March 2017

Arcadia to double pensions payments as Sir Philip Green charts comeback

Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group is to double its top-up payments to its pension scheme, in another step in the billionaire businessman’s bid to regain credibility. Arcadia, the parent company of high street brands such as Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, plans to increase its annual payments into the scheme from £25m to £50m in order to tackle the fund’s deficit. The latest figures showed Arcadia’s deficit was around £190m, but a revaluation process which happens every three years and is currently...

Nigeria: Organized labour tackles Government over conflicting pension law

The leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have threatened showdown with Ebonyi State Government over conflicting pension legislation being considered by the Ebonyi State House of Assembly. The two labour centres expressed the concerns via a joint letter dated 21st February, 2017, sent to Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state and co-signed by Ayuba Wabba, NLC President and Boboi Kaigama, TUC President, respectively. The unions in the letter which was also sent to the Secretary to...

Ireland: Pension schemes called to step in and close gap in green energy

Eyebrows may have been raised worldwide by Donald Trump's selection of oil-drilling advocate Rick Perry as his energy secretary, and of climate-change sceptic Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. But, these and other fossil-fuel-friendly picks may actually lead to investment opportunities in renewable energy and sustainable natural resources. Any drop in funding from political sources represents an opportunity for investors to bridge the gap. As a result, Mr Trump's election and his climate-change-sceptic cabinet may increase the role...

México: Impuesto en remesas, no afectará ahorro para el retiro: Principal

El impuesto que se pretende implementar en el envío de remesas, si bien impactará sobre el consumo interno del país, no afectará el ahorro para el retiro, indicó José Antonio Llaneza, director general de Principal en México. "No va a tener un efecto en las aportaciones que hacen los trabajadores porque ese dinero proviene de su salario y no de las remesas. Los recursos que provienen de las remesas se destinan más al consumo que al ahorro", expuso al presentar...

Valor del fondo de las AFP se redujó en S/ 700 millones por caída de Graña y Montero

La SBS agregó que, pese a esta situación, la rentabilidad de las AFP el último año llegó a los S/ 12,896 millones, incluso la ganancia del Fondo 3 llegó a 14.82%. La caída de las acciones de la peruana Graña y Montero ocurrida tras la revelación del exrepresentante de Odebrecht, Jorge Barata, generó que el valor del fondo de las AFP se reduzca en alrededor S/ 700 millones al 28 de febrero, explicó el superintendente adjunto de la SBS, Jorge...

World’s Biggest Pension Fund Posts Record $92 Billion Gain

The world’s biggest pension fund posted the biggest quarterly gain in its history as Japanese stocks surged and a plunge in the yen boosted overseas investments after Donald Trump’s election victory. The Government Pension Investment Fund returned 8 percent, or 10.5 trillion yen ($92 billion), in the three months ended Dec. 31, increasing assets to 144.8 trillion yen, it said in Tokyo on Friday. Domestic equities added 4.6 trillion yen after the benchmark Topix index recorded its best quarterly performance...

Macron takes aim at pension reform, lawmakers, in campaign manifesto

Presidential challenger Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said he would root out inequalities in France's pension system, sell government stakes in major firms and downsize parliament as he sought to silence critics who say his bid is thin on substance. Macron, a former investment banker running as an independent centrist, is favorite to win the unpredictable race in a May runoff against far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Macron owes some of his status as frontrunner to a financial scandal plaguing his other...

Chile: AFP registran inédita caída de 38% en las utilidades en 2016

Luego de que en 2015 el goodwill tributario fuera el responsable de las altas utilidades de las administradoras de fondos de pensiones, esta vez es el factor que explica la inédita caída en las ganancias. Hace doce meses las utilidades anuales se incrementaron en 69,3%, pero este año retrocedieron 37,9%. Con estos movimientos, los beneficios de las AFP llegaron hasta $353.180 millones (US$529 millones) al cierre de 2016, por debajo de los $568.758 millones alcanzados un año antes. Sólo dos administradoras...

Hundreds of thousands drift towards costly pensions tax trap

Almost a year after the reduction of the pension lifetime allowance to £1m, growing numbers of workers risk tax shocks because they are unknowingly on course to exceed this limit. Workers in their 40s and 50s with previous final salary type pension benefits are most at risk. Rising stock markets and baffling rules make it hard for people to appreciate the danger. Despite calls to scrap the lifetime allowance, which has been called a tax on good investment performance, the Government...

Top 4 retirement saving ideas

It's America Saves Week, an annual reminder for us all to put good savings habits into practice. Wondering where to start? We asked over 1,000 401(k) investors in our latest DC Pulse Survey . Here are their top retirement saving tips-and advice on how to make them your own. 1. Don't wait until it's raining to fix the roof. Confidence in retirement savings is up 64% compared to last year's survey , in part, because recent investment performance has been relatively...