July 2024
08Jul

Empowering India’s Gig Workers: The Need for Comprehensive Legislation

In the bustling streets of India's cities, where the hum of traffic meets the aroma of street food, a new workforce is silently shaping the future. These are the gig workers  the delivery drivers rushing through narrow lanes to bring you a warm meal, the freelance coders burning the midnight oil to meet a deadline, and the rideshare drivers ensuring you reach your destination safely. They are the backbone of a rapidly growing digital economy, offering flexibility and convenience...

July 8, 2024
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08Jul

America’s pension system gets C+ rating, falling behind other countries

America’s pension system is failing to make the grade, according to a recent report from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. “The United States’ pension system consistently ranks below other comparable countries, getting a barely passing grade of C+ in both the 2022 and 2023 Melbourne Mercer Pension Index rankings,” according to SCEPA. Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands each scored grades of B+ or higher. The difference between the United States and those other countries is that mandatory contributions and simple pension management...

July 8, 2024
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05Jul

Japan’s GPIF Loses Status as World’s Biggest Pension Fund

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund was dethroned as the world’s biggest pool of retirement savings as a depreciating yen eroded the value of its assets in dollar terms. The fund posted a record gain for the three months through March, generating a 9.5% return, but the yen’s slump to a 38-year low against the greenback was deep enough to put the value of its assets below that of Norway’s wealth fund in dollar terms.     Government Pension Investment Fund, Tokyo, posted a...

July 5, 2024
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05Jul

Judge throws out anti-ESG lawsuit against New York City pension funds

A New York state judge has thrown out a lawsuit against three of the five pensions funds in the $264.3 billion NYC Retirement System, saying New York State Supreme Court Judge Andrea Masley ruled July 2 that she dismissed the complaint because “plaintiffs here have not, and will not, suffer any monetary losses based upon defendants’ investment decisions.” Plaintiffs contended the pension funds' investment decisions would impair their ability to provide long-term benefits for retirees, an allegation Masley wrote was “speculative.” The judge supported...

July 5, 2024
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05Jul

Pensions industry awaits review as Labour wins UK election

After a landslide election win last night, the UK will be looking to Labour to advance key priorities within the pensions industry, including a promise to “review the current state of the pensions and retirement savings landscape”, as per the party’s manifesto. Morten Nilsson, chief executive officer of Brightwell (former BT Pension Scheme Management, the asset management arm of the UK’s largest corporate defined benefit pension scheme), said: “A top priority for the new Labour government will be getting the planned pensions review under way.” He...

July 5, 2024
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04Jul

United States: US court vacates the SEC Private Fund Adviser rule

On 5 June 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the Private Fund Adviser rule (“Rule“) in its entirety on the grounds that the SEC, in enacting the Rule, had exceeded its statutory authority. The Rule was adopted by the SEC in August 2023 and would have fundamentally changed the regulatory landscape for private equity funds and their investors. The outcome was somewhat unexpected as in oral arguments the petitioners only directly challenged three...

July 4, 2024
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04Jul

UK. Election 2024 manifestos: Parties’ pledges on disability, PIP, pensions and workers’ benefits

The party vows to reform disability benefits so they are “better targeted” and improve PIP assessments to make it more specific to someone’s need – following a consultation. The party wants to stop the number of claims from rising and argues people with mental health issues, for example, may not need as much financial support as someone with a physical disability. Labour Labour would work with councils to help match up disabled people, or those with health conditions, with jobs as...

July 4, 2024
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04Jul

Pakistan. Govt Employees Pension Updates: Government Implements Sweeping Pension Reforms

The Pakistani government has announced major reforms to its pension system, aimed at addressing the rising costs and ensuring long-term sustainability. These changes, effective from July 2024, follow recommendations from the Pay and Pension Commission of 2020 and introduce new regulations to streamline pension payments. Key aspects of the reforms include: Gross Pension Calculation: The gross pension amount will now calculated as 70% of the average salary over the last 24 months of service before retirement, ensuring a fair basis...

July 4, 2024
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04Jul

South Africa. Pension fund members hope to pay off debt from two-pot retirement withdrawals

Pension fund members hope to pay off some debts from their two-pot retirement system withdrawals as financial pressures force 50% of consumers to cash in their retirement funds in an environment where even high-income consumers are failing to pay their home loans. And if they use money from Peter to pay Paul, they will also have to pay the tax man. According to Sanlam Benchmark research that will be revealed next week, Sanlam found in 2022 that just 31% of...

July 4, 2024
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03Jul

Nearly 24 million UK adults have poor financial literacy

Some 23.3mn UK adults have poor financial literacy making them £20,000 worse off compared to those with good financial literacy. The data comes from Abrdn’s first release of its ‘Savings Ladder index’ which gauges financial literacy levels in the UK. Abrdn asked respondents the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Centre’s ‘Big 3’ financial literacy questions and found that 20 per cent could not correctly answer any of the questions asked of them, while a quarter could only answer one. According to Abrdn, those...

July 3, 2024
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