May 2023

Namibia: Contractors Urged to Adhere to Mandatory Pension Benefits

The Construction Industries Federation (CIF) of Namibia said it is mandatory for construction sector employers to register their most vulnerable workers with a pension fund, and assist with contributions. CIF chief executive officer Bärbel Kirchner said in a statement that the provision applies to all contractors, as per the collective agreement between CIF and the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (Manwu). "We are aware that some companies have not registered their workers as per the categories listed in the gazetted...

UK. Govt urged to announce new pensions dashboards timeline

The government and pensions authorities have been urged to announce a new pensions dashboards timeline after the mandatory deadline was extended. In March, the pensions minister Laura Trott extended the 31 August 2023 deadline due to technicalities. Trott said additional time was needed to deliver the technical solution to enable the connection of pension providers and schemes. However, pensions experts want to see a new timeline announced sooner to get firms participating in the dashboards programme better prepared. “It’s imperative that the regulator...

Australia. Rising retirement costs outpace inflation

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the annual budget for a comfortable retirement is a record $70,482 for a couple aged 65 and $50,004 for a single. It says a “modest” retirement costs $45,808 for a couple and $31,785 for singles – which can be largely covered by the age pension. Retirees continue to face significant upward pressure on their household budgets with the cost increase reporting higher than Australia’s CPI inflation, which rose 7% for the...

ChatGPT spurs interest of pensions and institutional investors in Chinese AI firms

ChatGPT has brought artificial intelligence to the forefront of institutional investors' minds and Chinese AI companies are benefiting from that interest — even if limited partners and venture capital firms are keeping silent on the topic. A February report by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, a research organization within Georgetown University in Washington, said that Chinese AI firms raised $110 billion between 2015 and 2021, of which $40.2 billion came from syndication deals in which U.S. investors participated....

Analysis: Global pension funds eye currencies for additional returns

Expectations for lower returns in stocks and bonds are sending some pension funds into currency markets to diversify their portfolios and bolster performance. While both equities and fixed income have partially rebounded from last year's steep declines, some portfolio managers worry the scope for upside in either asset class may be limited, as markets face a tangle of issues including a standoff over raising the U.S. debt ceiling and a potential recession brought on by the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary...

Changing pensions regulations will not boost UK business investment Expert

Often in politics, a bad idea turns up when its time has finally come. The current contender in the UK is the belief that a few tweaks to pension rules will flood dynamic companies with much-needed funds, save the troubled stock market, improve returns for future pensioners and resolve the longstanding weakness in business investment. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said in his March Budget that his plans, to be announced in the autumn, will “unlock productive investment from defined contribution pension...

Jamaica. No big pension increase for former prime ministers

Prime Minister Andrew Holness' decision to decline his 214 per cent salary increase and keep his yearly $9 million pay is binding on all former and future heads of government, the administration has disclosed. The figure is critical for former prime ministers in particular because their pension is tied to the salary of the current officeholder. There are three living former prime ministers - PJ Patterson, Portia Simpson Miller, and Bruce Golding. Information Minister Robert Morgan made the clarification at a post-Cabinet...

Longevity, A $56 Trillion Opportunity. With Andrew Scott

In unguarded moments, politicians occasionally wish that retired people would "hurry up and die", on account of the ballooning costs of pensions and healthcare. Andrew J Scott confronts this attitude in his book, “The 100-Year Life”, which has been sold a million copies in 15 languages, and was runner up in both the FT/McKinsey and Japanese Business Book of the Year Awards. Scott joined the London Futurists Podcast to discuss his arguments. Scott is a professor of economics at the...

UK. Savers miss out on £70,000 at poorly performing pension funds

Thousands of poorly-performing pension funds have been placed on notice by regulators as analysis reveals that savers are missing out on nearly £70,000 in lost investment returns. Nausicaa Delfas, the new boss of The Pensions Regulator (TPR), vowed on Tuesday to go after the trustees of struggling funds that are letting down their members. The Telegraph can separately disclose that average savers are missing out on tens of thousands of pounds in lost investment returns at conservative British pension funds, after...

EU. MEPs face 50% cut to luxury pensions, but public still set for hefty bill

The European Parliament is set to slash payouts from its controversial top-up pension fund by 50 per cent as part of measures aimed at eradicating a €300 million deficit and averting a looming bankruptcy. Despite beneficiaries now facing major cuts to their pension payments, around €86 million is still expected to be covered with public money. After years of procrastination and an ever-growing deficit, the European Parliament has finally taken the bull by the horns to address the impending bankruptcy of...