo 2.93% de los activos del SAR, mediante mandatos. ¿A qué se debe?

Según cifras de la Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro, la inversión del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (SAR) en valores extranjeros era de 14.47% de los activos netos al 28 de febrero del 2017, equivalente a 72.33% del límite permitido. El potencial sin uso era de 5.53% de los activos, lo que representa 27.67% del límite. El conjunto de las siefores básicas 4 había hecho uso casi pleno del límite, en tanto que las básicas...

Chile. Hacienda confirma golpe a las AFP y pone paños fríos a propuesta de rebajar las horas laborales.

El ministro de Hacienda, Rodrigo Valdés, tuvo una noche agitada. Pasó por dos programas de televisión, en una ofensiva comunicacional para retomar el control de la agenda y hacer volver al centro de la discusión la reforma a las pensiones. Si la razón de las entrevistas era calmar el ambiente ante las terribles cifras de crecimiento de febrero (-1,3%), el mensaje de Valdés que más fuerte sonó y más ruido hizo, fue el golpe a las AFP: confirmó que quedan...

Rising Risks for Retirement Savers

As America’s population ages, opportunities for a secure retirement should increase. But the opposite is happening. And things are likely to get worse in the Trump years. A measure passed recently by congressional Republicans and awaiting President Trump’s all-but-certain signature will reverse a rule, passed in the last year of the Obama administration, allowing cities and counties to organize savings plans for private-sector workers who have no employer-provided retirement coverage. Another measure, blocking states from sponsoring similar retirement savings plans,...

Biggest Pension Fund Faces Yen Risk as Trump Rally Fades

The world’s biggest pension may find that when it comes to returns on its $1.3 trillion in assets, Donald Trump giveth and taketh away. What started as a rally in stocks on his presidential victory five months ago turned into a slump this year, making it harder for Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund to beat its record $92 billion gain in the fourth quarter, according to SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. and BNP Paribas Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. GPIF may announce...

Greece Said to Near Bailout Compromise on Pensions, Taxes

Greece and its creditors are closing in on a deal over the reforms needed to unlock fresh loans for the country, even as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras warned that a summit of euro-area leaders may be required if an agreement isn’t reached by Friday. In a proposed compromise discussed on Tuesday, Greece would reduce its pension outlays by 1 percent of gross domestic product in 2019 and lower its tax-free threshold in 2020 by a similar amount, according to three...

Here’s what the US could learn from Singapore’s plan for aging workers

At Chatters, a small café in the lobby of a hospital, the staff frothing cappuccinos and managing the register aren't your typical young baristas. That's because every employee must be at least 55. "It keeps my mind moving," said Sally Chung, 72, a retired accountant, who manages the café and does the books. The café's age requirement reflects a demographic trend this city-state of 5.6 million people is trying to confront: the population is getting old — fast. In 2015, one in...

Lifetime Isa chaos: Fees could leave savers £60k worse off than pensions

The Government's Lifetime Isa scheme is in chaos as not a single high street bank is offering the accounts, amid fears it could result in a mis-selling scandal. Despite officially launching on April 6 just three providers have agreed to offer the accounts, one of which was last night accused of ripping off savers by charging "disturbingly" high fees. Daily Telegraph calculations reveal that the Share Centre's Lifetime Isa will leave savers as much as £60,000 worse off than they would...