April 2017

Financial History: Lessons of the Past for Reformers of the Present

By Gerard Caprio Jr. (Williams College) & Dimitri Vittas (World Bank) The environment in which financial institutions operate has changed greatly, but the history of financial development offers important lessons for today. Among the lessons financial history offers: Macroeconomic stability - low inflation and sound public finance - is important for creating the right incentives for banks and for facilitating the development of securities markets. High inflation and large fiscal deficits distort economic behavior in favor of short-term speculative projects and...

UK. Pensions hole deepens at Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia

The pension deficit at Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group soared to £565m last year as BHS was dragged to its knees by its own shortfall, according to new documents released last night by MPs. The retail billionaire had said he would double his annual contribution into Arcadia’s pension fund to £50m. However, at that time it was believed the deficit was only £200m. Now new papers, dated after the company’s triennial valuation, show the full severity of the issue. They also...

March 2017

US. Congress could kill state retirement plans

New state-sponsored IRA plans would aim to help small business employees who don't already have access to a retirement savings plan at work -- like a 401(k). But new legislation could stop them before they even begin. The House of Representatives voted along party lines last month to roll back an Obama-era rule that paved the way for these plans. On Thursday, the Senate narrowly passed legislation that takes another step toward finalizing the repeal. Republicans say that under President Obama,...

UK. Insurers call for pension dashboard regulation as tech set to launch

Insurers have called on the government to start legislating for a pensions dashboard, as they prepare to launch the first working prototype next month. In last year's Budget the Treasury set out expectations for the pensions industry to build a dashboard to allow people to see where all their retirement savings are by 2019. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has taken responsibility for organising the project. Currently 17 providers have signed up to help develop the dashboard. Technology for the dashboard...

Chile. Presidente de la Asociación de AFP: Los que tienen más lucas deben ayudar a los que tienen menos

El presidente de la Asociación de AFP, Andrés Santa Cruz, se refirió en ADN Hoy a la propuesta del Gobierno de aumentar la cotización en las cuentas individuales de los trabajadores. Al respecto, el dirigente recalcó que el énfasis debe estar en "con las lucas de los que tienen más, ayudemos a los que tienen menos (...) Reasignemos y adjudiquemos bien los gastos". "La solución es ir ayuda de los que tienen más bajas pensiones, principalmente de las mujeres, a través...

Consar: desconocen 18 millones de mexicanos que tienen afore

Alrededor de 18 millones de trabajadores desconocen que tienen una cuenta en una afore, a pesar de que cada mes se les descuenta 6.5% de su salario para el ahorro de su pensión, indicó Carlos Ramírez, presidente de la Consar. “Si bien tienen una cuenta, no han firmado formalmente con una afore y no les llega un estado de cuenta. Es una señal de alerta porque si no lo saben, en el futuro nos encontraremos con personas que no reclaman...

UK. Slowdown in life expectancy could ease pension deficit pressure by £28b

The latest projections from the Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) would reduce life expectancies at 65 by around 1.3% for males and 2% for females, compared to the previous version of the model. According to Mercer's Pension Risk Report, at 30 December 2016 the pension liabilities for FTSE 350 employers were £857 billion so, in total and to the extent the experience underlying the new model has not already been allowed for, the adjustment could remove around £28 billion of...

México. Regulador evalúa flexibilizar el régimen de rentas vitalicias

La Comisión Nacional de Seguros y Fianzas (CNSF) evalúa la posibilidad de flexibilizar el régimen de las rentas vitalicias, con el fin de que más aseguradoras ofrezcan este producto a las personas que están a punto de jubilarse, indicó Héctor Rodríguez Cabo Zaldívar, director general de supervisión del Seguro de Pensiones y Salud de la CNSF. “La Comisión en distintas etapas ha propuesto que se puedan incorporar nuevas modalidades de rentas vitalicias que estuvieran orientadas a que el propio trabajador,...

Nigeria. Insurance Companies Yet to Remit over N19bn Pension Fund

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said that the federal government is yet to recover all the legacy pension assets, funds and liabilities including over N19 billion in the custody of insurance companies. The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Ms. Sharon Ikeazor, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on “reshaping the landscape of pensions administration for the defined benefits scheme.” Ikeazor said that the legacy fund was inherited from the defunct Pensions Offices and Boards of Parastatals when PTAD...