January 2024
05Jan

Pension Risk Transfer Growth Fuels UK Insurance Rating

The growing popularity of pension risk transfer deals is behind an “improving” label for the U.K.’s life insurance sector, according to Fitch Ratings. Higher interest rates have led to an increase in the funded status of U.K. pension funds, which in turn has led to an increase in PRT transactions as companies seek to offload their pension liabilities. The increase in PRT transactions is primarily responsible for Fitch’s optimism about the sector in the U.K.; the ratings agency identified a “neutral”...

January 5, 2024
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05Jan

Kenya. State lost Sh67bn in irregular pension payments, audit shows

What you need to know: Sh21 billion was paid to 29,387 claimants with shared bank accounts. Sh44.07 billion was irregularly paid to 221,590 claimants with irregular and no tax PIN. Sh1.62 billion paid in lump sum to 962 claimants before their exit dates from public service. The government lost at least Sh67 billion in irregular payments made by the National Treasury’s pensions department, a recent audit by the Auditor-General revealed. The amount paid to undeserving cases is sufficient to construct enough...

January 5, 2024
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05Jan

China too big to ignore, but policy will dictate growth, investors say

China's growth outlook remains murky but global investors can't afford to ignore the world's second-largest economy, although factors such as domestic policies, geopolitical developments and consumer sentiment will decide its growth trajectory, investment managers said. They also argue that upcoming restrictions by the U.S. and its partners on the flow of certain technologies to China has bifurcated the world scientific community and will hurt the global economy, even as some investors outside of the West, such as the Middle East,...

January 5, 2024
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04Jan

PLSA reveals ‘pensions’ role in UK growth’ as top strategic priority for 2024

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has announced that its top strategic priority for 2024 will be the role that pension schemes can play in supporting the UK economy. Outlining its strategic objectives for the year, the PLSA revealed that it would further develop its recommendations aimed at promoting investment by ‘suitable’ pension schemes in assets that can help drive UK growth, which were published last year. The updated recommendations will aim to ensure the government is equipped to make...

January 4, 2024
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04Jan

Japan retirement trends: job-seeking seniors double in 10 years

The number of people 65 and older looking for work in Japan has more than doubled over the past decade, government employment center data shows, creating the challenge of matching them with the right jobs in a shrinking labor pool. A Hello Work employment center in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district has a counter just for senior citizens. Some need work to supplement their income, but others just want to stay active. "I want to work until I'm 70," said a 66-year-old man who was there to fill out paperwork...

January 4, 2024
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04Jan

Millennials vs. Boomers: Which Generation Is Better Prepared for Retirement?

Many boomers are currently retired or on the cusp of retirement, so it wouldn’t be a far-off guess to assume that boomers are better prepared financially for this phase of life. However, a recent Vanguard study found that millennials are actually better prepared for retirement than baby boomers. The study found that millennials who are median-income earners will be able to generate sustainable retirement income equal to 58% of their pre-retirement earnings, while median-income boomers will be able to generate sustainable retirement income...

January 4, 2024
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04Jan

Female-Specific Aging Trajectories Remain Understudied

Most model organisms don’t match human sex specificity The use of model organisms, such as worms, fruit flies, and mice, has helped researchers to understand many aging processes. However, it is also partly to blame for the lack of data on how pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause impact aging-related diseases. Animal research is based on the premise that those organisms and humans share essential physiological characteristics. While true in many cases, there are tremendous differences between the physiology of model organisms and...

January 4, 2024
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04Jan

China’s population: Beijing urged to build digitally inclusive society, as it seeks insights into technical skills of its elderly

China is seeking to gain more insights into the digital literacy of its elderly population as it attempts to find ways to better accommodate its rapidly ageing demographic in an increasingly intelligent society. New questions on smartphone usage for people aged 60 and above were added to a survey on population changes and the labour force conducted at the end of 2022, and published recently by the National Bureau of Statistics in the 2023 China Population and Employment Statistical Yearbook. They...

January 4, 2024
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03Jan

US. Largest U.S. corporate pension plans’ funding ratio hits 100% – WTW

The largest U.S. corporate pension plans' aggregate funding ratio reached 100% at the end of 2023, according to a new estimate from Willis Towers Watson. The analysis of pension plan data of 358 Fortune 1000 companies with defined benefit plans estimates the ratio increased from 98% at the end of 2022. WTW's estimated pension plan assets totaled $1.19 trillion as of Dec. 31, a decline of 1% from the previous year due to an active year in pension risk transfer transactions...

January 3, 2024
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03Jan

Huge risks for pensions in South Africa

South Africa will have a new two-pot retirement system by September this year, but there are several risks facing members and the industry. As the name suggests, the two-pot retirement system will have two pots – savings and retirement savings. The savings pot will hold a maximum of one-third of all retirement savings and will be accessible prior to retirement. The retirement pot will hold a minimum of two-thirds of all retirement savings and will only be accessible at retirement. A third vested...

January 3, 2024
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