March 2023

Women on the front line everywhere!

In March 2023 women’s movements are playing a leading role in many countries around the world. This is neither new nor exceptional, but it should always be emphasized to show how women’s struggles are an integral part of the struggle to change, to revolutionize society, and that without women’s action society stops. In the year-long war caused by the atrocious invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops under Putin, Ukrainian women are participating in resistance in all its forms. Women serve...

Diverse investment teams deliver outperformance – WTW

Greater gender diversity in an investment team can add 45 basis points per year in net excess returns, an analysis by Willis Towers Watson showed. The consultant's new research paper, Diversity in the asset management industry: on the right track, but at the wrong pace, analyzed investment strategies across equities, credit and real assets, and cover global, U.S. and other regions. Using diversity data as of Dec. 31, 2021, and net performance data as of Dec. 31, 2022, WTW looked at...

UK. New figures show Gender Pension Gap remains stubbornly high

New statistics from trade union, Prospect, provide their latest estimate of the Gender Pensions Gap. They put the gap at 40.5% for 2020-21, essentially unchanged since the figure was first estimated half a decade ago. This is significantly more than the gender pay gap, and represents an average annual £7,100 shortfall. The latest figures show that despite an increased focus on the gap, current government policies are failing to provide any improvement. This has led Prospect to warn of a “ticking...

South Korea pension fund to consider climate change in management work

South Korea's national pension fund will consider climate change as part of its stewardship activities going forward, the welfare ministry said on Tuesday. A panel that oversees the National Pension Service's (NPS) fund management policies decided to add climate change, along with industrial accidents, to its list of focus areas for responsible investment activities, the ministry said in a statement. Until now, the world's third-largest public pension fund engaged with companies focusing primarily on matters related to corporate governance, such as...

U.S. corporate pension funding increases in February – 3 reports

U.S. corporate pension plans' funding ratios increased in February as falling liability values offset a drop in assets, according to three new monthly reports. Legal & General Investment Management America estimated the average funding ratio of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan was 99.9% as of Feb. 28, up from 99.8% a month earlier. In its latest monthly Pension Solutions Monitor, LGIMA said the estimated average funding ratio rose slightly in February because the increase in discount rates, which caused liability...

Undersaving in British pensions still substantial, says government report

New government figures show the level of undersaving in British pensions is still substantial, despite increased pension participation in the private sector. ‘Analysis of future pension incomes’, published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), updates figures from an auto-enrolment review in 2017 with a new estimate of the number and proportion of working-age individuals aged 22 to state pension age who are not saving enough for their retirement. The new report – covering England, Scotland and Wales – is...

Greenland needs new approach to preserve welfare state amidst aging population: gov

Greenland has launched a new strategy to help navigate the upcoming challenges of maintaining the welfare state amidst an aging population. Besides working on ways to improve the quality of life and services for seniors, the government said a long-term strategy needs to be put in place to ensure the survival of the social safety net. The government of Greenland did not respond to requests for comment for this story, but in a news release, it said the ever-shrinking workforce was...

S.Korea pension fund ready to revive FX swap with cenbank

South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), manager of the world's third-largest public pension fund, will collaborate with foreign exchange authorities when needed to help stabilise the market, its chairman told Reuters. Chairman Kim Tae-hyun also said during an interview on Friday with Reuters that re-establishing a currency swap arrangement with South Korea's central bank which expired at the end of last year could be part of such collaboration. NPS has nearly $700 billion under its management and needs to buy dollars...

Why Latin nations pay lifetime pensions to their former presidents

A question runs through Latin America and creates controversy: Should presidents who leave office receive special pensions for the rest of their lives? In recent months, there have been requests from legislators in the countries of Argentina, Ecuador or Costa Rica to remove life pensions for former heads of state, as Mexico previously revealed how much they cost. This type of payment has existed in other parts of the world and in Latin America for decades, not only to compensate presidents...

French Strikes Over Pension Reform Plans Expected to Disrupt Public Transport

Industrial action in France over the government's planned pensions overhaul will cause heavy disruption to public transport again on Tuesday, the transport minister and several public transport authorities said Sunday. For the sixth time since the start of the year, unions are calling for a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations, aiming to repeat the large turnout seen on the first major protest Jan. 19 when more than a million people marched against the pension reform. "There will be very strong...