February 2024

US state pensions risk “hard earned savings” by ignoring climate risks

The global cost of extreme weather attributable to climate change is estimated at $143bn per year over the past 20 years, according to a 2023 study in scientific journal Nature. Despite this, US state pension funds are “not taking adequate steps to reduce climate-related financial risks”, finds a new report from three environmental organisations. “Far too few state pensions are taking adequate steps to address climate-related financial risks and protect their members’ hard-earned savings, raising serious concerns about their execution of fiduciary duty – the obligation...

Majority of UK pension providers have ‘inadequate’ climate plans, says MMMM

A majority of the leading defined contribution (DC) pension providers in the UK have “inadequate” or “poor” plans to tackle climate change, research from Make My Money Matter (MMMM) has shown. The ethical pension campaign's Climate Action Report, developed in collaboration with sustainability research provider Profundo, carried out assessments of the 20 largest workplace DC pension providers who hold a combined £500bn in assets under management with more than 15 million active members. The research, carried out between September and December...

4 new bills passed by parliament – with big changes for pensions in South Africa

The National Assembly has passed four Bills, with one having a significant impact on South Africa’s pension system. NA has passed the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, the Plant Health (Phytosanitary) Bill, the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill, and the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Amendment Bill. The Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, the Plant Health (Phytosanitary) Bill and the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill will head to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence. On the other hand, the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Amendment...

WTW advierte que la reforma mexicana de pensiones implicaría una carga fiscal a largo plazo

Para la consultora, sin embargo, el anuncio hecho el pasado 5 de febrero por el presidente de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, no implicará costos adicionales para las empresas ni para los trabajadores por alza de cuotas ni impuestos. La recién anunciada reforma a las pensiones de seguridad social, dada a conocer por el gobierno mexicano el pasado 5 de febrero, aunque representa una nueva base mínima de pensión para los trabajadores, no constituye una modificación a la estructura del...

Pensiones en Colombia: ¿quiénes pueden acceder a la jubilación con solo mil semanas cotizadas y cómo solicitar?

En Colombia, un reciente cambio en los requisitos de cotización para acceder a la jubilación ha generado un debate significativo. La reducción de las semanas necesarias para las mujeres, de 1,300 a 1,000, plantea una nueva dinámica en el panorama de las pensiones en el país. Actualmente, la ley establece que para acceder a la pensión se requiere haber cotizado al menos 1,300 semanas, lo que equivale aproximadamente a 26 años de trabajo, junto con la edad correspondiente: (57 años para las mujeres y...

Ahorro voluntario “ya no da para más”; Afores deben cambiar: Condusef

Las Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro (Afores) deben de hacer un análisis para replantear su modelo de negocio ante la población y ofrecer nuevos servicios, pues por sí mismo, el tema del ahorro voluntario “ya no da para más”, afirmó Óscar Rosado Jiménez, presidente de la Comisión Nacional para la Protección y Defensa de los Usuarios de Servicios Financieros (Condusef). Desde la perspectiva de la administración pública, indicó el titular del organismo defensor, el negocio de las Afores “está...

UK. Pension transfers leaving savers at risk of being worse off in retirement

Retirees could be left more than £70,000 worse off in their retirement due to a lack of awareness around fees and charges when transferring their pension, research from People’s Partnership finds. The research, conducted by the provider of The People's Pension, which provides the pension to 6.5 million people across the UK, surveyed 1,000 defined contribution (DC) members aged between 18 and 65 who had consolidated a DC pension in the last two years, without the assistance of a financial adviser....

How South Korea Is Tackling Its Demographic Crisis

Some 24.5% of South Koreans aged 70 and above were still working as of January, local media reported Monday, as officials increasingly look to keep more elderly in the workforce to address a demographic crisis. Elderly employment figures have seen a steady increase since the country’s statistics authority started to collect the data in 2005. Among these workers, half of whom are aged 75 and above, 42.1% are considered “simple laborers” by authorities, referring to workers with jobs that are not specialized and require...

Swiss actuaries back initiative to increase retirement age

The Swiss Actuarial Association – Schweizerischen Aktuarvereinigung – is backing an initiative in favour of increasing the retirement age in line with life expectancy in a referendum that will take place on 3 March. The longer it takes to adjust and automate the mechanism to increase the retirement age, the greater the loss will be for the pension system in terms of financial sustainability and even more drastic steps will be necessary in the future, the actuaries said in a...

Ghana. 71,000 Self-employed enrolled onto Tier 1 pension scheme — SSNIT

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has enrolled over 71,000 informal sector and self-employed persons onto the state-run Tier One pension scheme. The significant increase of contributors from 14,200 to 71,000 as of May last year followed the implementation of a self-employed enrolment drive (SEED) initiative. “The initiative has made it possible for artisans, carpenters, masons, tailors, auto-mechanics and traders to contribute towards their pension. “SSNIT has targeted to enrol about 10 per cent of the 3.6 million self-employed Ghanaians...