April 2023

‘Aging population holds economic prosperity for Nigerians, others’

Individuals across the globe, especially in developed countries, are aging at an unprecedented pace, making many countries increasingly reliant on migration to realise their long-term growth potential, says a new report from the World Bank. The ‘World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees and Societies’ identifies this trend as a unique opportunity to make migration work better for economies and people. Conversely, Nigeria, Ghana and other developing countries that have rising youthful populations are set to benefit from the global aging population...

Dashboard provider PensionSmith launches in UK

The integrated member web, education and communications platform has been operating in South Africa and Namibia since 2019 as ‘The Benefit Counsellor’. Having spent the last four years developing its platform, the firm has over 400,000 active members in South Africa, with a monthly engagement rate of over 50 per cent. The platform offers tools for member communication, member education, and aims to add a pension dashboard connection to allow members to view and interact with all their pension plans in...

Colombia. Reforma pensional: “El proyecto es también una reforma tributaria”, director de Asofondos

En marzo fue presentado el proyecto de reforma pensional desde el Ministerio de Trabajo, con el cual se busca, entre otras cosas, que Colpensiones sea el mayor recaudador de pensiones en el país y no las administradoras privadas de fondos de pensiones. Pese a que al comienzo fue señalado que el documento había sido concertado con varios sectores, con el tiempo han venido saliendo a la luz alguna de las críticas y desacuerdos, una de las más mencionadas es...

Panamá. Y si se unen los dos sistemas de pensiones, ¿Solución o desastre?

Hace un par de semanas tuve oportunidad de participar en la sesión de la subcomisión de la Asamblea Nacional que discute el proyecto de Ley No. 748, propuesto por Conato, que reforma la Ley 51 de 27 de diciembre de 2005 de la Caja de Seguro Social. En el artículo 45, de dicho proyecto, se elimina el subsistema mixto y el sistema de pensiones solo se queda con el subsistema exclusivamente de beneficio definido (SEBD). Pero la pregunta obligada es entender:...

Anuncian protestas contra el sistema financiero en República Dominicana

El presidente de la Confederación Nacional de Trabajadores Dominicanos (CNTD), Jacobo Ramos, calificó de tremendismo y atentado al sistema financiero el anuncio del diputado Pedro Botello de convocar manifestaciones frente a las entidades bancarias y las residencias de sus ejecutivos, en demanda de la entrega anticipada a los trabajadores del 30% de los fondos de pensiones. Consideró que a nadie en su sano juicio se le ocurre amenazar con convocar a ese tipo de manifestaciones, que además de quebrantar el...

China’s new private pension scheme draws $2.9bn in contributions

Contributions to China's fledgling private pension accounts have reached about 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) since their inception in November, with just under 70% of the funds invested, Caixin has learned, suggesting hesitation among some participants due to unfamiliarity with the system. Around 13.5 billion yuan has been invested across a range of eligible financial products, with the majority of the remaining funds just sitting idle in people's accounts, said people familiar with the matter. Bank deposits have been by far...

US. Megatrends: The Longevity Economy

Pick up a birthday card in the supermarket and you might find some humorous quips about longevity, like "Scientific research recently found that the more birthdays you have, the longer you live." In reality, though, that's an experience nearly 90,000 centenarians currently living in the U.S. can relate to and appreciate, according to data from the United Nations. It's also a phenomenon that is expected to increase over time: According to demographers from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of...

UK. BP facing green rebellion at annual shareholder meeting

BP faces a green rebellion at its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday as some of Britain’s biggest pension funds prepare to demand the company toughen its plans to reduce its emissions by 2030. The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest), which represents about 11m individual workplace pensions, plans to back a resolution put forward by climate campaigners at Follow This, which calls for BP to align its emissions reduction plans with the Paris agreement. The campaign group has also won support from...

India. National Pension System likely to get a facelift

The recently-formed committee on the National Pension System (NPS) will review the nearly two-decade-old scheme with an intent to enable it to provide higher pensionary benefits, with higher contributions from both the government and employees. According to a source, the panel, headed by finance secretary TV Somanathan, might suggest guaranteeing a certain pension similar to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), but without reverting to the non-contributory system. The proposal is to usher in the guaranteed component “in a graded manner”,...

Canada’s Biggest Pension Fund No Longer Bullish On Crypto After $95 Million FTX Wipeout

According to the Financial Times, Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan has learned its lesson after investing in crypto exchange FTX and will not be making any hasty decisions regarding future cryptocurrency investments. After losing $95 million in a now-defunct crypto exchange, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is no longer bullish on cryptocurrency investments. Several prominent funds invested in FTX between 2021 and 2022, just before the exchange’s eventual demise. Pension Plan No Longer Bullish On Crypto According to chief executive Jo Taylor,...