February 2024
08Feb

Kenya. Pension returns trail inflation rate for the second year

Pension contributors are staring at a major erosion of their savings after annual returns on investments in 2023 by pension funds shrunk below the rate of inflation. A periodic pension industry survey done by fund administrator Zamara shows that pension schemes made a weighted average return of 1.4 percent in 2023, which was lower than the 1.7 percent return recorded in 2022. At the same time, Kenya’s average inflation stood at 7.7 percent in 2023, meaning that the average saver lost...

February 8, 2024
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08Feb

US, Asia, Europe face aging populations

The United States, Asian and European countries must prepare for the needs of their aging populations, as there will be 2.1 billion people age 60 and older globally by 2050, the World Health Organization said. More than 82 million Americans will be 65 and older in 26 years, according to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Today, there are 58 million in that category. More Americans are turning 65 this year than at any other time in history — about 4.1 million...

February 8, 2024
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07Feb

Japanese Pension Giant Rebounds in Fiscal Q3

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund rebounded in the third quarter of fiscal 2023, returning 2.62%, after reporting a slight loss the previous quarter, to raise its total asset value to 224.7 trillion yen ($1.51 trillion). For the first three quarters of the fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, the pension giant’s investment portfolio has returned 12%. The investment portfolio returned a total of 5.73 trillion yen for the quarter and 10.45 trillion yen during...

February 7, 2024
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07Feb

Canada. Cost of Living Crunch Impacting Retirement Savings

A new poll commissioned by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) found that 81 percent of people are now more concerned about paying for basic necessities like groceries, rent and their mortgage, than saving for retirement. The poll also found 44 percent said the high cost of living is hindering them from starting to save for retirement. Although individuals and families are living in a difficult economic environment, FSRA is urging consumers to prepare for the future and learn...

February 7, 2024
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07Feb

Money and ageing: South African study shows cash grants help people live longer and have better memory function

Nearly half of South Africa’s 60 million people receive social grants, ranging from child support to pensions. The grants are designed to provide financial assistance to people living in poverty. The largest components of the South African social grant system were introduced, or expanded to include the full population, in the 1990s. Since then, the system has evolved into one of the most comprehensive in the global south. In addition to their direct financial benefits, the grants have been found to have a wide range...

February 7, 2024
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06Feb

Mexico’s president wants to guarantee people pensions equal to their full salaries when they retire

Mexico’s president said Monday he will propose guaranteeing people pensions equal to their full salaries at the time they retire, something done by no other country, not even those much richer than Mexico. It was among a raft of 20 constitutional reforms that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has almost no hope of getting passed in the eight months he has left in office, but which could be part of a bid to attract voters in the June 2 presidential...

February 6, 2024
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06Feb

U.S. Public Pensions Highly Vulnerable to Market Correction

Investment volatility has re-emerged as a key concern for defined benefit public pension plans since the pandemic began, signalling the risk that market corrections can set back progress in stabilizing funded ratios and trigger higher contributions, Fitch Ratings says. Asset values surged in 2021 followed by sharp reversal in 2022 and a rebound in 2023. Based on audits of almost 100 major state pension plans, fiduciary plan assets rose a median of 24.4% in fiscal 2021, then fell 7% yoy...

February 6, 2024
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06Feb

UK’s ageing population prompts calls to push state pension age up to 71

The UK’s ageing population means that the state pension age would need to rise from the current 66 to 70 or 71 to maintain the status quo, research from the International Longevity Centre (ILC) has revealed. The ILC pointed out that most of those countries ranking at the top of its Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index have rapidly ageing populations, which are making it increasingly important for these governments to act to support healthy ageing. In particular, the ILC’s analysis showed,...

February 6, 2024
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06Feb

US. Wisconsin pension holders organize to push investment agency out of fossil fuels

By. ERIK GUNN   A retired technical college teacher in Milwaukee, Anne Steinberg says she appreciates the pension she gets every month and the state agency that manages the pension fund assets. But she also believes the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) could do much better if it made one big change: getting out of any fossil fuel-related investments. “They’re investing for the long term, and we don’t think fossil fuels are good for the long term,” Steinberg says. A few years ago, she and...

February 6, 2024
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02Feb

US. Public Pensions Are Mixing Risky Investments with Unrealistic Predictions

More than 20 million Americans are covered by state and local government pensions. Unlike the 401(k) plans found in the private sector, these “defined benefit” plans promise to pay retirees a set amount of money every month for the rest of their lives. For most public workers, these generous programs are a cornerstone of their financial security; for many, they’re one of the main attractions of government jobs. Yet the plans, by their own reckoning, are underfunded to the tune...

February 2, 2024
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