July 2024
18Jul

Ghana. Editorial: Further engagement required to resolve outstanding issues on pensions

Following SSNIT’s decision to halt the sale of 60 percent of its shares in four hotels, a move leading to the suspension of a planned nationwide strike on Monday, July 15, 2024, Organised Labour has issued a one-month ultimatum for the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to address unresolved issues. Dr. Yaw Baah, Secretary General-Trades Union Congress, speaking on behalf of Organised Labour, called-off the strike action after an emergency meeting of labour union leaders on Monday. Since 2018,...

July 18, 2024
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18Jul

Demographic crisis looms: UN warns S. Korea’s population to halve by 2089

The United Nations predicts South Korea’s population will shrink drastically to 25.85 million in 2089, roughly half its current 51.71 million. According to the UN’s latest population report released on July 17, South Korea’s population, currently at 51.71 million, will decline to 21.85 million by 2100, which is 42% of its present level. The UN forecasts that South Korea’s population will drop to the 40 million range by 2037, the 30 million range by 2060, and the 20 million range by...

July 18, 2024
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18Jul

PensionBee to enter US market

PensionBee Group plc, a prominent online pension provider, has announced the launch of its operations in the United States, the world’s largest Defined Contribution pension market. The move will see them enter the market which accounts for approximately 80% of the global total and boasts $22.5tn in assets. The company’s wholly-owned US subsidiary, PensionBee Inc., is now registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. In May this year, PensionBee entered into a strategic agreement with State Street...

July 18, 2024
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17Jul

US. Rallying Stock Market May Help Public Pensions Reduce Shortfall This Year, Study Finds

KEY TAKEAWAYS State and local government-sponsored employer pension funds are projected to earn a 7.4% market return this year. However, these pension funds still face a long-run funding shortfall of more than $1 trillion, according to a new study by a nonprofit think tank working with the public retirement system. Public pension funds have increased their investments in hedge funds, private capital, and real estate to boost returns. It’s been a good year for pension funds. While public pension funds...

July 17, 2024
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17Jul

UK. The new Labour Government and pensions: the employer perspective

The Pensions & Lifetime Savings team here at Burges Salmon has been closely following the UK’s general election and recently posted this passle on what the pension industry should expect from the new Labour Government. But what are the particular implications for Employers? Ahead of tomorrow’s Kings Speech, which we hope will offer greater clarity on the new Government’s immediate pensions priorities, here are some thoughts on key topics that Employers should be looking out for: The DB Funding Code Scheme funding is of course...

July 17, 2024
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17Jul

Malaysia’s pension fund strengthens sustainable investment with new stewardship policy

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Malaysia’s pension fund, has published the EPF Sustainable Investment Stewardship Policy, becoming the first institutional investor in Malaysia to publish a standalone stewardship policy for sustainable investment. EPF said in a statement on Wednesday that the policy outlines the processes and guidelines the EPF follows to promote good sustainability practices among its investee companies and external fund managers. It said the stewardship undertaking has strengthened the EPF’s commitment to help build a better retirement future for Malaysians...

July 17, 2024
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17Jul

What immigration means for economies as populations get older

Projections by the Census Bureau predict that within 10 years, the number of people 65 and older in the U.S. will be larger than the number of people under 18. Populations getting older is a global trend for the long-industrialized countries — something with sweeping effects on economics, social safety nets and immigration. Marketplace’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell has been looking into this. He spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio and the following is an edited transcript of their conversation. David...

July 17, 2024
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17Jul

UK. CDC benefits may be 50% greater than those offered by DC, says LCP

The expected benefits offered by collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes could be 50% greater than those offered by defined contribution (DC) schemes, research from Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP) finds. The consultancy examined 2,500 simulations looking at a 43-year-old saver beginning a 25-year career, with the assumption of a 12% annual contribution rate. Its analysis compared the expected retirement pension as a proportion of the final salary for a typical CDC scheme and DC scheme and found CDC benefits could...

July 17, 2024
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16Jul

Pensions Have ‘Critical’ Role in Strengthening Public Safety Workforce

For states and municipalities, offering public safety workers a sufficient defined benefit pension benefit is key to maintaining a healthy public safety workforce, according to new research, with a knock-on effect on both public safety and protecting property. For states and cities, offering pension plans to police officers and firefighters—particularly—is critical to sustain a robust public safety workforce to fight fires and maintain public safety, according to a National Institute of Retirement Security paper, “The Role of Defined Benefit Pensions in...

July 16, 2024
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16Jul

How ‘Alternative Investments’ Are Dragging Down Pension Performance

A prominent and well-regarded researcher, himself a founder of a pension consulting firm, recently released a bombshell Social Science Network report that reveals the underperformance of public pensions’ so-called alternative investments in high-fee vehicles such as private equity, private credit, real estate and hedge funds. Using 15 years of data from respected sources, the analysis by Richard Ennis shows a clear trend toward increased allocations to nontraditional investment products and fund-level underperformance relative to common actuarial benchmarks caused by these products’...

July 16, 2024
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