March 2022

UK. Pension schemes to tackle deforestation in climate push

UK. Pension schemes to tackle deforestation in climate push

Pension schemes in the UK will be expected to do more to tackle deforestation as part of the government’s climate policies, pensions minister Guy Opperman has warned. Writing in Responsible Investor with Lord Goldsmith, minister for the Pacific and the international environment, Opperman said that because “forests and land use are a significant source of carbon emissions”, any action on climate change “will need to take deforestation into account”. “During our COP26 presidency, we are putting forests front and centre of...

President Sisi approves 13% increase in pensions: Egypt’s PM

President Sisi approves 13% increase in pensions: Egypt’s PM

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi approved a 13-percent increase in pensions, said Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli in a press conference on Monday, adding that the increase would be applied next April rather than July, at an additional cost of LE 8 billion. The conference was held after a number of decisions taken by the Central Bank of Egypt regarding the rates of interest and exchange to mitigate the global economic repercussions of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia military escalation. The Prime Minister said...

New European pensions saving regime takes effect this week

New European pensions saving regime takes effect this week

EU legislation which gives effect to a new European pensions savings regime is being introduced this week The Pan-European Personal Pension (PEPP) is a voluntary retirement savings option for EU citizens that complements existing pension schemes. It allows people to pay into the same scheme throughout the EU, even if they move countries. Read also China: National Pension Insurance Co receives green light to start operations Rachel McGovern, director of financial services at Brokers Ireland, which represents 1,225 brokers, says pension providers...

UK. ‘Pensioner poverty’ alarm as older people raid pension pots

Older people face the prospect of “pensioner poverty” due to the rising cost of living and the falling value of the stock market, it has been claimed. Figures from online investment platform Interactive Investor show its customers withdrew a quarter more from their private pensions in January as the cost of energy, food and petrol went up. The figures have prompted concern that pensioners will not have enough money to see them through retirement. In January, the average withdrawal from an Interactive...

US. How to Improve Retirement Readiness in Under-represented Groups

For plan sponsors wondering what they can do to help diverse workers increase their retirement savings, a new paper outlines plan features and strategies that can help bolster savings for underserved workers. In Improving Retirement Readiness for Underrepresented Groups, Alight explains that employers have benefited from a diverse population of employees, as these individuals brought unique perspectives to the workplace. These employees have also brought a wide range of retirement savings behaviors that have not necessarily led to positive outcomes,...

Asia’s immense opportunities for impact investing

Investors have always known their business decisions have a social and environmental impact, but there was not enough evidence to measure it. It was more like a fringe benefit. But with increased awareness, more empirical evidence, shifting brand perceptions and the explosive emergence of social media, more investors, big and small, are paying attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and investing with the intent to make an impact. In Asia, exciting developments in the impact investing market are opening...

Colombia. Hasta $20 billones de ahorros en AFP irían a mesadas de Colpensiones en plan de Petro

A través de su cuenta de Twitter, el candidato a la presidencia, Gustavo Petro, volvió a presentar sus propuestas de reforma al sistema pensional colombiano. Una de ellas es que hasta $20 billones de las cotizaciones a los fondos privados vayan anualmente al pago de los actuales pensionados de Colpensiones. Así "el Gobierno logrará disminuir su transferencia del presupuesto a Colpensiones en $18 billones anuales", anotó. Leer también ¿Cuál debería ser la reforma pensional que necesita Colombia? Y dijo que "con...

República Dominicana. Someten proyecto eliminaría las AFP y ARS

Un grupo de 25 diputados de distintos partidos sometió en la Cámara Baja un proyecto de reforma de la Ley 87-01 de Seguridad Social que entre otros puntos estipula la eliminación de las Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP) y las de Riesgos Laborales (ARS). Pedro Botello, vicevocero reformista en la Cámara de Diputados, quien junto a los diputados José Horacio Rodríguez, Pedro Martínez y Aquilino Serrata depositaron la pieza en la secretaría de la Cámara Baja, dijo que las...

A Sustainable, Variable Lifetime Retirement Income Solution for the Chilean Pension System

By Olga Fuentes, Richard K. Fullmer & Manuel Enrique Garcia Huitron There is a need in pension systems to significantly improve the level and stability of pension payments as pensioners age. Solutions to address increased longevity and longevity risk should be not limited to increasing the take-up rate of annuities – explicit guarantees are costly in a low-interest rate environment, and lock-in of savings may not be in line with members' preferences. Our proposal is to develop a Sustainable, Variable...

UK. Pension dashboards are coming - action for occupational pension schemes to take now

UK. Pension dashboards are coming – action for occupational pension schemes to take now

Establishing a system of “pension dashboards” to enable individuals who have yet to take retirement benefits to find clear, standardised information about all their pension arrangements (including rights to state pension) in one place is a key element of the government’s pension strategy. The ambition is laudable but achieving it will be a mammoth task, requiring significant time and resource from occupational pension scheme trustees, pension managers and administrators. All UK occupational pension schemes with 100 or more non-pensioner members...