July 2024
23Jul

UK government announces ‘landmark’ pensions review

The UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has announced a landmark pensions review as part of the new government’s mission to “boost growth and make every part of Britain better off”. Labour had promised to launch the pensions review as part of its manifesto prior to the UK’s general election and the industry has been awaiting this announcement since Labour’s landslide win earlier this month. Under plans unveiled by the new chancellor this weekend, billions of pounds of investment could be unlocked in...

July 23, 2024
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23Jul

U.S. public pension funds earn 10-year median return of 15.2% from private equity

Private equity produced a median annualized return of 15.2% over 10 years for U.S. public pension funds, according to a report by the American Investment Council, a private equity manager trade group. The AIC report examines the private equity investments of 200 U.S. public pension funds for the years December 2021 to December 2023, with most dates as of June 30, 2023. The U.S. public pension fund earning the highest private equity return was the $6.4 billion Vermont State Retirement Systems, with...

July 23, 2024
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23Jul

French leftists announce legislative steps to scrap Macron’s pension reform

-The leftist France Unbowed party announced legislative steps on Tuesday to try to scrap French President Emmanuel Macron's pension changes and reverse a rise in the legal retirement age to 64 from 62. The right-wing National Rally (RN) quickly offered its support for the legislation proposed by France Unbowed (LFI), potentially boosting its chances of winning parliamentary approval. Cancelling the pension reform, signed into law last year and aimed at protecting state finances and boosting productivity, is a key goal of...

July 23, 2024
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23Jul

How Gen X Can Catch Up on Retirement Savings

Generation X—the cohort of people born between 1965 and 1980—is now squarely in middle age. This phase often brings worries about aging, mortality, and a general decline in overall life satisfaction. Retirement preparedness is another major worry. Based on BlackRock’s 2024 Read on Retirement report, only 60% of survey respondents in this generation believe they’re on track to retire with the lifestyle they want, compared with 77% for Generation Z, 72% for millennials, and 68% for baby boomers. Another survey from Transamerica puts some additional context...

July 23, 2024
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22Jul

Blackstone joins KKR and BlackRock in Mexico private equity fundraising

Blackstone Group has raised $695 million (523.62 million pounds) from Mexican pension funds for its first two local private equity funds, filings showed, joining Black Rock and KKR & Co in expanding in Mexico following regulatory changes. Several of the world's top private equity managers have quietly raised billions of dollars from Mexican pension funds, known as afores, since new rules were enacted early last year, filings to the Mexican Stock Exchange and a non-public document reviewed by Reuters showed....

July 22, 2024
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22Jul

How U.S. pension funds help Putin’s gas gambit

Russia needs to ramp up liquefied natural gas exports to replenish Kremlin coffers and fund its war in Ukraine. Western pension funds may inadvertently be lending a hand. Data compiled by investigative consultancy Data Desk and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective show that public retirement funds, including those managed by the states of Washington, New York and California, have indirectly invested in the specialized ice-class carriers serving Russia’s Yamal LNG — the country’s largest active gas export terminal and a vital...

July 22, 2024
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22Jul

Exiled pro-democracy Hong Kong activists blocked from accessing pensions

Two exiled pro-democracy Hong Kong activists have been blocked from accessing their pensions, depriving them of tens of thousands of US dollars of their savings and raising questions about the complicity of western financial institutions in the persecution of Chinese government critics. Assets, including pension savings, belonging to Ted Hui, a former pro-democracy legislator who is now based in Australia, were frozen shortly after he fled from Hong Kong in December 2020. The assets are held by HSBC, a British bank. HSBC briefly unfroze Hui’s...

July 22, 2024
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22Jul

Overcoming political short-termism in Latin America

Long before he became a leading theologian, Saint Augustine famously appealed to God: “Lord, grant me chastity and continence – but not yet.” It is an entreaty one can imagine governments in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) uttering. They know that their policymaking and planning must become more consistent and predictable. They recognize that their failure to implement lasting, credible reforms in areas ranging from taxation to pensions to education discourages investment and contributes to some of the world’s...

July 22, 2024
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22Jul

China to allow delayed retirement to combat population woes

 China will gradually raise its statutory retirement age, now among the world's lowest, to allow people to work longer, as it struggles to relieve soaring pressure on pension budgets, with many provinces already facing deficits. The reform is urgent, with life expectancy having risen in China to 78 years by 2021 from about 44 years in 1960, outstripping the United States, and is projected to exceed 80 years by 2050.   Sunday's announcement came in a key policy document that also rolled...

July 22, 2024
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22Jul

South Africa. Key two-pot bill signed into law

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Pension Funds Amendment Bill that is key for the implementation of the two-pot retirement system, which takes effect on September 1. The signature into law of the bill gives legal certainty to the retirement industry, which has been implementing the necessary changes. The new system will provide members of retirement funds with the ability to access part of their retirement savings without having to resign or cash out their pension funds. The new...

July 22, 2024
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