News Archives - Page 324 of 954 - Pension Policy International

21AprApril 21, 2023

EU Climate Risk Regulation Gets Real for the Financial Industry

Political battle lines in the U.S. may have hardened — especially when it comes to applying sustainability standards to public pension investing — but in the EU, things have moved faster. In Europe, climate risk is now accepted as one of the biggest macroeconomic forces impacting economic and business sustainability, and as a result, investment firms are actively grappling with critical decisions on sustainability compliance — including risk measurement, reporting and portfolio composition. Over the past several years, legislators have...

April 21, 2023

NewsESG, EU, Investment

21AprApril 21, 2023

Thailand: Pensions and Farmers’ Subsidies Top Election Agenda

With the kingdom’s population ageing and the debt-ridden farmers becoming restless, Thailand’s political parties are gearing up for the May 14 elections offering populist policies to woo the votes of both sectors of the population. Over 52 million people are eligible to vote for electing 500 members to the House of Representatives. With campaigning for the election gathering momentum since December 2022, Thai political parties have announced a range of attractive policies to win their votes. These include subsidies for...

April 21, 2023

NewsCoverage, Labor Market, Thailand

20AprApril 20, 2023

UK. DB pension trustees urged to assess risk management amid rising insolvencies

Defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees have been encouraged to review how they are managing their pension risks after data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that company insolvencies increased in March. According to the ONS, total insolvencies were up by 16 per cent compared to March last year, while the number of compulsory liquidations more than doubled, up by 106 per cent year-on-year. Furthermore, total bankruptcies and debt relief orders increased by 28 per cent over the same...

April 20, 2023

NewsRisk, Sustainability, UK

20AprApril 20, 2023

South Africa ranked bottom in global pensions rankings

The South African pension system has been ranked at the bottom of a global ranking of 75 countries by financial services company Allianz. The Allianz Pension Index, published in the firm’s Global Pension Report, ranked countries based on three pillars: analysis of basic demographic and fiscal conditions; determination of the sustainability (eg funding and contribution periods) and adequacy (eg degree of diffusion and pension level) of the pension system. “With an overall score of 4.2, the South African pension system is...

April 20, 2023

NewsAdequacy, Coverage, South Africa

20AprApril 20, 2023

US. Prudential agrees to pay denied life insurance claims in settlement with US Labor Department

In a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Prudential Financial has pledged to no longer deny claims on life insurance policies after collecting premiums from policyholders it later determined had failed to prove "insurability" to qualify for coverage. DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration had investigated Prudential Financial after more than 200 beneficiaries were denied claims between 2017 and 2020 over questions of whether deceased policyholders actually qualified for coverage through employer-based supplemental life insurance programs — only after Prudential...

April 20, 2023

NewsRegulation, US

20AprApril 20, 2023

‘Big news’ is India’s population growth is below replacement level: UN expert

While India's population at 1.4 billion has surpassed that of China's, the "latest big news" is that the population growth is below the replacement fertility rate in India and it has a "window of opportunity", according to Rachel Snow, the lead demographer of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The continued trajectory for India is that while the young population entering the reproductive phase will boost overall fertility, "given the fertility pattern already evident, we can start to anticipate the decline,...

April 20, 2023

NewsAging, China, India, Labor Market

20AprApril 20, 2023

Kenya. Retirements Benefits Authority Woos The Jua Kali Sector

The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) is eyeing the jua kali sector as it begins to roll out its services to counties, RBA Deputy Director Peter Ngunyi has said. Ngunyi who was speaking during the launch of RBA service desk at the Nyeri Huduma Centre, said that in addition to bringing services closer to retirees in the counties, they were also looking to tap into the informal sector which constitutes 80 per cent of the labour market. He further explained that the...

April 20, 2023

NewsInformal Sector, Kenya, Voluntary Savings

19AprApril 19, 2023

U.S. workers want government to require employers to offer retirement plans

American workers favor government mandates requiring employers to offer retirement plans and make matching contributions, according to a new survey released Tuesday by Natixis Investment Managers. More than 4 in 5 workers (81%) said that employers should be required to offer workplace retirement savings plans, with millennials voicing the greatest support for such a mandate (88%) followed by Generation X (79%) and baby boomers (70%). More than 3 in 5 workers (78%) also said they support requiring employers to make matching...

April 19, 2023

NewsLabor Market, US

19AprApril 19, 2023

Global Pension Funds Fall Short of Private Equity Targets in Q1

Pension funds worldwide fell slightly short of meeting their private equity allocation targets in the year’s first quarter due to uncertain macroeconomic conditions affecting institutional investment decisions, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Among 365 global pension funds, the median allocation to private equity was $276 million, compared with a median target allocation of $280 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence and Preqin. The under allocation was attributed to a relative dearth of private equity and venture capital fund...

April 19, 2023

NewsInvestment, Pension Management

19AprApril 19, 2023

Hong Kong pensions body slams The Wall Street Journal over claim that BNO passport holders’ assets held ‘hostage’

Hong Kong’s pensions fund authority has demanded that American newspaper The Wall Street Journal retract “misinformation” in an op-ed about holders of British National Overseas (BNO) passports’ access to their pensions. The op-ed, titled “Hong Kong’s Hostage Pensions,” was published by the paper’s editorial board last Friday. It discussed a Mandatory Provident Fund policy that denies pension payouts to emigrants using BNO passports as evidence of early withdrawal of funds. Anyone who permanently leaves the city is normally entitled to make...

April 19, 2023

NewsHong Kong, Pension Payout

April 2023