August 2023

Luxembourg: Luxembourg And Germany Sign Amending Protocol To Their Tax Treaty

Luxembourg and Germany signed an amending protocol ("the Protocol") to the Germany - Luxembourg double tax treaty ("DTT") signed in 2012. The Protocol introduces both amendments to the DTT and amendments to the Protocol to the DTT also signed in 2012 (the "2012 protocol") currently in force. The Protocol mainly extends the tolerance threshold for cross-border workers from 19 to 34 days under the DTT, incorporates into the DTT the options taken by the two countries to implement the Multilateral...

New 2020 census data shows an aging America and wide racial gaps between generations

This report is part of a series by the author on the results of the 2020 census. In April 2021, the Census Bureau released the first set of results from the 2020 decennial census, providing a snapshot of the U.S. population for use in congressional reapportionment and redistricting. But recently, the agency released more detailed census information that shows a fuller picture of the population as it stood during the once-a-decade headcount. These new statistics provide more information on the nation’s...

How consumer needs are driving pension sector change in Kenya

Over the last two decades, pension assets have grown substantially under the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA). The regulator has developed and amended pension schemes’ regulations aimed at strengthening the legal and regulatory framework in the sector. The goal has been to achieve comprehensive pension coverage across the formal and informal sectors and better protect the interests of beneficiaries and the rights of pension contributors. As such, pension coverage has grown to about 22 percent of the labour force from 12 percent in...

Bill Blocks Pensions, Endowments from Investing in ‘Techno-Totalitarian’ China

For instance, they say divestment from fossil fuels blunts performance and hurt investors, and investment managers should only focus on “pecuniary” factors in their evaluation of a potential position. The GOP has gone so far as to sue to prevent ESG from being implemented in several state pension funds, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy proclaimed that ESG allows investment managers for many workplace retirement plans to “push a political agenda at the expense of retirement savers.” Yet the politicization of the...

República Dominicana. Más de la mitad de las pensiones otorgadas en 2022 fue por discapacidad

En 2001, República Dominicana creó el sistema de pensiones en el cual cada trabajador es propietario de su fondo de retiro. Es decir, es una capitalización individual y obligatoria realizada por el trabajador y empleador cada mes durante su permanencia en el mercado laboral formal para protegerse de la vejez, discapacidad o cesantía por edad avanzada y sobreviviencia. De las 323,692 pensiones otorgadas, el 54.2% fue por discapacidad, es decir, 175,471, y el 45.8% por sobrevivencia, con 148,221, conforme datos de la Oficina Nacional de Estadística (ONE). Según las estadísticas, el...

Panamá. Ricardo Lombana contra las pensiones plenamente solidarias

Un elemento clave para que un sistema de seguridad pueda ser calificado de social es la adhesión del mismo al principio de la solidaridad, el que significa que se trata de una forma institucional basada en la idea de que los riesgos de la vida son compartidos dentro de cada generación y entre las diversas generaciones. Es por esto que el documento aprobado por el Consejo General Universitario de la Universidad de Panamá , que lleva el título de "Seguridad Social y Sistemas de Pensiones...

Colombia. Se destinarán más de $57,4 billones del Presupuesto 2024 para el pago de pensiones

El Gobierno ya radicó ante el Congreso el proyecto de Ley del Presupuesto General de la Nación (PGN) para 2024, que prevé recursos por $502,5 billones. Un rubro relevante dentro del PGN, ad portas de que se reinicie el debate de la reforma pensional en el Congreso, es el de las transferencias para pensiones y asignaciones de retiro. En total, se prevé destinar $57,4 billones para financiar gastos en materia pensional, lo que representa un aumento de 20,3% frente a los recursos...

AFP entran a debate de reforma pensional que se adelanta en el Congreso de Chile

Las AFP (Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones) se suben al debate previsional en el Congreso. Este martes, a las 17:30 horas, están invitados a exponer en la Comisión de Trabajo y Seguridad Social de la Cámara de Diputados la presidenta de la Asociación de AFP, Paulina Yazigi; el presidente de AFP Cuprum, Pedro Atria; su par de AFP Capital, Juan Carlos Chomalí; y los gerentes generales de Habitat y Cuprum, Alejandro Bezanilla y Martín Mujica, respectivamente. A estos invitados se sumará la...

Addressing Disincentive Clauses in Pension Laws

Contributors into the Contributory Pension scheme complain of disincentives in the law guiding the administration of the scheme, especially retirement benefits payment system and call for their review, writes Ebere Nwoji. The news barely a month ago on the passage of the bill for establishment of a police pension board by  the Senate in collaboration with the Federal House of Representatives   no doubt threw the entire pension landscape to a pandemonium. Indeed, there was palpable fear among the pension Fund...

Retirement savers are anxious about inflation and stock-market volatility: survey

More than a third of Americans say they intend to delay their retirement Inflation and stock-market volatility have some retirement savers less confident about reaching their goals, a new survey found. More than six in 10 workers say inflation is an "obstacle to saving for a comfortable retirement," according to a Charles Schwab survey of 401(k) plan participants -- up from 45% who said the same last year. Another four in 10 people say the stock market is an obstacle to...