News Archives - Page 274 of 966 - Pension Policy International

17NovNovember 17, 2023

Japan to curb pension benefit increases for 2nd straight year

Japan is expected to curb the increase in national pension payouts for the second year in a row using an adjustment that reduces benefits when compared against rising consumer prices, Nikkei has learned. Benefits will grow by an estimated 2.6% in fiscal 2024, leaving recipients somewhat worse off after inflation. Public pension benefits in principle rise along with inflation and wage growth so that pensioners can maintain purchasing power. But the number of pensioners is swelling while the working population shrinks, putting strain on the...

November 17, 2023

NewsAging, Income, Japan

16NovNovember 16, 2023

U.S. public pension funding dips again in October – Milliman

The overall estimated funding ratio of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans declined for the third month in a row in October, once again due to negative market performance, according to the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding index. The estimated ratio fell to 71.4% as of Oct. 31 from 73.2% a month earlier, driven by an estimated aggregate investment return of -1.9% during the period, with an estimated range of -2.8% to -1.1%. With the third straight month of negative...

November 16, 2023

NewsFunding, Public Pensions, US

16NovNovember 16, 2023

UK pension regulator outlines challenges and plans for scheme transformation

Louise Davey from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) addressed the complex issue of pension decumulation during an ABI webinar Today. She outlined TPR's strategy to transform UK pension schemes into full-service providers that support savers from the accumulation phase through to retirement. Davey highlighted the limitations of current trust-based pension schemes and underscored TPR's support for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) proposal to mandate these schemes to offer decumulation products and services. She emphasized the evolution of the UK...

November 16, 2023

NewsRegulation, supervision, UK

16NovNovember 16, 2023

German government drafts law to reform second pillar pension system

The German government has drafted the law to reform the second pillar occupational pension system, Rolf Schmachtenberg, state secretary for the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry, announced during the Handelsblatt conference on occupational pensions yesterday. The 24-point draft law – called Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz 2024 – deals with the difficult topic of opening up the social partner model to third parties not bound by collective bargaining agreements, the state secretary said, adding that the ministry is examining the legal aspects of such change...

November 16, 2023

NewsGermany, Pension Reform, Regulation

16NovNovember 16, 2023

Romania’s Senate endorses 40% pension hike as of September 2024

Romania’s Senate passed on November 14 the government’s draft law on the public pension system, according to which the pensions of over 4.7 million beneficiaries are to be recalculated according to a new formula, Bursa.ro reported. The project will also be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case. The pensions will increase on average by 40% when the updated pensions are first disbursed in September 2024, according to estimates of the bill’s author, the Labour Ministry. The...

November 16, 2023

NewsIncome, Public Pensions, Romania

15NovNovember 15, 2023

US. Aon: Almost 80% of corporations expect to keep pension plans

Almost four-fifths (78%) of U.S. private-sector plan sponsors said their long-term objective is something other than pension plan termination, while the remaining 22% expect to terminate their pension plan, according to Aon's U.S. Global Pension Risk Survey, which was released Nov. 14. For plan sponsors that seek to maintain their pension plans over the long term, most intend to continue derisking the assets and/or shrink the liabilities through lump sums or partial annuity settlements. Read also U.S. public pension funding dips...

November 15, 2023

NewsOccupational Pensions, US

15NovNovember 15, 2023

U.K. names new pensions minister

Paul Maynard was named U.K. pensions minister following a reshuffling of the government. Maynard was appointed Nov. 13 as parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department for Work and Pensions, according to a notice on the government's website. Read also UK pension funds step in to build affordable homes His previous ministerial role was as parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department for Transport, a role he held between July 2019 and February 2020. Maynard is member of parliament for Blackpool North and...

November 15, 2023

NewsRegulation, UK

15NovNovember 15, 2023

Kenya. Pension returns negative on falling share prices

Kenyan pension schemes have registered negative returns in the quarter ended September on wider losses from equities, a new survey shows. According to the Performance Investment Management Survey by South Africa-based investment firm RisCura, the weighted average return of surveyed schemes was posted at negative 3.06 percent in the quarter from a return of 0.18 percent in the previous quarter. The weighted average return from equities deteriorated to a loss of 10.95 percent from losses of 4.27 percent in the quarter...

November 15, 2023

NewsInvestment, Kenya, Pension Management

15NovNovember 15, 2023

US federal pension fund to exclude Hong Kong and China investments

The main US federal government pension fund is to exclude China- and Hong Kong-listed stocks on the recommendation of its adviser, which cited the rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The $771bn Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board said on Wednesday that it would change the benchmark index followed by its international fund. The move will mean a shift away from an index that includes Hong Kong-listed equities. Washington has increasingly limited the range of Chinese companies available to US...

November 15, 2023

NewsInvestment, State Pensions, US

14NovNovember 14, 2023

UK. ESG: Biodiversity And Nature Risks For Pension Schemes

While climate risk has increasingly been at the top of the agenda for trustees in recent years, biodiversity and nature risk has occasionally been overlooked, despite the serious financial implications stemming from these issues. The World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report 2023 cited "biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse" as the fourth most significant global risk over the next ten years. In light of this, pension regulators are focusing their attention on biodiversity risk management.  A guide recently produced by...

November 14, 2023

NewsClimate crisis, ESG, Risk, UK

November 2023