June 2023
20Jun

Robot Caregivers: China’s Solution for Aging Population

China, home to the world’s largest aging population, is facing a significant challenge in providing adequate care and support for its elderly citizens. However, in a remarkable display of innovation and foresight, China embraces the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to address this pressing issue. Focusing on developing cutting-edge technology, China aims to utilize robots as caregivers for older adults, revolutionizing how aging populations are cared for. This article delves into China’s ambitious endeavors, highlighting the advancements...

June 20, 2023
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19Jun

US. Teacher pensions systems are increasingly underfunded, making teachers vulnerable and salaries less attractive

By Andrew G. Biggs Pensions are an important component of total compensation for most employees but particularly for public school teachers. Teachers tend to have relatively low salaries but retirement benefits that are considerably more generous than in a typical private-sector 401(k) plan. Yet the risk facing teachers is that many teacher pension plans are significantly underfunded, placing their employers under considerable financial strain, and reducing resources available for schools and for teacher pay and benefits. The funding shortfalls facing...

June 19, 2023
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19Jun

UK. Fifth of savers want oil excluded from their pensions

A growing number of pension savers would like to see the oil sector completely excluded from their pension fund's investments. Some 21 per cent of pension savers say they want oil to be axed from their pension, according to a survey from online pension provider PensionBee. This has jumped from 15 per cent of pension savers last year. Alongside oil, the main investments people want excluded from their pensions are companies contributing to deforestation, habitat destruction and predatory lending. Pension savers also believe...

June 19, 2023
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19Jun

Korea launches new team on population policy amid low birthrate

Korea's presidential committee dedicated to addressing the aging society launched a policy planning team Monday, with the goal of strengthening inter-ministry ties on population policies amid the alarmingly low birthrate.The move came as Korea's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, hit a record low of 0.78 in 2022, much lower than the replacement level of 2.1 that would keep Korea's population stable at 51 million.The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and...

June 19, 2023
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19Jun

Mexico says 200 retired Mexican boxers who fought in California may be eligible for pensions

Mexico said Friday that more than 200 retired Mexican boxers who fought in California may be eligible for pensions. The little-known pension fund holds around $2.5 million. Boxers of any nationality over age 50 were eligible, as long as they had fought one fight per year for four years, or 75 professional rounds total, in California. Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department said it had a list of 206 Mexican boxers who might be eligible. The department said it had already located 23...

June 19, 2023
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16Jun

US. DOL working on updated fiduciary rule, SECURE 2.0 provisions

The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration is aiming to release a rule proposal on fiduciary investment advice in the coming months and is working on a host of rules related to SECURE 2.0, according to its latest semiannual regulatory agenda. The agenda outlines EBSA's short-term and long-term priorities and notes it's working on seven items in the pre-rule stage, 10 in the proposed rule stage and three in the final rule stage. EBSA agendas in recent years have indicated...

June 16, 2023
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16Jun

UK. BOE Issues Fresh Warning Over Risks in Pension Transfers

The Bank of England has warned firms offloading pensions in a multibillion-pound market that they need to improve the way they manage reinsurance risks. The Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the BOE, wrote to life insurers on Thursday to highlight its concerns about the use of “funded reinsurance,” where insurers pay upfront to transfer the risk of pensioners living longer to another firm. If one of the major reinsurers were to fail, the original insurer could be exposed to “sub-optimal portfolios”...

June 16, 2023
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16Jun

Shareholder ire takes shine off stock rally for Toyota chairman

The biggest rally in three years for Toyota has shown how a well-timed campaign to promote the carmaker’s EV strategy can pay off, but a dip in support for Chairman Akio Toyoda at a shareholders meeting serves as a reminder of the perils of drawing investor ire. A 13% rise in Toyota’s stock added ¥4.4 trillion ($31.4 billion) in market value this week, after the company shared details of how it plans to catch up in the global shift to...

June 16, 2023
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15Jun

US. “Forgotten” 401(k) Accounts Grow to $1.65 Trillion of Assets, According to New Analysis by Capitalize

Capitalize, the award-winning platform to transfer retirement accounts, today released an update to its widely-cited 2021 white paper, The True Cost of Forgotten 401(k) Accounts. The analysis highlights continued growth in the number of “forgotten” accounts which represent 401(k) savings that have been left behind by people who have changed jobs or terminated employment. According to the company’s research, as of May 2023, there are an estimated 29.2 million forgotten or left-behind 401(k) accounts in the U.S. representing $1.65...

June 15, 2023
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15Jun

U.K. effort looks to bring parity to retirement savings

U.K. retirement funds, consultants and money managers are gearing up to jointly tackle retirement inequality. Starting with the gender pension gap — in which males hold vastly more savings than women — a newly formed coalition is looking to develop new planning tools and guidance for plan participants. The Pensions Equity Group, a collaboration of retirement industry professionals, is working to help achieve better equality of retirement savings by developing ways to consistently measure retirement inequalities and potentially press for needed...

June 15, 2023
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