January 2024
12Jan

Solving Vietnam’s social protection sustainability problem

As an economy develops, economic policy and social policy tend to overlap. Reports of long queues of people in Ho Chi Minh City withdrawing their social insurance contributions after losing their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic is an example. Workers in the formal sector viewed their contributions to a retirement income insurance scheme — known generally as ‘social insurance’ — as their savings to be drawn upon in hard times. This helped boost demand and enhanced short-term macroeconomic management. Yet...

January 12, 2024
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11Jan

Most US Public Pension Funds Are Distressed, per Equable Report

Most state and municipal public pension funds are distressed or fragile, with funded ratios of less than 90%, according to the Equable Institute’s State of Pensions 2023 report, a year-end update. The report used the last reported data available from public pension funds. The report noted that at least 33 funds have not released year-end fiscal 2022 data. The report tracked 232 pension funds in the U.S. “Funding improvement in 2023 is both welcome and disappointing,” said the Equable Institute’s executive...

January 11, 2024
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11Jan

UK. ‘Drive to reach net zero’ top reason for pension investment in renewable energy

The pursuit of reaching net-zero carbon emissions is the top reason for pension investment in renewable energy, according to research by AlphaReal. When asking UK pension schemes and insurers to select the three main environmental, social and governance (ESG) drivers for investing in renewable energy, almost three-quarters (72 per cent) included ‘measurable targets and benefits including achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050’ in their top three. Climate risk mitigation was the second biggest ESG driver for pension schemes and insurers, chosen...

January 11, 2024
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11Jan

China Is Fast Losing Its Place as Must-Have in Global Portfolios

Years of harrowing losses have left Chinese stocks with a diminished standing in global portfolios, a trend that’s likely to accelerate as some of the world’s biggest funds distance themselves from the risk-ridden market. An analysis of filings by 14 US pension funds with investments in Chinese stocks show most of them have reduced their holdings since 2020. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System and New York State Common Retirement Fund, among the nation’s biggest pension investors, cut their exposure...

January 11, 2024
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10Jan

U.S. centenarian population is projected to quadruple over the next 30 years

The number of Americans ages 100 and older is projected to more than quadruple over the next three decades, from an estimated 101,000 in 2024 to about 422,000 in 2054, according to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. Centenarians currently make up just 0.03% of the overall U.S. population, and they are expected to reach 0.1% in 2054. The number of centenarians in the United States has steadily ticked up since 1950, when the Census Bureau estimates there were just...

January 10, 2024
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10Jan

UK. Morningstar expects up to 300 funds to opt for sustainability label

Up to 300 funds are expected to assign themselves a sustainability label this year, as part of new rules from the UK’s financial regulator. In November, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unveiled a labelling regime for investment products wishing to market themselves as considering environmental and social issues. It identifies four legitimate approaches, including targeting real-world impact and supporting companies that are transitioning to more sustainable practices. A report published today by research house Morningstar predicts that “about 300 UK open-...

January 10, 2024
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10Jan

Why Retirement Gets Better With Annuities

Everyone aspires to have a steady source of income after retirement that replaces as much as possible of their pre-retirement earning. But for many people, one big challenge in saving for that goal is to find the right financial product that accommodates their specific requirements, such as when they want to retire or how much more they need over and above their Social Security benefits. A new research paper by experts at Wharton and elsewhere solves that challenge with a...

January 10, 2024
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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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