News Archives - Page 282 of 954 - Pension Policy International

11SepSeptember 11, 2023

South Korea. Urgent pension reform

One of the problems modern welfare states must tackle is defusing the pension time bomb. And nowhere is this more urgent than in Korea, with the fastest aging population and steepest decline in birth rate worldwide. Moreover, thanks to accumulated funds, Korean retirees receive considerably more than they contributed. It contrasts with the pay-as-you-go-type schemes of some countries. That cannot go on because of the nation's demographic structure. Someone must persuade Koreans to get less ― or at least not more ―...

September 11, 2023

NewsAging, Pension Reform, South Korea

08SepSeptember 8, 2023

US. Traditional pension plans are pretty rare. But here’s who still has them and how they work

The phrase “pension benefits” may come up a lot in the next several days as negotiations between the United Auto Workers union and the Big Three automakers go down to the wire to avert a strike. But for most private-sector US workers, pensions disappeared long ago. In a traditional pension, employers contribute, invest and manage retirement funds for their workers, who then receive guaranteed monthly checks for life after they retire. But over the past several decades, employers have either...

September 8, 2023

NewsOccupational Pensions, Pension design, US

08SepSeptember 8, 2023

UK. Triple lock could add £45bn a year to state pensions bill by 2050, IFS says

Maintaining the triple lock on state pensions could add as much as £45bn a year to the welfare bill by 2050, putting “insurmountable pressure” on the government to increase the minimum retirement age, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. In a report published ahead of the release next week of official data for earnings growth, which will be used to set the annual increase in pensions, the IFS estimates spending on retirees could rise by a further £2bn from...

September 8, 2023

NewsFunding, State Pensions, UK

08SepSeptember 8, 2023

Japan’s pension funds to increase allocations to active fixed income

As the Bank of Japan loosens its stranglehold on yields, opening the door for them to rise in a more volatile market environment, Japanese pension funds have started to recognize the merits of actively investing their Japanese fixed-income portfolio, sources said. For instance, the Government Pension Investment Fund, Tokyo, revealed in its annual report in July that it would shift an in-house ¥9.1 trillion ($62 billion) passive domestic bond fund to be actively managed. "The decision to shift the in-house domestic...

September 8, 2023

NewsInvestment, Japan, Pension Management

07SepSeptember 7, 2023

US. Washington taking aim at pension risk transfer market, but is anything broken?

The U.S. pension risk transfer market is booming as more companies look to shed their pension liabilities, but changes to the rules governing such transactions could be coming, which is making some stakeholders nervous. "What I worry about is that we see something proposed that disrupts the system that's working well," said Kent A. Mason, a Washington-based partner at law firm Davis & Harman LLP and outside counsel for the American Benefits Council. "To me, where do you go from the...

September 7, 2023

NewsRegulation, Risk, US

07SepSeptember 7, 2023

Pension Protection Fund pushes for new remit to boost UK investment

The UK’s pension lifeboat fund is pushing to become a consolidator of corporate retirement plans in a move that it believes could unleash “substantial” new investment for the economy. In a submission to the government published on Tuesday, the Pension Protection Fund said that if ministers wanted to unleash money held by pension funds into the economy there would need to be a “step change” in the market. The PPF is a statutory fund set up in 2005 and is...

September 7, 2023

NewsOccupational Pensions, UK

07SepSeptember 7, 2023

Nigeria’s pension, four other countries collaborate to grow over $70bn assets

Nigeria’s pension sector with assets under management (AUM) in excess of N16.7 trillion, equal to $22.14 billion at of June 2023 is collaborating with four other countries in Africa to grow their over $70 billion market size. The collaboration will enable them to foster the adoption of alternative investments and will focus on green finance, a pivotal driver for bolstering various sectors of the economy. This collaboration on Monday witnessed the launch of the Pan-African Fund Managers’ Association (PAFMA), a new...

September 7, 2023

NewsInvestment, Nigeria, Pension Management

07SepSeptember 7, 2023

Research finds pensions struggle to determine metrics for ESG goals

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach for pension funds looking to use an environmental, social and governance lens in their investment approach, according to a new publication from the pension research council at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Olivia Mitchell, a professor and executive director of the pension research council at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School and one of the editors of the volume, says institutional investors are split over the long-term value of an ESG approach between pursuing...

September 7, 2023

NewsESG, Pension Management, Regulation

06SepSeptember 6, 2023

U.S. Public Pension Plans Sustain Support for ESG Resolutions

Political rhetoric about the aims and efficacy of environmental, social, and governance-focused investing has turned heated in the past year. Public pension funds—irretrievably tied to politics by nature of their public funding—continued demonstrating strong support for ESG shareholder resolutions in the 2022 proxy season, according to a Morningstar review of some of the largest U.S. pension funds. The full study can be found here. These resolutions varied from calls for companies like Costco COST and Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to proposals for...

September 6, 2023

NewsESG, Public Pensions, US

06SepSeptember 6, 2023

UK. Government announces new welfare reforms to help thousands into work

A consultation, launched today (Tuesday 5 September), will consider changes to the Work Capability Assessment, with proposals to ensure it is delivering the right outcomes for supporting those most in need. The consultation will look at updating the Work Capability Assessment’s categories so they better reflect the modern world of work and the opportunities more readily available to disabled people. Earlier this year, Government confirmed investment worth £2 billion to support disabled people and those with long-term health conditions into work,...

September 6, 2023

NewsLabor Market, Pension Reform, Regulation, UK

September 2023