March 2024

Retirement industry shows mixed response to U.K. budget proposals

The U.K. retirement industry has urged caution over announcements in the nation's spring budget statement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, with proposals including the establishment of a unifying "pot for life" and a move to mandate disclosures of how much of a portfolio is invested in the U.K. Hunt confirmed that the U.K. government was to continue with its retirement "pot for life" concept — allowing participants to request that new employers contribute into an existing retirement plan...

Turkish pensioners have become the poorest in Europe

Pensioners in Turkey rank last in the world in terms of income. In terms of quality of life, only India is ahead of them, writes the Turkish publication Sözcü. As the publication notes, since 2018, Turkey has been steadily declining in the world ranking, the so-called "League of pensioners". The League rating covers 44 countries. Moreover, the average pension in Turkey is called such that it is practically impossible to live on, that is, Turkish pensioners lag behind many other...

UK state pension could hit £13,000 ‘in next five years’

The UK state pension could pay out more than £13,000 a year by 2030 if the current triple lock rules remain in place, analysis by AJ Bell has found. Pensioners with a full National Insurance contributions record can currently get £10,600 a year (£203.85 per week). From April, this will rise 8.5% to £11,502 annually (£221.20 a week) in line with the rapid increase in earnings registered last summer. It has led to warnings that some pensioners could be landed with an unexpected tax...

U.S. Centenarians Projected To Quadruple By 2054—Will You Be Prepared?

In 30 years. the number of people reaching age 100 in the U.S. is projected to quadruple, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center. The center projects that by 2054, the U.S. will be the home of 422,000 centenarians, up from 101,000 in 2024. And the percentage of the total population that is age 100 or older will increase from 0.03% today to 0.1% in 2054. The projected increase in super-agers is one sign of the increased health and...

Expert panel: How DC plan members can hedge longevity risk for more effective decumulation

Retiring baby boomers are in an era of decumulation anxiety, as they convert their pension assets into income that they fear won’t hold up over the entirety of their retirement. The decumulation problem is complex for defined contribution pension plan sponsors because it involves transferring lump sum pension assets to retirees who may lack investment expertise and who may not know how to distribute their savings to cover their entire retirement horizon. It’s not obvious how to calibrate between having the desired...

How caregivers are using smart tech to help aging parents

As my mother reached her 90s, although she was relatively healthy and active, I realized that she was starting to experience some physical limitations and memory issues. And while I didn’t live far away, I knew that I needed to find a way to help her live on her own comfortably and safely despite her increased dependence. More traditional technologies, such as wearable alert systems, could only do so much (especially when she refused to wear them). So I...

US. More households are prepared for retirement – but this good news might not last

Even with the improvement, two out of five households are still at risk, according to the National Retirement Risk Index. The release of the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) offers an opportunity to reassess Americans' retirement preparedness as measured by the National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI). The NRRI estimates the share of American households that are at risk of being unable to maintain their preretirement standard of living in retirement. Constructing the NRRI involves three steps: 1) projecting a replacement...

UK. Updated: Risk of ‘unintended consequences’ from DC pension reforms

Plans to force defined contribution (DC) schemes to publicly disclose their level of investment in the UK and improve the performance of poorly performing schemes could risk having “unintended consequences” – causing plans to become more risk averse and potentially “compromising” trustee fiduciary duties. On Saturday (2 March), chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced proposals to require DC funds to disclose their levels of investment in British businesses, as well as their costs and net investment returns. He said they would also need...

Aging Korea needs foreign caregivers: report

South Korea should come up with various measures to attract foreign nationals to work here as care workers, as the country faces a shortage in the sector to care for its rapidly aging society, a report by the Bank of Korea argued, Tuesday. The cost of hiring a care worker at a nursing home or other facilities was estimated at 3.7 million won ($2,775) per month as of last year, according to the report titled “Measures to alleviate the care...

US. Pension Funds Are Tapping Affordable Housing for High Returns — Not the Social Benefits

While affordable multi-family housing has become a key part of some pension funds’ real estate allocations, most of these funds are selecting investments that don’t have long term affordability in mind. This is according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The FRBNY has embarked on a research project to explore investments by institutions, specifically state pension plans, in multifamily housing. This is the second in a series of papers on the subject. The first, “Alternative...