May 2021

Aon to sell pension, investment consulting units in Germany to LCP

Aon agreed to sell its pension consulting, pension administration and investment consulting businesses in Germany to consultant Lane Clark & Peacock as the firm seeks to secure clearance from the European Commission for its merger with Willis Towers Watson. In a news release Monday, Aon said the deal with LCP "resolves questions raised by the European Commission with respect to the markets in which these businesses are active." The commission has been investigating competition issues related to the Aon-WTW merger...

UK pension fund USS buys half of 4-GW solar platform in Spain

UK private pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), has made a deal to acquire a 50% stake in Spain-based renewables platform Bruc Energy, it was announced on Monday. Bruc Energy operates as an investment vehicle of Spanish fund manager Bruc Management and is focused on solar photovoltaic (PV) assets in Spain and Portugal. The vehicle is co-owned by Canadian pension fund OPTrust and Juan Bejar, Spanish businessman and chairman of Bruc Management. USS has invested EUR 225 million (USD 273m)...

Managing a Retirement Plan Doesn’t Have to Be a Headache

COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our economy. Customers vanished and supply lines evaporated, as employees adjusted to a new paradigm of working from home. Wild swings in securities markets were a symptom of the pandemic. C-suite executives, who also found themselves working remotely, are still being pulled in multiple directions. Among the hardest-hit industries have been retail, oil & gas, hospitality and travel. In the past year, we’ve seen top national brands such as J.Crew and Neiman Marcus seeking reorganization under...

España. Qué significa para los trabajadores la próxima llegada del Fondo Público de Pensiones de Empleo

Desde hace varios años, uno de los debates macroeconómicos más extendidos es el de la reforma del sistema público de pensiones. Cada vez se jubilan más personas que han cotizado en unos niveles altos, lo que les permite optar a pensiones más elevadas. En 2021, el Gobierno decidió incrementar la cuantía de las pensiones un 0,9%, mientras que, en el caso de las pensiones mínimas, la revalorización fue del 1,8%. Hoy, la pensión media de un jubilado en España...

México. Retiros de trabajadores suman más de 23 mil mdp: Consar

A un año de haber iniciado la pandemia de Covid-19 en México, el monto total de retiros parciales por desempleo hechos por los trabajadores sumó más de 23 mil millones de pesos, señaló la Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (Consar). Leer también BID lanza en México programa de apoyo a emprendedores y trabajadores Datos del regulador muestran que entre abril del año pasado, cuando se suspendieron por completo las actividades para evitar contagios, y el mismo periodo...

Spain. Government And Social Agents Will Evaluate The Formula For Raising Pensions

The soap opera of the revaluation of pensions could close the chapter. The Government and the social partners will carry out, within the framework of social dialogue, a periodic evaluation every five years of the effects of the new formula for the revaluation of pensions with the CPI, to which the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations finally agreed. , José Luis Escrivá , for the maintenance of purchasing power. This is reflected in the draft agreement on pensions...

Jamaica. Senator proposes to scrap NIS contributory system

Opposition Senator Damion Crawford has proposed that a portion of the general consumption tax (GCT) collected by the Government be used to pay pensions. In his proposal to scrap the current National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributory system, Crawford pointed out that many Jamaicans are reluctant to pay over funds to the NIS, and only about 20 per cent subscribe to any pension scheme. Many, he said, are left destitute when they reach retirement. Employees and self-employed persons are required to be insured...

Australia. More risks than rewards seen in super fund reforms

Australia's government is counting on superannuation system reforms to get employees to play a greater role in maximizing their retirement savings, but industry participants fear more harm than good. Analysts warn the Your Future, Your Super reforms — outlined last October in Australia's 2021 budget proposal and set to take effect July 1 — are likely to constrain asset allocators and hurt the disengaged workers the reforms are ostensibly focused on helping. A final round of consultations, under the auspices of...

The transition of financial services to ESG and green finance

As we tackle one of the biggest global crises of our time, green and sustainable issues are becoming more critical than ever for business leaders in the financial services sector. Julian Wells, director and financial services & FinTech lead at Whitecap Consulting, shares some perspectives. Sustainability in business has tended to be primarily associated with long-term commercial performance issues such as with balance sheet strength, brand reputation, and enterprise value. Now, there is an additional movement gaining significant momentum and...

China population: state pension fund under pressure from ‘unprecedented challenge’ as nation gets older

This is the fifth in a series of stories about China’s once-a-decade census conducted in 2020. The world’s most populous nation released its national demographic data on Tuesday, and the figures will have far-reaching social policy and economic implications. Zhao Baidong, a 28-year-old property agent in Beijing, would like to travel when he retires, but with China and its state pension system facing a “challenge unprecedented in human history” as its population gets older, he is concerned he might be...