October 2018

UK. Budget 2018: Dutch-style pensions revolution could see thousands of workers pool retirement pots

Tens of thousands of workers will be able to pool their retirement pots under a pensions revolution expected to be outlined in the Budget. Philip Hammond is expected to announce a consultation on Dutch-style pension schemes - known as "peoples' pensions" - which will thousands of members pay into a single pot. The approach is seen as a "middle way" between gold-plated final salary schemes, which guarantee income in retirement but can leave companies with huge deficits, and defined contribution schemes...

10 Climate change actions for pension fund managers

The International Centre for Pension Management (ICPM) has put out a paper on climate change and on the difference it makes for investments. The issue of climate change has, in recent years, gone from “being considered a niche issue to one of potentially major financial consequences for all investors,” one that has already impacted and will increasing impact “companies, investment portfolios, and capital markets.” There are three particular issues that asset owners, including pension funds, must face: climate change is driving...

How Persistent Low Returns Will Shape Saving and Retirement

By Olivia S Mitchell,‎ Robert Clark,‎ Raimond Maurer Financial market developments over the past decade have undermined what was once thought to be conventional wisdom about saving, investment, and retirement spending. How Persistent Low Returns Will Shape Saving and Retirement explores how the weak capital market performance predicted for the next several years will shape pension saving, investment, and decumulation plans. Academics, policymakers, and industry leaders debate alternative strategies to cope with these challenges globally, as economic growth remains slow...

The Causal Mechanism of Financial Education: Evidence from Mediation Analysis

By Fenella Carpena (Oslo Business School) & Bilal Zia (World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)) This paper uses a field experiment in India with multiple financial education treatments to investigate the causal mechanisms between financial education and financial behavior. Focusing on the mediating role of financial literacy, the paper proposes a broader definition of financial knowledge that includes three dimensions: numeracy skills, financial awareness, and attitudes toward personal finance. The analysis then employs causal mediation analysis to investigate the proportion...

Vulnerability: False Hope for Vulnerable Social Security Clients?

By Terry Carney (The University of Sydney Law School) This article reviews the concept of vulnerability and examines its salience for selected aspects of Australian social security. It argues that vulnerability is a welcome shift from individual to relational thinking, of particular relevance to measurement of deprivation and richer transformations of delivery of welfare services (and access to social and informal support). Vulnerability is a productive analytical lens for better understanding aspects of law and policy, but remains too capacious...

Population Aging: Impacts and Policy Imperatives

By The Bank of Korea The Republic of Korea is aging rapidly, as the average woman in her childbearing years gives birth to only 1.17 children ─ among the world’s lowest numbers as of 2016 ─ while people are also living longer. The country is projected to enter into the status of an aged society from 2018, with a share of the elderly in its population of 14.3%, and to become a super-aged society with a share of 20% in...

República Dominicana. ADAFP dice fondos pensiones no tienen fecha de expiración

La Asociación Dominicana de Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (ADAFP) aclaró ayer que la cuenta de un afiliado que falleció ni se pierde, ni expira, ni caduca, ni desaparece, pues no tienen fecha de expiración ya que el monto que acumuló permanece en la cuenta de capitalización individual hasta que su familia cumple los requisitos y lo retira. La presidente ejecutiva de ADAFP, Kirsis Jáquez, explicó que mientras se cumplen esos requisitos los fondos acumulados siguen creciendo con su rentabilidad. Reiteró...

Namibia: Pension Funds Could Boost Economy Through Infrastructure Fund

"Investing in scary times" was the theme of an event held by Eos Capital, a private equity manager, in Windhoek on Tuesday. Speaking at the event was the CEO of the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), Tanya van Lill, with the key message that pension funds in Namibia can find attractive and safe returns during these times by investing in private equity and infrastructure funds while also helping to stimulate the economy. Pension fund assets as...

México. Elevar edad para el retiro y aportaciones mejoraría sistema: Consar

La edad mínima de retiro en el Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (SAR), de 60 años, se encuentra entre las más bajas del mundo. La Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (Consar) destacó que en las últimas décadas, la población mundial ha enfrentado un cambio demográfico profundo, producto de una menor tasa reproductiva y un descenso continuo de la mortalidad. En el documento “Expectativa de vida y edad de retiro en México y el mundo”, la comisión...

US. New York state sues Exxon Mobil for deceiving investors on climate-regulation risk

Company engaged in fraudulent behavior that went all the way up to ex-CEO Rex Tillerson, who went on to serve as Trump’s first secretary of state New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has filed a lawsuit against energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp., alleging that it misled investors about the true risks to its business posed by climate-change regulations. The suit comes after a roughly three-year probe and does not charge the company XOM, -1.03% with contributing to climate change as a...