February 2024
01Feb

Milliman analysis: Competitive pension risk transfer costs decrease from 101.8% to 100.5% in December

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the latest results of its Milliman Pension Buyout Index (MPBI). As the pension risk transfer (PRT) market continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to monitor the annuity market for plan sponsors that are considering transferring retiree pension obligations to an insurer. “Retiree buyout costs open 2024 at their lowest level in almost six months--despite another sizable drop in accounting discount rates” During December, the estimated cost to transfer...

February 1, 2024
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01Feb

Analysis: 2024 to be the biggest year for UK pension de-risking

UK pensions consultants expect 2024 to be another record-breaking year for the pensions risk transfer market with transactions surpassing 2023 levels. The final figures for 2023 are yet to be published. However, it is widely expected that there were circa £50bn in deals, which would brand 2023 as a record year for pension risk transfers, compared with the previous high of £43.8bn in 2019. UK pensions consultants expect this trend to continue. WTW expects pension risk transfer volumes to reach £80bn, with...

February 1, 2024
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01Feb

Kenya. Counties owe pension schemes Sh41.2bn – Government Workers Union

Kenya County Government Workers Union has decried continued non-remittance of pension funds by devolved units, stating that the debts currently stand at Sh41.2 billion. Secretary General Roba Duba regretted that counties have been opting to pay “urgent” debts over remitting pension dues. Addressing a press conference in Nairobi, Duba said the union is going to petition the National Treasury to look at ways of addressing the matter urgently. “The issue of pension scheme management has not been given the necessary attention it...

February 1, 2024
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01Feb

Canadian funds tapping into investment opportunities in Brazil

By PALASH GHOSH   Canadian pension funds have been investing in Brazil, a huge country that boasts a growing $2.1 trillion economy, the largest such economy in Latin America and an especially attractive target for infrastructure and energy investments, as evidenced by the recent agreement by Caisse de Depot et Placement du Québec to increase its stake in a natural gas transmission firm. Ironically, Brazil jumped two spots last year to surpass Canada itself as the globe's ninth biggest economy, the International Monetary...

February 1, 2024
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01Feb

South Africa. 2023 was a somewhat better year for salaries and private pensions

The BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), which tracks the average nominal take-home pay among approximately 4 million salary earners in South Africa, ended the 2023 year on a slightly better note as salaries and private pensions performed slightly better than in the previous year. “The average nominal take-home pay was 5.6% higher at R15,409 in December 2023 compared to the R14,596 recorded in December 2022,” says Shergeran Naidoo, BankservAfrica’s head of stakeholder engagements. However, the average nominal take-home pay in 2023...

February 1, 2024
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January 2024
31Jan

México. Reforma a pensiones 2024: PRI dice que apoyará la iniciativa de AMLO

Dirigentes del PRI han dicho que sí apoyarán una reforma a pensiones que será propuesta por el presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador, en los términos en los que la ha planteado en semanas recientes. “... Una jubilación o pensión digna, en eso estamos de acuerdo. Hacemos un llamado al Ejecutivo federal para que se presente la iniciativa en los términos que dijo. Y que nos dé el soporte económico que podría sufragar los gastos a los que se refiere. Pero nosotros tenemos...

January 31, 2024
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31Jan

Chile. Pdte. Boric y pensiones de gracia: “Claramente ha habido irregularidades, no estaban todos los antecedentes a la vista”

“Claramente, ha habido irregularidades“. De esta forma comentó el presidente Gabriel Boric la controversia por la entrega de pensiones de gracia en el marco del estallido social a personas con antecedentes penales o condenas. ¿Qué pasó? La Contraloría General de la República (CGR) informó que personas con antecedentes penales o condenadas por delitos como almacenamiento de pornografía infantil, abuso sexual, homicidio, entre otros, han recibido el beneficio por actos ocurridos durante las manifestaciones e incidentes ocurridas a partir de 2019. En medio...

January 31, 2024
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31Jan

En Colombia pensión es de al menos un salario mínimo, en Perú aún no existe

Colombia y Perú son los únicos países en la región donde el régimen privado de pensiones compite con el sistema público, y pone a la sociedad a decidir en cuál afiliarse, señaló Alice Gutiérrez, Directora LATAM del Negocio de Ahorro y Retiro de SURA. Sin embargo, una particularidad en Colombia es que la pensión debe ser igual a un salario mínimo por constitución, con lo que, todo ciudadano que cumple con los requisitos y causales de jubilación debe recibir, por lo menos, un salario mínimo, precisó. En...

January 31, 2024
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31Jan

U.K. looks to reprioritize investment flexibility in pension fund legislation

The U.K. government is amending proposed legislation to ensure defined benefit plans do not become overly risk averse, following a consultation review that was published online. DB plans in the U.K. will be able to take more investment risk when supported by sponsoring employers, according to the government's final position on the long-running development of new legislation for pension plans. "It was never (the U.K. government's) intention to bear down on risk-taking across the board. Rather, it was to make funding...

January 31, 2024
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31Jan

Pension insurers charter commits to sustainable pension risk transfers

Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), the Church of England Pensions Board and Railpen have developed a charter for pension insurers that sets out guiding principles for the bulk annuity process focusing on transparency, decision making, reporting and engagement, and collaboration. The pension funds that have joined the charter as founding signatories include Cancer Research Pension Scheme, Church of England Pensions Board, HSBC Bank Pensions Scheme, Railpen, and Railways Pension Scheme. For insurers, founding signatories include Aviva, Just Group, Legal & General, Pensions...

January 31, 2024
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