May 2024
16May

U.K. needs more favorable policies to retain leading status in sustainable finance — UKSIF report

After years of being a trailblazer in sustainable finance, the U.K.’s position is under threat amid stalled policy and a lack of certainty over regulation. Research by the U.K. Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, known as UKSIF, showed that more favorable policies could see up to £100 billion ($125.5 billion) in assets shifting into U.K. sustainable finance. The U.K. remains the top market for sustainable finance activity among 83% of those surveyed — but a clear direction of travel away...

May 16, 2024
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16May

S. Korea’s retirement pension funds post double-digit growth in 2023

South Korea's retirement pension funds posted a double-digit growth last year amid the higher return on investment, government data showed Thursday. Corporate retirement pension funds under management grew 13.8 percent over the year to 382.4 trillion won (283.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, according to joint data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. For the past five years, the retirement pension funds doubled from 190 trillion won (141.1 billion dollars) in 2018. The funds' annual...

May 16, 2024
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16May

Up to 246 million older people may be exposed to heat risk by 2050 due to global warming

By Bob Yirka   A team of Earth and environmental scientists at the CMCC Foundation–Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, working with a pair of colleagues from Boston University, has found evidence suggesting that as many as 246 million people around the globe may be at risk of heat exposure by 2050 due to global warming and an aging population. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes how they used climate models to assess global hotspots and compared them with population projections for...

May 16, 2024
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16May

Swiss to vote on pension reform and biodiversity in September

A referendum against a reform of the so-called second pillar of the Swiss pension system, launched at the end of March 2023 by leftwing parties and unions, collected over 141,000 signatures, almost three times more than necessary. The reform provides for a reduction in the pension conversion rate from 6.8% to 6%, which is necessary due to rising life expectancy. The capital built up in an occupational pension scheme during professional activity is set to result in a smaller annuity. +...

May 16, 2024
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16May

Centenarians Are on the Rise: How Living Longer Will Affect Society’s Economics

By JayDee Vykoukal   According to a Pew Research Center analysis of United States Census Bureau data, the number of Americans aged 100 and older is expected to more than quadruple over the next three decades. The population is projected to reach 422,000 in 2054, up from an estimated 101,000 in 2024. These centenarians aren’t the only aging demographic on the rise. The 2020 U.S. Census count found one in six Americans is over 65, compared to less than 1 in 20 in 1920. Older...

May 16, 2024
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15May

US Corporate Pension Funding Mixed on Stock Declines

Changes to the average funded status of the largest U.S. corporate defined benefit plans were mixed in April as lower stock returns weighed on the positive effect of higher interest rates, according to monthly pension trackers from some of the country’s largest pension consultancies. The mixed results come off all-time highs booked in March. Meanwhile, pension fund investors are on interest rate watch, with the Federal Reserve still expected to cut rates later this year depending on how inflation, employment and...

May 15, 2024
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15May

UK. Pension Protection Fund 7800 index shows April increase for surplus, funding ratio

The total surplus of U.K. corporate pension funds covered by the Pension Protection Fund 7800 index increased 0.6% to £458.3 billion ($570.5 billion) at the end of April, coupled with an increase in funding ratio. The funding ratio was 148.8% at the end of April, compared to 146.5% at the end of March this year. Of the 5,050 plans in the PPF 7800 Index, there were 505 plans in deficit and 4,545 in surplus. Shalin Bhagwan, chief actuary at the Pension...

May 15, 2024
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15May

Pension Reform in Lebanon: Good Intentions, Uncertain Outcomes

By Haneen Sayed, David Robalino, Ibrahim Muhanna   The passing of Pension Law 319 by Lebanon’s Parliament in December 2023 was a milestone. For decades, the vast majority of the Lebanese people have lived with little or no income security in their old age, a situation that has worsened since the economic-financial crisis that began in 2019. Approximately 80 percent of the Lebanese population has no formal pension coverage, which forces elderly people to rely on family or other types of informal support. Rapid...

May 15, 2024
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15May

Google Cloud Accidentally Deletes Australian Superannuation Fund’s Data

The Australian superannuation fund UniSuper had its private cloud data deleted accidentally earlier this month, disrupting the fund’s services for the past couple of weeks. A configuration problem caused Google Cloud to delete UniSuper’s account. UniSuper, which has AUD 125 billion ($82.73 billion) in assets serving more than 615,000 beneficiaries, is working with Google Cloud to restore and backup the fund’s data. UniSuper said in a statement that it had backups of its data with a separate provider. UniSuper’s systems...

May 15, 2024
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15May

Retirement Planning: Does It Make Sense to Plan to Age 95?

BY  TED GODBOUT   A new report out this week provides an interesting take on whether it makes sense for retirees and near-retirees to base their retirement planning under the industry-wide assumption that they will live to age 95. Instead of simply using age as a factor in determining how much to save and spend for purposes of retirement planning, the report by HealthView Services examines the financial impact for clients of planning to age 95 versus beginning the discussion using actuarial...

May 15, 2024
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