September 2018

Corporate governance key to pension’s growth

The concept of sustainable investment is becoming more essential daily as an effective means of achieving desired impact on the global environment. The sustainable investment approach considers Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors, as well as the long-term health and stability of the economy as a whole. These were the assertions of the Pioneer Director-General, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Muhammad Ahmad, at the conference of Directors of Licensed Pension Operators in Nigeria, in Lagos. Read more Guardian

Pensions in Bulgaria will Rise by 5.7% from 1 July Next Year

Current estimates show that the upgrading of pensions from July 1 next year will be higher than in recent years. All pensions are expected to be raised by 5.7%, Labor and Social Policy Minister Biser Petkov told bTV on Tuesday. He explained that this was a direct consequence of the increase in income. According to Petkov there is no discussion of new growth of the minimum pension and promotion other than the annual indexation of pensions. Every year, from July 1,...

UK. Regulator to monitor 60 pension schemes ‘one to one’

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is to launch a new approach to its workplace pension regulation which will see it provide 'one to one' supervision of 60 pension schemes. The new range of interventions aim to address risks sooner, clarify the regulator's expectations and take action where necessary. It will include the introduction of a supervision regime to monitor schemes more closely, with higher and lower intensity interventions dependent on the risks identified. From next month, TPR will implement one-to-one supervision for...

India. PFRDA caps MF investment by NPS; Kotak Pension most hit

A recent circular from PFRDA says pension fund managers of NPS can invest only 5% of corpus in mutual funds The pension regulator has finally taken cognizance of the fact that pension fund managers (PFMs) under the National Pension System (NPS) shouldn’t outsource fund management to mutual fund companies. A circular issued by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on 20 August puts a cap on the amount of corpus the PFMs can invest in MFs to manage...

Armenia to raise minimum pension by 60 per cent

Armenia’s government announced on September 17 that it plans to increase pensions by 60 per cent from January 1, 2019. According to the new bill, the new basic pension will be 25,500 drams (approximately 52.50 US dollars), which the government claims will be enough to top the threshold of food poverty. Armenia’s current basic pension is 16,000 drams. The news was broken by Mesrop Arakelyan, an advisor to Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan. However, on his Facebook page, Mr Arakelyan...

México. Sensibilizarán a consumidores con Semana de Educación Financiera

La intención con esta actividad es que más personas cuenten con información a través de actividades con temas de ahorro, presupuesto, crédito, inversión, ahorro para el retiro y seguros, etc La Semana Nacional de Educación Financiera, que se realizará del 1 al 7 de octubre próximo, tiene el objetivo de sensibilizar sobre la importancia de este tipo de formación, difundir los derechos como consumidores financieros y aminorar los riesgos de sobreendeudamiento y mal uso de este tipo de productos y...

República Dominicana. Presidente CNUS pide discutir fondos de pensiones

El presidente de la Confederación Nacional de Unidad Sindical (CNUS), Rafael Abreu, afirmó que se tiene que discutir a fondo la inversión de los fondos de pensiones de los trabajadores, a fin de garantizar su rentabilidad. Al hacer el señalamiento, expresó que en el caso de los empresarios deben hacer propuestas concretas sobre los instrumentos de inversión que deben crearse con esos recursos, ya que la falta de alternativas fue lo que llevó a las Aseguradoras de Fondos de Pensiones...

The 9 Craziest Ways These Millennials Are Saving Money To Retire Early

Maybe it was coming of age during the Great Recession and seeing their parents' retirement savings disappear. Or perhaps they're motivated by the ideas of investment and wealth management. Or maybe they just don't like their day jobs. Whatever the case, a small group of American millennials are bucking the trend and saving gobs of money in order to achieve FIRE or financial independence, retire early. Inspired in part by the personal finance bible, "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki...

Watchdog Vows ‘Radical Shake-Up’ For Pensions Sector

Law360, London (September 17, 2018, 4:53 PM BST) -- A growing number of Britain's workplace retirement funds will face tougher scrutiny starting next month as part of a “radical shake-up” by The Pensions Regulator, the watchdog said Monday. Schemes of all sizes and across all sectors can expect more contact with the regulator as it accelerates efforts to identify risks and intervene sooner, outgoing Chief Executive Lesley Titcomb said in a statement. “Following a complete review of our entire approach to...

US 401(k) Plan Quality Correlates With Company Profits

Study finds companies with highly rated plans have gross profit margins well above average Companies with top-rated 401(k) retirement plans tend to be more profitable than those with low-rated plans. That is the conclusion of a new study from T. Rowe Price Group Inc., which found there is “a strong correlation between corporate financial performance and overall 401(k) plan quality,” said Joshua Dietch, head of the asset management firm’s retirement and financial education team. Read more WSJ