March 2024
12Mar

Japan’s GPIF under spotlight following plans to expand manager pool

In a pivotal moment for Japan’s financial landscape, plans by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)  to widen its scope of asset managers have reverberated through domestic markets. With GPIF president Masataka Miyazono’s announcement at the forefront, the world’s largest pension fund embarks on a strategic journey, challenging traditional selection criteria and signaling a shift in investment strategy as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aims to elevate the standard of the country’s asset owners. Comments by Miyazono, the president of the...

March 12, 2024
News,
Read more...
11Mar

Climate Change Is A Financial Threat To Your Retirement

Climate change has not yet broken through as a bipartisan issue. Surveys from Gallup and the Pew Research Center indicate large gaps between Democrats and Republicans in their views of the immediacy and importance of climate change. Retirement security, on the other hand, is most certainly a bipartisan issue, earning high levels of concern among members of both parties. The National Institute on Retirement Security found that 79% of Americans surveyed agree that we have a retirement crisis, up 12 points since 2020. It might be time...

March 11, 2024
News,
Read more...
11Mar

UK Government ‘continuing to drag its feet’ on women’s pensions

The UK Government has been accused of “continuing to drag its feet” on ensuring women born in the 1950s receive pension equality. Thirty campaigners from the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group were in the public gallery as the issue was raised in the Senedd on March 6. The campaign was launched amid concerns about the way in which women’s state pension age was increased from 60 to 66 in line with men. Millions of women saw their retirement plans plunged...

March 11, 2024
News,
Read more...
11Mar

US. Meet the typical retiree: A married woman in her 70s living on $30,000 a year in Maine or Florida

The majority of America's retirees are married, female, and have just a high school diploma. Retirees in the US have an average income of around $35,000. Florida, New Hampshire, and Main's populations all have a big share of retirees.   Baby boomers are in their retirement era. Of the generation born between 1946 and 1964, per Pew Research, less than 20% of Americans over the age of 65 were employed as of 2023. However, that's more than double the share of...

March 11, 2024
News,
Read more...
11Mar

Thailand raises alarm on aging population, declining birth rates

Thailand officials engaged in discussions last week to exchange opinions, seek solutions, and address the challenges of the country's transitioning into an aging society and the younger generation's reluctance to have children. Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Social Development and Human Security, chaired the workshop on March 7 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The minister highlighted the demographic structure issues, including the declining birth rate and the increasing average lifespan. It is projected that by 2037, the proportion of children...

March 11, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
11Mar

NPC deputy proposes implementing inclusive basic pensions for elderly aged 65 in China

A deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) Zhou Jinbo proposed the implementation of an inclusive basic pension system in China for those aged 65 and above who are not currently receiving a pension, Chinese media outlet thepaper.cn reported on Monday. Zhou suggested establishing an inclusive basic pension system so that those elderly can receive a regular income to meet their basic living needs, and enjoy a dignified life in their twilight years and enhance their sense of achievement and...

March 11, 2024
News,
Read more...
08Mar

Pension Funds Market to Reach $109.1 trillion, Globally, by 2032 at 5.5% CAGR: Allied Market Research

The demographic shifts, regulatory shifts, and the growing emphasis on sustainable and responsible investing, driven by increasing awareness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are expanding the market reach of pension funds. Prime determinants of growth As populations age globally, the demand for pension products rises, compelling funds to adapt their investment strategies for long-term sustainability. Regulatory changes, aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability within the pension industry, push funds to adopt more sophisticated risk management practices. However, economic uncertainties...

March 8, 2024
News,
Read more...
08Mar

The anti-ESG backlash is playing out across the US as pensions and investments become a political football

After years of headlines about the growing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement in investing, ESG has been met with understandable skepticism from taxpayers, who both underwrite state and local government pension plans and government borrowing. After all, if the managers of these operations take their focus off properly balancing risk and return–pursuing ideological investment goals instead–taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of billions in additional liabilities. Yet, that focus must go in both directions. Forcing those...

March 8, 2024
News,
Read more...
08Mar

Aging population to be major driver of future climate-related deaths

Climate change poses profound public health threats to people of all ages. But as the climate changes, the world is facing another public health challenge: aging. The proportion of the world’s population 65 and older is projected to rise from 9% at present to 16% in 2050. As the earth’s temperature becomes more extreme, population aging is expected to substantially amplify future heat- and cold-related deaths, a new study from the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) shows. According to the study, published...

March 8, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
07Mar

U.S. corporate pension surpluses rise in February – 4 reports

U.S. corporate pension plan funding surpluses grew in February thanks to positive returns from growth assets as well as falling liabilities, according to four new reports. Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans reached 109.4% as of Feb. 29, up from 106% a month earlier. "U.S. corporate pension plans have maintained their overfunded status for 14 consecutive months since early 2023," said Ned McGuire, managing director at Wilshire, in a news release March 6. "February's increase in...

March 7, 2024
News, ,
Read more...