January 2024

El Salvador. Gobierno toma $334 millones extra del fondo de pensiones

Patricio Pineda, de la Mesa de Trabajo por una Pensión Digna, aseguró que el Gobierno de El Salvador ha tomado del fondo de pensiones más de $334 millones de los necesarios para pagar las jubilaciones de las personas bajo el sistema público, relativo al Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social (ISSS) y el Instituto Nacional de Pensiones de los Empleados Públicos (INPEP). En el marco de una entrevista televisiva en Frente a Frente, el experto mostró un estudio actuarial realizado por...

Puerto Rico. Pensionados piden una bonificación especial que les ayude a lidiar con la inflación

El Junte de Jubilados peticionó hoy al gobernador, Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, que haga una bonificación especial a los retirados del Gobierno de Puerto Rico para compensar la pérdida de poder adquisitivo de las pensiones por efecto de la inflación. La petición ocurre a solo horas de que la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal (JSF) ordenara al Gobierno de Puerto Rico pagar una bonificación de $165 a cada trabajador representado por el sindicato Servidores Públicos Unidos (SPU). Anteriormente, esos empleados ya había...

US. Expect familiar worries for 2024 as pension funds mull economy, interest rates

U.S. pension fund executives are taking a cautious approach to 2024, as they await the answer to how much the economy will slow and when and by how much the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates. While much remains unknown, they are seeking returns in places like fixed income and real estate, where they believe the greatest opportunities loom. There's also the matter of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Christopher Ailman, chief investment officer of the $304.9 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement...

Pension Risk Transfer Growth Fuels UK Insurance Rating

The growing popularity of pension risk transfer deals is behind an “improving” label for the U.K.’s life insurance sector, according to Fitch Ratings. Higher interest rates have led to an increase in the funded status of U.K. pension funds, which in turn has led to an increase in PRT transactions as companies seek to offload their pension liabilities. The increase in PRT transactions is primarily responsible for Fitch’s optimism about the sector in the U.K.; the ratings agency identified a “neutral”...

Kenya. State lost Sh67bn in irregular pension payments, audit shows

What you need to know: Sh21 billion was paid to 29,387 claimants with shared bank accounts. Sh44.07 billion was irregularly paid to 221,590 claimants with irregular and no tax PIN. Sh1.62 billion paid in lump sum to 962 claimants before their exit dates from public service. The government lost at least Sh67 billion in irregular payments made by the National Treasury’s pensions department, a recent audit by the Auditor-General revealed. The amount paid to undeserving cases is sufficient to construct enough...

China too big to ignore, but policy will dictate growth, investors say

China's growth outlook remains murky but global investors can't afford to ignore the world's second-largest economy, although factors such as domestic policies, geopolitical developments and consumer sentiment will decide its growth trajectory, investment managers said. They also argue that upcoming restrictions by the U.S. and its partners on the flow of certain technologies to China has bifurcated the world scientific community and will hurt the global economy, even as some investors outside of the West, such as the Middle East,...

México. Retiro de las Afores por desempleo: el silencioso daño a la jubilación que se comete por necesidad

Tiene casi una década que Carlos Alcaraz tuvo que recurrir a su Administradora de Fondos para el Retiro (Afore) para poder hacer frente a la urgente situación económica que atravesaba por desempleo. “No tenía dinero para comer, no encontraba trabajo y me hallaba profundamente deprimido”, recuerda. Después de hacer el trámite, reconoce que fue un movimiento desesperado, pero necesario. A sus 43 años, este trabajador es parte de los miles de mexicanos que echan mano de su fondo de jubilación para poder...

Chile. Sin la derecha, comisión de la Cámara aprobó el fin de las AFP

Sin la derecha, cuyos representantes se retiraron de la sesión, la Comisión de Trabajo de la Cámara de Diputadas y Diputados votó este miércoles el primer capítulo de la reforma previsonal y aprobó la separación de la industria y, con ello, el fin de las Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP). Precedida del anuncio de la "suma urgencia" que le ingresó el Gobierno, la instancia sesionó dos veces esta jornada, primero al mediodía y luego durante la tarde. Esta última estuvo...

PLSA reveals ‘pensions’ role in UK growth’ as top strategic priority for 2024

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has announced that its top strategic priority for 2024 will be the role that pension schemes can play in supporting the UK economy. Outlining its strategic objectives for the year, the PLSA revealed that it would further develop its recommendations aimed at promoting investment by ‘suitable’ pension schemes in assets that can help drive UK growth, which were published last year. The updated recommendations will aim to ensure the government is equipped to make...

Japan retirement trends: job-seeking seniors double in 10 years

The number of people 65 and older looking for work in Japan has more than doubled over the past decade, government employment center data shows, creating the challenge of matching them with the right jobs in a shrinking labor pool. A Hello Work employment center in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district has a counter just for senior citizens. Some need work to supplement their income, but others just want to stay active. "I want to work until I'm 70," said a 66-year-old man who was there to fill out paperwork...