July 2024
30Jul

Ghana’s Constitutional Conundrum: A call for reform

By Joseph Bagah   Ghana’s constitutional framework has been a subject of concern, and a lot of brainstorming has gone on for many years. The practice where Members of Parliament (MPs) play dual roles or serve multiple positions as Ministers has raised questions about whether conflict of interest situations do not arise and the lines between Legislative and Executive blurred. This concentration of power has resulted in a lack of accountability and transparency in governance perpetuating a system where those who...

July 30, 2024
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29Jul

UK. Lifetime annuity rates rise to over 7% in June

Lifetime annuity rates have continued to improve in 2024, rising to 7.08 per cent in June for a healthy 65 year old, according to the Standard Life Annuity Rate Tracker. This is around a 4 per cent increase from the average rate of 6.81 per cent in January and a 2.64 per cent improvement from 6.9 per cent in March. This would add an extra £3,659 to the average total lifetime income for a 65 year old man and £4,059 to...

July 29, 2024
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29Jul

Japanese pension funds tiptoe into moonshot tech investments

Tokyo-based Beyond Next Ventures’ latest startup fund is 56% bigger than its predecessor, thanks to growing interest from the country’s traditionally risk-averse pension funds. Of the ¥25.7 billion ($160 million) the company raised for bets on cutting-edge tech and research startups, 20% came from trustees handling annuities and other long-term investments, according to the company. It’s one of the first signs that a trickle of money from the aging economy’s $$3.3 trillion’ worth of pension assets is going into the...

July 29, 2024
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29Jul

US. The No. 1 enemy of your 401(k) plan may be you

Here's the truth about the portfolio strategy you might be following When the stock market did a face-plant earlier this week, I went and checked some numbers. And I thought: Yep. Like clockwork. Yep: Individual investors have been feeling bullish. Yep: Joe and Jane Q. Public have been pouring money into the stock market - after this year's big run-up. The Investment Company Institute reports a surge of buying of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that invest in U.S. stocks in the...

July 29, 2024
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29Jul

Elderly Germans Face Rising Poverty Threat

Germany is facing a growing concern over the rising number of elderly citizens living in poverty. Recent investigative reports indicate that a staggering 3.2 million pensioners in the country are at risk of economic hardship, a situation worsened by stagnant wages and insufficient pension benefits. As mentioned in reports from the public broadcaster ARD, nearly one in five, or approximately 18.7%, of Germany's pensioners were classified as being at risk of poverty as of 2017. This alarming statistic highlights...

July 29, 2024
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25Jul

UK. ‘Astonishing’ surge in pensioners paying top tax rate

The number of pensioners paying the highest rate of tax has doubled in just a year following a cut in thresholds. More than 100,000 taxpayers over the age of 65 will pay 45p in the pound on their income in the 2023-2024 tax year, projected HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures have revealed. This is up from just 55,000 the year before, according to the data released to The Telegraph under a Freedom of Information request. The number of pension-age taxpayers hit...

July 25, 2024
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25Jul

US. A Philly Small Business Network May Have an Answer to America’s Retirement Crisis

Americans are woefully underprepared for retirement. So it's no surprise that employer-sponsored retirement programs are a high priority for all workers. Fifty-five-year olds in the U.S. currently have median retirement savings of less than $50,000, and two-thirds fear they will outlive their savings, a Prudential report recently revealed. However, only around one-third of small employers offer retirement savings plans, according to Fidelity Investment's 2023 Small Business Retirement Index, which cited time and cost as the biggest barriers small-business owners face in offering retirement benefits. First, employers must pay...

July 25, 2024
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25Jul

Japan to abolish gender-specific survivor’s pension benefits, introduce fixed-term payments

The Japanese welfare ministry is set to revise the survivor's welfare pension for men and women in their 20s to 50s without children, changing it to a five-year fixed-term benefit from the current gender-specific rule where the widow receives the benefit indefinitely if she is 30 or older, while the widower cannot receive payments unless he is 55 or older. The planned adjustment will be made over several decades to ensure that current recipients won't face a disadvantage. The ministry...

July 25, 2024
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25Jul

U.S. states are ordering their pension funds to sell their China investments

As state treasurer, Vivek Malek pushed Missouri’s main retirement system to pull its investments from Chinese companies, making Missouri among the first nationally to do so. Now Malek is touting the Chinese divestment as he seeks reelection in an Aug. 6 Republican primary against challengers who also are denouncing financial connections to China. The Missouri treasurer’s race highlights a new facet of opposition to China, which has been cast as a top threat to the U.S. by many candidates seeking...

July 25, 2024
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25Jul

UK. Pension confidence surges following General Election

Brits’ confidence in their retirement prospects continues to rise, according to PensionBee’s latest Pension Confidence Index. The Pension Confidence Indicator score surged to +30 immediately following the General Election, up from +22 in March 2024. This was also significantly higher than -10 in December 2023 and -9 in September 2023. For those under 55, positive pension sentiment increased significantly, from 39% in March 2024 to 50% in July 2024. The top reasons for feeling positive were: ‘my employer contributions are relatively good’ (45%);...

July 25, 2024
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