April 2024
16Apr

Americans think they need almost $1.5 million to retire. Experts say to focus on another number instead

When it comes to retirement, Americans have a new number in mind — $1.46 million — for how much they think they will need to live comfortably, according to new research from Northwestern Mutual. That estimate is up 53% since 2020, when Americans said they would need $951,000, as the cost of living has surged in recent years. It is also up 15% from last year, when respondents said they would need $1.27 million. For many savers, that goal may sound daunting, particularly as...

April 16, 2024
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16Apr

South Africa. The system is offline — Government pension fund goes silent after data breach

The Government Employees Pension Fund’s (GEPF) systems are still down following a data breach from the LockBit ransomware group in mid-February 2024. As a result, government employees cannot log into the GEPF website or its smartphone app, leaving them in the dark about the latest value of their pensions. Several readers have informed MyBroadband of the issues experienced when attempting to access the system in recent weeks. “We are still not able to log into the GEPF website and the cell phone...

April 16, 2024
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15Apr

US. CWA Union Fights Back Against So-Called Pension De-Risking

Before its bankruptcy in 1991, Executive Life Insurance Company accepted transfer contracts from companies to pay their retirees’ pensions instead of the companies defined benefit pension plan. Employers saved money in the transfer because Executive Life offered high interest rates — which were discovered later to be backed by junk bonds – and because their retirees lost Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protection when the companies stopped paying PBGC premiums. Retirees from RJ Reynolds, Pacific Lumber suffered significant cuts in pensions...

April 15, 2024
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15Apr

Why richer, older China needs changes to its social contract

No one likes getting old. The pains and strains of becoming elderly wear on us. The worries about how to ensure we can provide for ourselves in old age looms largest of all, as countries’ birth rates fall Nowhere feels this more acutely than China, where a staggering 300 million peopleminimal or no pensionsmaller families The challenges are multifaceted. The government needs to build out rather than restrict the social safety net of pensions and healthcare for this growing segment of the country’s...

April 15, 2024
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15Apr

U.S. More people are working well past retirement age. It’s not easy

Hope Murray retired in 2013 after a 50-year career that ranged from game show producer to Hollywood party planner to casino executive. She settled into a life of golf, game nights and pickleball in her San Diego community, her daughter living nearby. Then things got more expensive. Gas was nearly $5 a gallon, medication costs were adding up, the grocery bill was increasing. So she downsized, stopped driving as much and waited longer between haircuts. But she could no longer afford some of...

April 15, 2024
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15Apr

Finland intends on cutting pensions

Finance Minister Riikka Purra of Finland has emphasized the necessity of implementing pension cuts as part of the government's efforts to bolster public finances, according to an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, a local newspaper. With the aim of slashing EUR3 billion from the 2025 state budget, discussions surrounding pension reforms have taken center stage in the current political discourse. Purra acknowledged the inevitability of reducing occupational pensions as a component of the government's austerity measures. She highlighted potential strategies such...

April 15, 2024
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12Apr

Peru Passes Bill Allowing for $7 Billion in Pension Withdrawals

Peru’s Congress overwhelmingly approved a bill late Thursday allowing workers to tap their retirement accounts, which authorities estimate could lead to $7 billion in withdrawals. The bill was approved with the vote of 95 lawmakers out of 106 in attendance, despite government opposition. The government could veto the bill, but that is likely only to delay its implementation as congress can easily override it. Lawmakers have repeatedly targeted Peru’s vilified private pension system since the pandemic, saying the system has failed...

April 12, 2024
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12Apr

US. People Are Worried About Retirement Savings, And They Should Be

This week is America Saves Week, a time to focus on actions Americans can take to successfully save. When it comes to saving for retirement, Americans are feeling pessimistic. In a recent nationwide survey of working age Americans, 79% agree that the nation faces a retirement savings crisis, up from 67% in 2020. And more than half of Americans (55%) are concerned that they cannot achieve financial security in retirement. But is this worry about retirement savings warranted? After all, people worry about many things,...

April 12, 2024
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12Apr

UK. TPR finds trustees are taking action on climate risks and opportunities

Pension trustees are acting to address climate risks and opportunities, with more than 60 per cent of pension schemes included in The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) latest review having some form of net-zero goal with a target date of 2050 or earlier. Following the introduction of new climate-related disclosures for schemes with more than £1bn in assets under management in 2022, TPR undertook an analysis of a selection of reports in an effort to help raise standards across the industry. This review...

April 12, 2024
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12Apr

Immigrant Workers Save Aging Economies But Face Financial Struggles In Their Senior Years

Immigrants support the economy of aging societies in many ways. They pay into social pension programs, which finance the lives of retirees. Many of them work in the care industry and directly serve older people, which reduces nursing home needs on a community level. Immigrants themselves also benefit economically from moving to a new country. At every education level, they typically enter the labor market with lower wages than native-born citizens do, but eventually catch up over time. However, my recent study has revealed that things look...

April 12, 2024
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