January 2024
10Jan

Kenya. Auditor General’s Report Reveals Ksh.67B Lost Through Fake Pension Scheme Payments

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has lifted the lid on the Ksh.67 billion loss of public funds through fake payments made to pensioners whose realness is also in question. The performance report by the Auditor General on the fund shows that top civil servants manning the scheme were among others using duplicate IDs to enrol fake claimants, occasioning the loss of taxpayers' money.  Officials in the National Treasury are said to have colluded to defraud the pension fund of billions of shillings...

January 10, 2024
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09Jan

U.S. pension risk transfer sales increased 39% in Q3 2023: report

U.S. pension risk transfer sales increased by 39 per cent during the third quarter of 2023, according to a report by LIMRA. It found single premium buyout sales were US$8.1 billion, 69 per cent lower than this time last year. Year-to-date, buyout sales fell 30 per cent to $28.9 billion compared to 2022. There were 203 buyout contracts in the quarter, a 40 per cent year-over-year increase, and year to date, there were 483 buyout contracts completed, more than double...

January 9, 2024
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09Jan

UK Gov Aids Clients to Balance Pensions

Experts at the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) have been supporting clients as they work towards fully equalising pensions for their members. We have devised a modeller to assist in the process. Legal rulings The issue of guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation dates to May 1990 when the Barber judgment ruled on the matter. This applies to pensions including GMP accrued between 17 May 1990 and 5 April 1997. The 2018 legal case in Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd v Lloyds Bank PLC and others, provided...

January 9, 2024
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09Jan

3M to freeze U.S. pension plans

3M Co., St. Paul, Minn., will freeze its U.S. pension plans for nonunion employees at the end of 2028. The company said pension-eligible nonunion employees will accrue benefits until Dec. 31, 2028, according to a Jan. 8 news release. 3M had closed its primary U.S. pension plan to new hires effective Jan. 1, 2009. The change will affect employees at both 3M and Solventum, the healthcare company that is expected to spin off from 3M in the first half of 2024. "This...

January 9, 2024
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09Jan

The EU Loses About a Million Workers Per Year Due to Aging. Migration Official Urges Legal Options

The European Union’s top official for migration said Monday that member states will have to confront tough policy challenges — even in the current election year – to cope with the continent’s aging population. Ylva Johansson, the EU home affairs commissioner, said there was a pressing need to shift away from illegal migration and find more legitimate alternatives. “For demographic reasons, the population of working age in the EU will decrease by 1 million per year. It is decreasing by 1 million per...

January 9, 2024
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08Jan

UK. PM urged to suspend whip from pensions minister accused of misusing taxpayer funds

Calls have been made for the prime minister to suspend the whip from a minister while claims he used his taxpayer-funded constituency office to campaign for the Conservative party are reviewed. Paul Maynard, the pensions minister, has been referred to an investigator by the parliamentary expenses watchdog over reports that he charged taxpayers when producing political materials. The Sunday Times, which broke the story, also reported that the Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP claimed rent for an office that doubles up...

January 8, 2024
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08Jan

US. How the Gig Economy Is Reshaping Retirement Planning

As many as 50% of Americans have some sort of side gig, whether this is primarily how they make money, or in addition to a regular job. The gig economy, a phenomenon that may have emerged as a response to the high unemployment rates of the 2008-2009 recession, has become a part of American life, and it’s reshaping retirement. While these gigs offer workers more flexibility and variety, they may also come with some downsides, affecting how financially set people are for retirement. Some...

January 8, 2024
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08Jan

Romanian private pension funds’ assets up 31.4% y/y in 2023

Assets held by Romania's seven mandatory private pension funds in 2023 rose 31.4% to 126.7 billion lei ($27.87 billion) while the average yield climbed to a record high 17.94%, the industry's association said on Monday. The European Union member state overhauled its communist-era pension system in 2008, making it compulsory for working Romanians under 35 to contribute to a "second pillar" of private pension schemes as well as their state pension. Roughly 8.1 million Romanians contribute to the seven funds, which...

January 8, 2024
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08Jan

The Four Headwinds of Retirement and How to Combat Them

Dipping your toes in the fresh waters of an exotic beach. Enjoying a gorgeous sunset and your favorite drink as you relax on the back patio. Getting lost in a painting because you have all the time in the world to perfect every brushstroke. Spending more time with family and friends. These are the types of things you dream of indulging in when you retire. You don’t picture worrying about how much money you have in the bank or trying...

January 8, 2024
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05Jan

US. Expect familiar worries for 2024 as pension funds mull economy, interest rates

U.S. pension fund executives are taking a cautious approach to 2024, as they await the answer to how much the economy will slow and when and by how much the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates. While much remains unknown, they are seeking returns in places like fixed income and real estate, where they believe the greatest opportunities loom. There's also the matter of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Christopher Ailman, chief investment officer of the $304.9 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement...

January 5, 2024
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