September 2024
17Sep

US. State pension funds significantly beat expected investment returns

The Kentucky Public Pensions Authority (KPPA) announced the average composite return for assets under management was 10.7% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, while insurance trust assets under management earned 11.4%.  All pension and insurance portfolios returned significantly more than their actuarial assumed rates of return, which are 6.5% for all County Employees Retirement System (CERS) pension and insurance portfolios and the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) and State Police Retirement System (SPRS) insurance trusts, 6.25% for the KERS Hazardous...

September 17, 2024
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17Sep

Vow of austerity sets up showdown over 2025 Argentina budget

President Javier Milei of Argentina presented the 2025 budget to Congress late Sunday, outlining policy priorities that reflected his pledge to kill the country’s chronic fiscal deficit and signalled a new phase of confrontation with lawmakers. In an unprecedented move, Milei personally pitched the budget to Congress instead of his economy minister, lambasting Argentina’s history of macroeconomic mismanagement and promising to veto anything that compromised his idea of tight fiscal policy. The president’s budget proposal followed a week of political clashes...

September 17, 2024
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17Sep

Australia. Govt unveils legacy pension exit plan

The federal government has announced plans to allow people to exit legacy pensions over a five-year period by relaxing commutation restrictions and allocating reserves to SMSF members where those funds supported an income stream to that member. The proposed changes have been released for consultation and are contained within the draft Treasury Laws Amendment (Self-managed superannuation funds – legacy retirement product conversions and reserves) Regulations 2024 published today by Treasury. The explanatory statement to the regulations published by Treasury and Financial...

September 17, 2024
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17Sep

US. Optimism about Retirement Preparedness Growing

Headlines to the contrary, a recent survey found that confidence is growing among American employees concerning their ability to meet their long-term financial and retirement goals. According to the fourth annual Protected Retirement survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute, more than 6 in 10 (65%) workers say they are on the right track when it comes to financial preparedness for retirement. This figure rises to 71% for those aged 22-34 years old, which is a 15-point increase from 2023. This improvement,...

September 17, 2024
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17Sep

Precarity trap: Gig economy failing Asia’s youth

Precarious employment among youth in the Asia-Pacific region has become an increasingly urgent issue, with a growing number of young people trapped in temporary jobs without social security or long-term contracts. According to the International Labor Organization’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 report, over 28% of youth in Southeast Asia and the Pacific were engaged in temporary employment that lacked financial security and social protections in 2023. This situation not only undermines the financial stability of individuals but also has...

September 17, 2024
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13Sep

Improving Job Quality in Latin America: A Long Road Ahead

Job opportunities exist in Latin America and the Caribbean, but the quality of employment remains a significant challenge. According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), urgent measures are needed to ensure workers can escape poverty and enjoy social protection. Latin America and the Caribbean face a persistent issue: while many people are employed, the quality of those jobs leaves much to be desired. According to the 2024 Better Jobs Index from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the region’s employment quality scores...

September 13, 2024
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13Sep

UK. Pensions and private capital leaders propose solutions to boost private markets investment

The government should use the upcoming value for money framework to help pension schemes shift their focus from short-term considerations to long-term returns in defined contribution (DC) pensions, leaders from the pensions and private capital industry have said. The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA)-led group advocated for this approach as data had demonstrated that private capital funds generate the highest average returns compared to alternative UK assets. In particular, BVCA analysis revealed that, since 2001, investors in private...

September 13, 2024
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13Sep

South Africa. Over 63,000 government employees dip into their two-pot retirement funds, says GPAA

The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) has confirmed that that more than 60,000 public sector employees have made applications to make withdrawals from their savings pot of the two-pot retirement system. According to the GPAA, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEFP) has received a little under 63,000 two-pot retirement system applications since September 1, 2024. In terms of two-pot retirement system enquiries, the GPAA said it has received a high number of applications from its members, which include teachers, nurses, police officers and other...

September 13, 2024
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12Sep

IBM completes $6 billion pension buyout with Prudential, its second in 2 years

International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, N.Y., purchased a group annuity contract from Prudential Insurance Co. of America to transfer $6 billion in defined benefit plan liabilities. The purchase of the contract, which closed Sept. 11, transfers the benefit-paying responsibility for about 32,000 retirees and beneficiaries covered by the IBM Personal Pension Plan, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC. According to the filing, the transferred participants represent “certain pension benefits that began to be paid prior to 2016.” Prudential will take on the...

September 12, 2024
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12Sep

UK retirement security reaches record high in GRI

Retirement security in the UK has improved over the past year and reached a record-high position of 14th place on the Natixis Investment Managers (IM) Global Retirement Index (GRI), the firm has revealed. The UK rose two places in the index over the past year, outperforming France, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, with the improvement driven by increases in health spending per capita. Overall, the UK scored 74 per cent on its retirement security, up from 67 per cent and...

September 12, 2024
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