April 2024

Rwanda. Retirees’ body appeals for matching pension with cost of living

Pension should be matched with the cost of living to address situations such as when retirees’ welfare deteriorates due to increases in prices at the market, and franc depreciation, the president of Rwanda Pensioners’ Association, Dorothée Uwimana, told The New Times on April 1. She was referring to the fact that some retirees get as low as Rwf20,000 in pension benefits – with Rwf13,000 as the smallest pension – per month, which she said was too little to help...

Amex freezes pension payouts for thousands of Brits for tenth year

American Express has sparked criticism for freezing pension payments for thousands of former British employees for the tenth year in a row. The US payment cards giant said in a letter to UK pension fund members on 22 March that it had considered the case for a discretionary increase in payouts and decided against it. Campaigners have said they have suffered a 30 per cent drop in the value of their pensions over the past decade when adjusted for inflation. During this period Amex has...

UK. DWP State Pension update for women in their 60s and 70s due around £5,000

The Treasury recently confirmed that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) started writing to older people whose National Insurance (NI) records may be affected by missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) in September 2023, inviting them to apply to fill potential gaps to ensure they receive the correct amount of State Pension. Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Huddleston MP also told the Commons that HMRC is working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to find people affected...

Portugal. Automatic Pension Scheme to be Approved

Heather Humphreys, the minister for social protection, has outlined her plan to implement the much-anticipated pension auto-enrolment programme for workers. Under the plan, businesses would match employee contributions with an additional €3, meaning that the State will contribute €1 for every €3 an employee contributes to their pension account. Workers between the ages of 23 and 60 who are not currently registered in a pension plan will be enrolled automatically. There will be a clause in the law allowing employees...

Luxembourg: EU Blue Card: New Increased Thresholds For Minimum Salary

A recent regulatory update may impact your strategy for recruiting international talent. On 20 March 2024, the regulation of 15 March 2024 setting the gross average annual salary needed to calculate the minimum salary level for a highly qualified worker 1 was published in mémorial A123 (the "Regulation"). It adjusts the annual threshold for the minimum salary required for highly qualified third-country workers who want to work in Luxembourg with an EU Blue Card. Key points From an immigration perspective, third-country...

Kenya. Treasury to spend Sh255 million on increasing pension coverage

The Treasury has lined up a series of reforms to the country’s retirement benefits policy to boost access for informal, diaspora, and short-term workers, which are set to cost up to Sh255 million by December next year. In Kenya, an estimated 3.5 million people, or 25 percent of the workforce, are covered by retirement benefit schemes, according to the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), meaning the majority of Kenyans will retire poor. The new measures outlined in the newly published National...

March 2024

US. Group of senators urge finalization of DOL fiduciary rule

Nine senators urged the Labor Department and Office of Management and Budget to quickly finalize the DOL’s proposed rule amending the definition of a fiduciary. The Labor Department proposed the Retirement Security Rule, commonly referred to as the fiduciary rule, in late October. The rule would make changes to the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under ERISA, causing one-time advice, such as rollovers, to fall under the fiduciary definition if other conditions are met. “The proposed rule ensures that every...

UK. Data shows public concern about pensions adequacy and climate change

Most of the public want the government to do more to address pensions adequacy and to ensure the industry is tackling the climate crisis, research from ShareAction, Make My Money Matter and Finance Innovation Lab finds. The research from the responsible investment organisations – which polled 2,000 UK adults this month – found three quarters (77%) of the public were concerned about adequacy, while two thirds (65%) wanted the pensions industry to address climate change. As part of its work, the group put...

Kenya. Treasury Unveils New Retirement Policy With Enhanced Benefits

The government wants to revise the pensions scheme to enable Kenyans save for a retirement home and pay for medical care after retirement. According to the draft National Retirement Benefits Policy released by the National Treasury, a significant number of Kenyans are facing challenges in accessing housing and healthcare services after retirement. The Treasury pointed out that numerous retirement plans did not allow individuals to save for the two primary needs that make up a significant portion of expenses for Kenyans...

Surge in China personal pension accounts, contributions lag

The number of personal pension fund accounts surged last year, but the scheme designed to shore up China’s pension system remained hamstrung by low contributions and a lack of investment, reports Caixin. More than 50 million people had set up personal pension accounts as of the end of last year, Zhai Yanli, director-general of the Social Insurance Management Center at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said Wednesday at an industry conference in Beijing. The number was up from...