News Archives - Page 102 of 736 - Pension Policy International

05MayMay 5, 2023

US. Auto-Enrollment Gains in Popularity Among Retirement Plan Participants

Automatic enrollment, one of many retirement saving tactics expected to increase in frequency due to the passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, are favored at an all-time high, new data from American Century shows. Among retirement plan participants surveyed in late 2022, 71% agreed employers should auto-enroll workers at a 10% default, compared with 47% in 2021 and 46% in 2020, according to the American Century Investments 10th Annual Retirement Savers Survey: Reflection, Risk and Resolve. While survey respondents...

May 5, 2023

NewsAuto enrollment, savings, US

05MayMay 5, 2023

Swedish watchdog to scrutinize Alecta over U.S. bank investments

Sweden's financial watchdog will investigate Stockholm-based pension fund Alecta's risk management in the wake of its investments in collapsed U.S. banks. Finansinspektionen, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Sweden, will in particular investigate how Alecta measures risks in various investments, the watchdog said in a notice Thursday. The starting point for its investigation is the 1.12 trillion Swedish kronor ($108.4 billion) pension fund's investments in Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank and Signature Bank. The pension fund had a total 12 billion...

May 5, 2023

NewsInvestment, Regulation, Sweden

05MayMay 5, 2023

Pensioners in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria are among the poorest globally- report

A new report by Allianz, an international financial services provider, has revealed that retirees in several African countries are among the poorest globally. The report, which surveyed 75 countries, including five in Africa, cites an ineffective pension system and a lack of adequate retirement benefits as the major reasons for the alarming trend. In Egypt, for instance, the report notes that the gross benefit level is merely 18 per cent, leaving many senior citizens struggling to make ends meet. Similarly,...

May 5, 2023

NewsAdequacy, Africa, Income

05MayMay 5, 2023

US. PBGC Bails Out Service, Manufacturing, Transportation Pension Funds

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. on Monday provided Special Financial Assistance totaling more than $600 million to three multiemployer plans. The plans are the Western States Office and Professional Employees Pension Plan, the United Furniture Workers Pension Fund A and the Building Material Drivers Local 436 Pension Plan. The Western States plan, based in Portland, Oregon, has 7,230 participants in the service industry. In October 2018, it cut benefits by 25% to approximately 6,000 participants under the Multiemployer Pension Reform...

May 5, 2023

NewsPension Management, System sustainability, US

04MayMay 4, 2023

U.S. Corporate pension plans stay at or near 100% funded in April

U.S. corporate pension plans remained at or near 100% funded in April after slightly positive returns and slightly falling discount rates kept the numbers from moving too much, according to three new monthly reports. Legal & General Investment Management America estimated the average funding ratio of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan was 100.5% as of April 30, up from 100.3% a month earlier. In its latest monthly Pension Solutions Monitor, LGIMA said the estimated average funding ratio rose in April...

May 4, 2023

NewsFunding, Public Pensions, US

04MayMay 4, 2023

U.K. Pension funds plan more infrastructure investments

A majority of U.K. pension funds (62%) expect to increase investment in British infrastructure over the next 12 months and prioritize it over overseas markets, according to a survey conducted for alternative investment fund GLIL Infrastructure. GLIL is a partnership of U.K. pension funds managed by Local Pensions Partnership Investments. The survey of executives at 300 pension funds, including private and local government funds, was conducted by Censuswide for GLIL Infrastructure in February. It found that for 36% of respondents, the...

May 4, 2023

NewsInvestment, UK

04MayMay 4, 2023

Ghana. Govt urged to establish Financial Literacy Education Secretariat

The government has been urged to establish a Financial Literacy Education Secretariat to continuously educate the public on financial literacy issues. This proposal is contained in Ghana Financial Literacy Strategy (2021-2025), which was prepared by Asamoah and Williams Consulting and Trans-media Network as part of the Financial Literacy Education Project (FLEP) under the Ghana Financial Sector Development Project (GFSDP), funded by the World Bank. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asamoah and Williams Consulting, Mr Mawuko Williams, who made the call...

May 4, 2023

NewsFinancial Literacy, Ghana

04MayMay 4, 2023

Studies on Aging and Late-Life Functioning Given Policy Impact Award

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) have been awarded the 2023 Policy Impact Award by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). According to AAPOR, the award recognizes "outstanding research that has had a clear impact on improving policy decisions, practice and discourse, either in the public or private sectors." NHATS is designed to support policy-relevant demographic research investigating trends, trajectories, and consequences of late-life disability for individuals and families. NHATS...

May 4, 2023

NewsAging

04MayMay 4, 2023

Pensions and the metaverse

The metaverse offers pensions schemes exciting new opportunities. It could provide new ways for members to engage with their pension schemes, the way their funds are invested, and their retirement options. Better engagement should lead to better decision making and outcomes for pension scheme members, but low levels of engagement and understanding, particularly younger members, is a persistent issue for the pensions industry. Recent UK Government research found that attitudes to pensions were ‘characterised by detachment, fear and complacency’. Reducing feelings of...

May 4, 2023

NewsEngagement, Innovation

03MayMay 3, 2023

US. DeSantis signs anti-ESG bill one day after state clean-energy investment

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate, signed a bill Tuesday he touted as the latest salvo in his war against ESG investing, one day after the state's investment office announced a significant investment in clean energy. The law requires the Florida State Board of Administration, Tallahassee, to make investment decisions based "solely on pecuniary factors" and not include environmental, social and governance considerations. The board, which consists of Mr. DeSantis, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, and...

May 3, 2023

NewsESG, Investment, Pension Management, US

May 2023