May 2024

China’s savings rate hurts model for growing investments — PAG chair

Looking at the Chinese economy, alternative investment firm PAG doesn’t look at the trendiest sectors as investment opportunities. Instead, when the Hong Kong-based manager sees them, it knows “which sectors to avoid,” said Weijian Shan, executive chair. “Let’s say that whatever sector is hot, we typically stay away from because China is a capital-rich country,” he told attendees at the SALT iConnections New York 2024 conference on May 20. Shan described the country’s savings rate as “on a league of its...

Nigeria. Retired police officers protest unpaid pension in Abuja

RETIRED police officers in Nigeria under the contributory pension scheme, on Tuesday, May 21, expressed their displeasure over several months of unpaid pensions. The retired officers stormed the National Assembly in Abuja, to protest the “severe hardships” they had faced due to the alleged failure of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) to pay their entitlements. The retirees representing various state chapters called on the federal government to remove them from the Contributory Pension Scheme. The retirees, seen with various placards, lamented being...

México. Se podrá realizar ahorro voluntario ala afore a través de SPEI, CoDi y DiMo

La fintech Sistema de Transferencias y Pagos (STP), que opera bajo la figura de Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico (IFPE), regulada por la Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) lanzará, en alianza con la red Millas para el Retiro, una función para que los trabajadores puedan realizar aportaciones voluntarias a sus Afores, a través de sistemas de pagos instantáneos electrónicos como SPEI, CoDi y DiMo. Esta solución comenzará a operar a partir del próximo lunes 27 de mayo. Fernando...

A mujeres les quitaron beneficio que las ayudaría a pensionarse más rápido en Colombia

El Senado había aprobado un beneficio para las mujeres en la reforma pensional. Como reconocimiento al trabajo no remunerado, quienes cumplieran la edad para acceder a la jubilación iban a poder disminuir 50 semanas de cotización por cada hijo, hasta llegar a un mínimo de 850 semanas por un máximo de tres hijos. Sin embargo, ese punto se cayó. Se trataba de 450 semanas menos de las 1.300 que como mínimo requieren actualmente en Colpensiones, aunado a la edad mínima de 57...

Cepal: Aumento de pensiones solidarias bajaría pobreza en RD hasta 6.5 puntos porcentuales

Si se ampliaran las pensiones del régimen subsidiado -o pensiones solidarias-del 2.8 % estimado en el 2023 al 25 %, los niveles de pobreza general en la República Dominicana podrían disminuir hasta en 6.5 puntos porcentuales, pasando de 9.1 % en el 2022 a 2.6 % antes del 2030. El planteamiento lo hace la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (Cepal), tras realizar una simulación de cuánto le costaría al Estado implementar un aumento progresivo de la cobertura de la pensión solidaria en los segmentos más pobres de la población...

Nearly 40% of savers at risk of losing track of pensions

More than one fifth (22 per cent) of savers are unsure where their pensions are held, while a further 16 per cent don’t know, research from Hargreaves Lansdown has found. The survey found that just under two thirds (62 per cent) of people know where all their pensions are held, raising concerns that some savers could be putting their retirement at risk by losing track of their pension savings altogether. The problem lessened as savers get older, as 8 per cent...

Pension De-Risking with Lump Sum Windows

Pension plans are critical components of retirement security, yet they pose significant financial and operational risks to sponsoring organizations. The volatility of funding requirements, coupled with longevity and investment risks, compels companies to seek innovative de-risking strategies. Offering a temporary lump sum window to active employees over age 59½, as facilitated by the Miners Act of 2019, has emerged as a strategic tool for de-risking pension plans. Background The Pension Protection Act of 2006 introduced the concept of phased retirement whereby pension...

Dutch pension investor in $1bn Aus housing deal

Across three new buildings, Gurrowa Place in Melbourne will feature a 28-storey workplace, 560 build-to-rent apartments and around 1,100 student residences to be managed by Scape. Photo: Lendlease A Dutch pension investor is a stakeholder in a new partnership worth AUS$1 billion to develop purpose-built-student-accommodation across Australia. Together with APG Asset Management N.V. and global real estate investor, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Scape Australia says the new joint venture will strategically focus on urban locations close to “world-class universities” in the country. The partners said that the...

Are we moving away from paternalism in employee benefits?

Recruitment pressures, shifts in employee expectations and the sheer volume of products available mean benefits strategies are evolving. But, while the old paternalistic approach may be on its way out, employers must still be aware of their responsibilities when providing benefits. Rather than take the one-size-fits-all package, today’s employees want to be able to select benefits that are relevant to them. Carl Chapman, head of marketplace at Ben, says: “Anything other than choice and flexibility is archaic. The workforce is diverse:...

Reforma de pensiones en México beneficiaría a Sofomes, según expertos

La reciente reforma al sistema de pensiones en México, que entró en vigor el primero de mayo y establece el nuevo Fondo de Pensiones para el Bienestar, podría beneficiar significativamente a las Sociedades Financieras de Objeto Múltiple (Sofomes), según indicó Javier Garza, vicepresidente del organismo que representa a este sector. La reforma, impulsada por el presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador, busca garantizar jubilaciones con un tope de hasta casi 17,000 pesos, y está diseñada para mejorar la calidad de vida de los futuros jubilados. Garza destacó...