September 2023

Pension Savings Are an Emerging UK Political Battleground

Nothing says an election is looming more than a raft of proposed policies that have been collecting dust on think tank shelves for years . UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has been dropping heavy hints of reforms and enhancements targeted at Conservatives’ core voters — namely people who follow changes in pensions and savings. The underlying theme is Buy UK equities. Hunt will seek to address getting UK savers to stop hoarding cash and making it easier for...

Longevity Risk: Retirees and Pre-Retirees Fear Declining Finances and Deteriorating Health in Older Age

Fewer than one in four age 50+ workers and retirees are very confident they will be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle throughout their retirement (17%, 23%, respectively), according to Life in Retirement: Pre-Retiree Expectations and Retiree Realities, a new survey report released by nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® (TCRS) in collaboration with Transamerica Institute®. "Retirement brings freedom and time for pursuing personal passions. Our research finds that retirees are happy, purposeful, and have a positive view of aging. However, many...

Kenya. 11,000 Retired Teachers Yet to Be Awarded Their Pension 27 Years Later

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u on Wednesday assured teachers and lawmakers that the government is entering homestretch when it comes to clearing dues owed to some 11,000 retired teachers who are yet to be paid their pension 27 years later. While appearing before MPs, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary told lawmakers that although the government released Ksh16 billion in May to settle unpaid teachers' pensions dating back to 1997, the funds were insufficient to pay all the claims. According to Prof. Ndung'u,...

Experts urge social protection for gig workers amidst growing digital economy

The rise of gig work makes it important that workers be given social protection since they may not have access to pensions, health insurance or unemployment benefits. Till the world comes up with a perfect definition for gig work, experts at the Asia-Pacific Social Protection Week organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), between September 26-28 in Manila, Philippines, were of the opinion that it would do well to take care of gig workers. Not only it is the smart...

Comparing ESG regulation globally remains elusive – report

Comparing global regulatory demands on ESG funds will continue to be elusive, according to a regulatory update from ISS ESG published Sept. 21. Experts at the Institutional Shareholder Services' sustainable investment arm reviewed current and proposed regulations in the European Union, U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, and surmised "that navigating the emerging regimes will remain a challenge for the foreseeable future," the 2023 Global Regulatory Update said. It noted that two major sustainability reporting standards were finalized in 2023:...

UK pensions pull back from private equity

The steady increase in UK interest rates since the start of last year has resulted in improved funding ratios for the plans that comprise this $1.67tn pool of capital, allowing them to move money out of buyout and venture capital funds and into less risky assets, according to several pension system managers and consultants. Traditional pensions have been a mainstay source of capital to sponsored funds for decades, but changed market conditions since last year have caused that flow to...

Ghana. Financial sector assets see 95% growth

The nation’s financial sector assets’ value in nominal terms has almost doubled – recording a growth of 94.96 percent between the end of 2017 and 2022; a period marked by sector clean-ups, the COVID-19 pandemic, Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) as well as recapitalisation of institutions in the sector. This was contained in the Ghana Financial Stability Review dubbed ‘Managing financial stability risks in the midst of a difficult macroeconomic environment and Domestic Debt Exchange Programme’, released by the sector’s...

US Corporate Pensions at Healthiest Level in a Decade, Aon Data Shows

Pension plans for the largest U.S. companies are at their healthiest in over a decade, according to financial services firm Aon (NYSE:AON). The average pension "funded ratio" for public companies in the S&P 500 stock index was 102% as of last Thursday, marking the highest level since at least the end of 2011 when the ratio stood at around 78%. The funded ratio is a measure of a pension's financial health, comparing a company's pension assets against its liabilities. Essentially,...

UK pension schemes reveal 4,000% rise in cyber security breaches

Pension scheme trustees have been urged to remain mindful of cybersecurity risks, after research from RPC revealed a 4,000 per cent increase in data breach reports to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in the year to June 2023. The research found that UK financial services firms reported 640 cybersecurity breaches to the ICO in the year to June 30 2023, marking a threefold increase on the 187 cybersecurity breaches in the previous period. UK pension schemes reported the biggest...

Dutch pension funds move hundreds of billions in assets to mandates

Dutch pension funds have transferred €372bn in assets from investment funds to mandates over the past three and a half years. Mandates make it easier for funds to implement their responsible investment policies. Pension funds’ net investments in investment funds used to be fairly stable, but from the end of 2019 outflows gradually started to accelerate, according to figures from regulator DNB. A DNB spokesman said that conversations with pension funds have indicated that these holdings have generally been converted to...