December 2021

Kenya. Zamara targets WhatsApp users with digital pensions plan

Zamara Group has expanded its digital pension plan Fahari Retirement to allow users to access it on the online messaging app WhatsApp. The pension firm targets to grow its customer base for its retirement products, especially in the informal sector. Fahari Retirement Plan allows individuals to save as low as Sh20 per day or Sh300 per month. They can access the funds after 50 years in lump sum or as regular income. Customers are also allowed to withdraw their savings anytime...

US. Public Pensions Need a Shift in Investment Strategies

A report, which says their investments have underperformed since the 2008 financial crisis and are costly, suggests officials should switch to purely passive investing. Public employee pension funds, endowment funds and other nonprofit institutional investors in the U.S. have underperformed properly constructed, passively investable benchmarks by a wide margin since the global financial crisis of 2008, contends Richard Ennis, an early pioneer of quant investing and co-founder of U.S. investment consultancy EnnisKnupp, in a research paper. A composite of 46 large...

Canadian pension funds to increase stakes in Mexico's IDEAL

Canadian pension funds to increase stakes in Mexico’s IDEAL

The controlling shareholders of Mexican construction company IDEAL (IDEALB1.MX), part of the business empire of tycoon Carlos Slim, signed an agreement for two Canadian pension funds to increase their shareholdings in the firm, IDEAL said on Tuesday. The accord, which is still pending corporate and government approval, would see Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board up their holdings by 8.4% and 1.1% respectively, bringing each of their total holdings to 24.8%, IDEAL said in a...

Boston to Divest From Fossil Fuels, Tobacco, Private Prisons

US. Boston to Divest From Fossil Fuels, Tobacco, Private Prisons

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has signed into law an ordinance to divest the city from the fossil fuel, tobacco, and private prison industries by the end of 2025. The ordinance prohibits using public funds to invest in the stocks, securities, or other obligations of any company that derives more than 15% of its revenue from those industries. Under the new law, fossil fuel investments are defined as investments in any company that derives more than 15% of its revenue from...

Sustainable finance roundtable: EIOPA announces its sustainable finance activities for the coming three years

Sustainable finance roundtable: EIOPA announces its sustainable finance activities for the coming three years

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions (EIOPA) is organising today its 5th Sustainable Finance Roundtable which gathers representatives from supervisors, industry, consumer organisations, and academia to discuss society's resilience to sustainability risks, the role of insurers and pensions and EIOPA's work in this area. On this occasion, EIOPA announced its three year plan which will help to integrate sustainable finance across all areas of its own work. From 2022-2024, EIOPA defined its key areas of activity: Integration of sustainability risks in...

Iceland’s Gigantic Pension Fund Is Creating a Headache at Home

Iceland’s Gigantic Pension Fund Is Creating a Headache at Home

Iceland is confronting the trouble that comes with having a pension system so successful in amassing savings for future retirees that it was recently rated the best in the world. With assets now at about double the size of the north Atlantic island’s economy, the government is considering allowing investment managers to diversify by buying up more securities abroad, prompting the central bank to urge caution. The rules currently limit the share of overseas holdings in pension assets at 50%. “The...

Jamaica. Informal Sector Workers to Get NIS Benefits

Jamaica. Informal Sector Workers to Get NIS Benefits

For the first time, Jamaica’s household helpers and fisherfolk will be able to secure pension benefits under the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) as the Government moves to formalise these sectors. This will be facilitated under the Transition to Formality Action Plan, which will see this segment of workers being able to access health and life insurance, pension and other facilities to provide them with security and protection in their work environment. The Action Plan, which was officially launched by Minister of...

Low Pension Savings in Ukraine: Ahead of Reform?

Low Pension Savings in Ukraine: Ahead of Reform?

Ukraine took the penultimate place in the ranking of pension savings among the countries of the world. Despite the work of non-state pension funds in the country, people are reluctant to use their services. There are several quite simple reasons for this. But the low place of Ukraine in the rating can accelerate the introduction of a mandatory funded pension. Poverty and Mistrust According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Ukraine is ranked second to last in terms...

Chile. Industria de AFP expondrá hoy ante la Convención Constitucional

Chile. Industria de AFP expondrá hoy ante la Convención Constitucional

Uno de los temas que genera mayor expectación de la Convención Constitucional es cómo abordará la seguridad social y el sistema de pensiones. Este martes, la instancia tendrá sus primeros insumos en este sentido por parte de la misma industria, luego de que la amenaza de un cuarto retiro del 10% se esfumara la semana pasada. La presidenta de la Asociación de AFP, Alejandra Cox, asistirá hoy a la comisión de Derechos Fundamentales de la Convención, acompañada de la gerenta general...

Priorities for social security Trends, challenges and solutions

Priorities for social security Trends, challenges and solutions

By ISSA This report is the result of collective efforts by the professional staff of the Social Security Development branch of the General Secretariat of the International Social Security Association and external experts. Staff were assigned responsibility for authoring specific chapters and sections for this seminal report. Get the book here 684 views