July 2024

Elderly Germans Face Rising Poverty Threat

Germany is facing a growing concern over the rising number of elderly citizens living in poverty. Recent investigative reports indicate that a staggering 3.2 million pensioners in the country are at risk of economic hardship, a situation worsened by stagnant wages and insufficient pension benefits. As mentioned in reports from the public broadcaster ARD, nearly one in five, or approximately 18.7%, of Germany's pensioners were classified as being at risk of poverty as of 2017. This alarming statistic highlights...

Chile. Comité Técnico logra acuerdos parciales en 21 puntos de la reforma de pensiones

El Comité Técnico que durante dos meses analizó los principales contenidos de la reforma previsional, presentó sus conclusiones ante la Comisión de Trabajo del Senado. El grupo alcanzó acuerdos parciales en 21 puntos de la reforma. “La Comisión de Trabajo del Senado hoy dio un paso muy significativo al acoger al Comité Técnico que estuvo sesionando durante los últimos dos meses y relevar los acuerdos que, si bien son parciales en materia de pensiones, dan cuenta de un avance que...

UK. ‘Astonishing’ surge in pensioners paying top tax rate

The number of pensioners paying the highest rate of tax has doubled in just a year following a cut in thresholds. More than 100,000 taxpayers over the age of 65 will pay 45p in the pound on their income in the 2023-2024 tax year, projected HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures have revealed. This is up from just 55,000 the year before, according to the data released to The Telegraph under a Freedom of Information request. The number of pension-age taxpayers hit...

Japan to abolish gender-specific survivor’s pension benefits, introduce fixed-term payments

The Japanese welfare ministry is set to revise the survivor's welfare pension for men and women in their 20s to 50s without children, changing it to a five-year fixed-term benefit from the current gender-specific rule where the widow receives the benefit indefinitely if she is 30 or older, while the widower cannot receive payments unless he is 55 or older. The planned adjustment will be made over several decades to ensure that current recipients won't face a disadvantage. The ministry...

México. Lanzan campaña sobre AFORES, “Ahorro para el retiro: Es tu dinero, es tu futuro”.

Con el fin de que los mexicanos reconozcan su AFORE como un instrumento de ahorro y un patrimonio financiero, el Consejo de la Comunicación, la Amafore y Canaco lanzaron la campaña “Ahorro para el retiro: Es tu dinero, es tu futuro”. Guillermo Zamarripa, Presidente de Amafore, dijo que la campaña es cercana y sencilla, porque recordó que uno de cada cuatro personas no sabe que tiene recursos para el retiro en una Afore. Por su parte, Salvador Villalobos, presidente del Consejo de la Comunicación,...

U.S. states are ordering their pension funds to sell their China investments

As state treasurer, Vivek Malek pushed Missouri’s main retirement system to pull its investments from Chinese companies, making Missouri among the first nationally to do so. Now Malek is touting the Chinese divestment as he seeks reelection in an Aug. 6 Republican primary against challengers who also are denouncing financial connections to China. The Missouri treasurer’s race highlights a new facet of opposition to China, which has been cast as a top threat to the U.S. by many candidates seeking...

UK. Pension confidence surges following General Election

Brits’ confidence in their retirement prospects continues to rise, according to PensionBee’s latest Pension Confidence Index. The Pension Confidence Indicator score surged to +30 immediately following the General Election, up from +22 in March 2024. This was also significantly higher than -10 in December 2023 and -9 in September 2023. For those under 55, positive pension sentiment increased significantly, from 39% in March 2024 to 50% in July 2024. The top reasons for feeling positive were: ‘my employer contributions are relatively good’ (45%);...

The decumulation challenge

As people continue to live and work longer, the challenge of longevity – running out of money too soon into retirement - is hanging over many Canadians’ retirement plans. According to research from CCP Investments, only 45% of Canadians actually have some sort of plan in place for their retirement, with 53% admitting they don’t know how much money they’ll need to retire. Part of this anxiety stems from a change in the last decades in the retirement plan landscape, as...

Resultados de la Feria de Afores CDMX 2024 la consolidan como el evento de ahorro y retiro más relevante de México

El pasado domingo 21 de julio finalizó la Feria de Afores CDMX 2024, un evento organizado por la Consar en colaboración con la Amafore y el Gobierno de la Ciudad de México, en el cual se brindaron diversos trámites, servicios y actividades de educación financiera y previsional. Esta Feria benefició a más de cien mil personas de todas las edades y con lo cual se consolida como el evento de ahorro y retiro más relevante de México. El objetivo de...

Chile. Hasta el 100% de los fondos: comienzan a tramitar séptimo retiro y autopréstamo de cuentas de AFP

La comisión de Constitución de la Cámara comenzó a tramitar los cinco nuevos proyectos de retiro de fondos previsionales. Los integrantes de esta instancia, liderada por Miguel Ángel Calisto (IND), decidieron fusionar cuatro iniciativas que compartían una idea matriz y discutir en paralelo la que propone un autopréstamo desde las cuentas de AFP. En concreto, estos cuatro proyectos autorizan lo siguiente: – Un único retiro, sin especificar montos ni límites, para afiliados a las AFP, pensionados de rentas vitalicias y exonerados políticos. – Un retiro de hasta...