June 2021

2021 pension adequacy report Current and future income adequacy in old age in the EU. Volume I

By The 2021 Pension Adequacy Report (PAR) is the fourth edition of the report, prepared every 3 years by the Social Protection Committee (SPC) and the European Commission. The report aims to present a comparative analysis of the degree to which pension systems in the EU Member States enable older people to retire with an adequate income today and in the future, reflecting pension reforms, as well as underlying changes and current or future challenges in our societies. Since 2012, the...

Financial Literacy, Naive Diversification, and Security Selection

By Thomas A. Hanson, Jenna Kalthoff Low levels of financial literacy have been linked to costly errors in investing behavior. This paper examines the relationship between financial literacy and the two financial tasks of asset allocation and security selection in an online survey of college students. Results suggest that financial literacy can slightly attenuate the naïve diversification bias and improve security selection decisions. The results support educational efforts to increase financial literacy to improve retirement savings and financial decisions. Source: SSRN 490...

Do adverse health shock s induce myopic financial planning?

By Jialu L. Streeter Health and financial planning have both been found to be crucial to long-term financial stability. However, the impact of a health shock on financial plan-ning horizon was not directly tested. This article traces the trajectories of the financial planning horizon before and after the occurrence of work-limitinghealth shocks, using longitudinal panel data from the Health and RetirementStudy. Results show that, during the 10 years following a health shock, individ-uals are 20 to 39% more likely to...

Sustainable Pensions, Democratic Governance, and EU Law

By Ewan McGaughey The quality of democracy in our economy depends on the governance of capital, but Europeans are still deprived of real voice over their retirement money: the single biggest source of capital in the 21st century. This paper outlines three major problems facing EU pensions: precarious retirement, escalating inequality, and mounting climate damage. These problems start with the places where we work, the institutions that control our retirement savings, and the votes on shares that come with them....

Chile. Cifras prepandemia: número de cotizantes en AFP se recupera durante abril

La Superintendencia de Pensiones registró, por primera vez desde que se inició la pandemia, un aumento en el número de cotizantes en las AFP, cifra que había venido a la baja desde la llegada del Covid-19. Leer también Presentan en Chile otra propuesta de retiro de 100% de fondos AFP Ya se veían atisbos de este aumento, ya que en marzo la variación fue plana (0,07%), pero en abril subió 1,9% año contra año. Leer también Chile. Coordinadora No + AFP exige...

US. The Death Of Public Pension Transparency

Forensic investigations reveal that public pensions in states such as Pennsylvania, California, Tennessee, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and, most recently, Ohio, have long abandoned transparency, choosing instead to collaborate with Wall Street firms to eviscerate state public records laws and avoid accountability to stakeholders. Read also US. Pension Worries Ease for States, Localities on Stimulus, Stocks Predictably, billions that could have been used to pay government workers retirement benefits have been squandered. Read also US. Despite Market Rebound, Rising Unemployment Hurt Public...

German Pensionskassen call for rule easing to improve outlook – WTW survey

German Pensionskassen are calling for more relaxed regulatory requirements with a view to a more optimistic outlook, taking into account the current challenging environment. Read also Air France–KLM Completes De-Risking of Pension Plans According to a survey conducted by Willis Towers Watson (WTW), 62% of surveyed Pensionskassen support regulatory changes to improve future prospects. Read also UK. Why investment pathways matter more than you think However, only 14% of the respondents consider Pensionskasse an “interesting way” to run company pension schemes, the survey...

UK. Industry fears customers are still not getting enough support with pension withdrawals

Withdrawal behaviours are among the top concerns of a third of pension providers, whilst two thirds fear this concern will only grow in the future as more and more people start to rely solely on a defined contribution pension. A new report from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), 'Future Proofing the Freedoms: Supporting customer decisions about pension withdrawals ', published today found pension industry experts fear that many people are withdrawing from their pension without any advice or guidance,...

Air France–KLM Completes De-Risking of Pension Plans

It has taken airline operator Air France–KLM several years, but it has finally completed the de-risking of its three main Dutch KLM pension plans in a move it says will create more predictable annual contributions and less balance sheet volatility. The airline reported late last week that it had reached an agreement with the five Dutch ground unions in KLM to convert the pension plan for its ground staff into a collective defined contribution (DC) plan. Under the terms of...

US. Despite Market Rebound, Rising Unemployment Hurt Public Pensions

Although cuts to state and local employment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had only a minor impact on public pensions’ funded ratios, they did cause a rise in the required contribution rates, according to a recent report from the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College. The report said that despite better-than-expected revenue for state and local governments during fiscal year 2020, a “dramatic reduction” in the size of the state and local workforce has negatively impacted public...