February 2024
15Feb

Retirement income literacy lacking among older Americans

The American College of Financial Services has unveiled the findings from its 2023 Retirement Income Literacy Study, spotlighting a significant gap in retirement knowledge among older Americans. Drawing from a survey of more than 3,765 individuals ages 50 to 75, the study found a concerning lack of knowledge, with participants garnering an average score of 31% on a retirement literacy quiz. “In the U.S., with the exception of Social Security and the comparatively small number of workers with guaranteed pensions, saving...

February 15, 2024
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15Feb

UK. What can schemes do to close the gender pension gap?

Fundamental changes in society are still needed but the pensions industry appears determined to help close the yawning gap between men and women’s retirement incomes. A Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) report in partnership with NOW: Pensions estimates that a girl would need to start saving towards a pension at three to close the vast gender pensions gap between men and women. The PPI’s report, released earlier this month, revealed how by retirement age (67), women had average pension savings of £69,000 compared to...

February 15, 2024
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14Feb

US. Sustainable investing has bright future, Morningstar exec says

Sustainable investing has a bright future, as younger generations and those with long-term investing goals, such as pension funds, have expressed interest in it, Morningstar Indexes' head of ESG strategy said at the Exchange ETF conference in Miami Beach, Fla., on Feb. 13. "There's no reason to expect systematic underperformance from sustainable investments, and there's some reason to believe you might be able to get some marginal long-term benefits out of it," Morningstar Indexes' Thomas Kuh said at a panel...

February 14, 2024
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14Feb

UK. Less than half of savers review their pensions once a year

Less than half (47 per cent) of pension savers reviewed their pension scheme in the past year, with just under a fifth (18 per cent) regularly reviewing their pension, according to research from Investec Wealth & Investment. The survey found that those aged between 55 and 64 were most likely to review their funds, with nearly two thirds (62 per cent) saying they had reviewed their pensions in the past year, while 27 per cent reviewed them regularly. Many savers are...

February 14, 2024
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14Feb

Ghana. SSNIT supports pensioners’ healthcare with GHC1million

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has presented a cheque for GHS 1 million to the National Pensioners Association’s (NPA) medical scheme. The contribution is in fulfilment of a commitment by SSNIT’s management made in 2017 to prioritise the well-being of pensioners under the SSNIT Scheme in the country. Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, Director-General of SSNIT, speaking at the ceremony in Accra, reaffirmed the Trust’s support for the activities and welfare of the Association. The commitment, he stressed, demonstrated the Trust’s...

February 14, 2024
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14Feb

South Africa. GEPF warns of fake letters with respect to pension payments

By Staff Reporter   Scammers are trying to defraud government workers of their pension money via SMS by encouraging them to resign rather than retire, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has warned. GEPF is the largest pension fund in Africa with more than 1.2 million active members and about 500 000 pensioners and beneficiaries. The fund is responsible for more than R2.3 trillion in assets under its management. GEPF said it was recently made aware of fraudulent letters being sent to its...

February 14, 2024
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14Feb

China wants to build a ‘silver economy’ for its ageing society – but who will keep it running?

Homes for the elderly are businesses like any other. But when Yan Guizhen established her first care facility at the turn of the millennium, she was more interested in providing a necessary service than maximising profit. Yan, 53, now manages six facilities that employ around 100 carers, tending to more than one thousand beds in China’s eastern Shandong province. But her dream to keep those of the older generation safe and comfortable has run into several snags. With China’s population ageing fast,...

February 14, 2024
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13Feb

US Corporate Pension Plans Continue to Improve Funded Status in January

Following a market rally in 2023 that boosted the funded status of corporate defined benefit plans in the U.S., that strength has continued into 2024. According to several pension trackers, the funded status of the plans continued to increase in January. The WTW Pension Index, which tracks the performance and funded status of a hypothetical 60/40 plan, rose to 108.8 in January, up 1.2% from the closing figures from 2023. WTW attributed this performance primarily to a rise in discount rates,...

February 13, 2024
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13Feb

UK. Government urged to end ‘short-term’ approach towards pensions policy

The government should end the cycle of “short-term thinking” and the politicising of pensions policy with the introduction of a long-term savings commission for defined contribution (DC) savers, an industry report has found. The research report - How do you solve a problem like DC pensions? - published today (13 February) by the Lang Cat and commissioned by People's Partnership, conducted a series of interviews with industry figures to establish a consensus view on what the future of the pensions industry may...

February 13, 2024
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13Feb

Vietnam’s workers cash out pensions early ahead of new law

Vietnam is amending its pension laws in an attempt to deter people from abandoning the fund before retirement. Yet in some quarters, the pending change is having the opposite effect. Many workers critical to the world's electronics and clothing supply chains were already taking early payouts to deal with hardships, such as those brought on by the pandemic. Now, more of them are getting jittery after hearing the upcoming law could cut payouts in half, and the communist country is...

February 13, 2024
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