November 2022
29Nov

70% of Hong Kong banking customers not satisfied with their online experience

Consumer confidence in digital banking has risen strongly in past two years – but large majority would trust 'Big Tech' with their finances at least as much as a bank. Hong Kong consumer confidence in digital banking is rising but trust is no longer a bank monopoly, according to a new Asia-Pacific focused Bank of the Future survey from Capco, the global technology and management consultancy. Capco surveyed 707 Hong Kong consumers to gauge their attitudes to banking services at a...

November 29, 2022
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29Nov

Innovation in ESG Investing

There has never been a better time to invest based on environmental, social and governance principles. Institutional asset owners are benefiting from a menu of ESG strategies, products and capabilities that is bigger than ever before. Innovation by asset managers and increased regulatory pressure is driving ESG investing forward. Most asset owners, 85%, believe that ESG factors are material to investment policy, while 70% say ESG factors have become more material in the last five years, according to the Voice...

November 29, 2022
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28Nov

Malaysia. Concerns over raising the retirement age

THE call for Malaysia to increase the retirement age, due to its ageing population and high number of citizens with insufficient savings, has grown louder as the Covid-19 pandemic has further eroded their savings. There are also suggestions to offer fixed term contracts, incentives for higher contributions towards savings as well as to increase the overall remuneration for employees and improve their financial literacy. Most Malaysians rely on their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings to sustain their expenses after retirement. The recent...

November 28, 2022
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28Nov

U.S. Visions of early retirement may sway some to save more

Employers looking to spur their employees to save more for retirement might want to consider enticing them with the prospect of retiring early. It's a motivator that displayed encouraging early promise for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the administrator of the federal government's $720 billion Thrift Savings Plan. In an initiative to coax its participants to contribute more to the plan, the FRTIB last year sent participants personalized communications that detailed how much more they would need to save each...

November 28, 2022
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28Nov

U.K. Pension savers ‘lost £1.7 billion on retirement transition

New research from HSBC Tomorrow Master Trust shows workplace pension scheme members are losing around £1.7 billion a year during their transition into and in retirement, due to savers choosing costly pathways to access their money. While some of this loss comes from scheme members withdrawing more than the 25% tax-free lump sum, exposing them to hefty tax penalties, many are potentially buying products that are not the optimal solution for their circumstances. The research was commissioned for a report Converting...

November 28, 2022
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25Nov

Ranked: The World’s 100 Biggest Pension Funds

Despite economic uncertainty, pension funds saw relatively strong growth in 2021. The world’s 100 biggest pension funds are worth over $17 trillion in total, an increase of 8.5% over the previous year. This graphic uses data from the Thinking Ahead Institute to rank the world’s biggest pension funds, and where they are located. What is a Pension Fund? A pension fund is a fund that is designed to provide retirement income. This ranking covers four different types: Sovereign funds: Funds controlled directly by...

November 25, 2022
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25Nov

41% of U.S. women expect to retire at age 70, older or not at all: survey

Two-fifths (41 per cent) of U.S. women say they expect to retire at age 70 or older or don’t plan to retire at all, according to a survey by the Harris Poll on behalf of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. Among women who plan to work past age 65 or who don’t plan to retire, 81 per cent cited financial reasons. Nearly half (45 per cent) said they expect to rely on self-funded savings or investments in retirement, while...

November 25, 2022
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25Nov

UK. MPs told ‘illegal’ LDIs fanned gilt crisis

The flames of the crisis in the gilt market following the Mini Budget were fanned by widely used liability driven investments (LDIs) that were “almost certainly illegal”, MPs were told yesterday. At a hearing in front of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, experts criticised LDIs for being highly leveraged, causing "carnage" for some pension schemes, and blamed regulators for not acting previously. Bond market veteran Dr Con Keating, now head of research at the specialist insurer Brighton Rock Group, said...

November 25, 2022
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24Nov

More than 70,000 UK university staff go on strike over pay and pensions

Up to 2.5 million students could face disruption as tens of thousands of university staff begin industrial action on Thursday in what has been billed as the biggest strike in the history of UK higher education. More than 70,000 staff, including lecturers, librarians and researchers, are due to take part in the first of three days of strike action over pay, working conditions and pensions, with pickets expected at 150 universities. Read also UK. MPs told ‘illegal’ LDIs fanned gilt crisis The...

November 24, 2022
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24Nov

Nigeria. Five southwest states owe pensioners N330bn – Union

States in the Southwest geopolitical zone, except Lagos, owe pensioners N330 billion in pensions and gratuities. The Southwest Zone of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), made the assertion in Ibadan on Wednesday at the end of its zonal meeting. Its spokesman, Olusegun Abatan, told newsmen at the end of the meeting that Osun led the debtor states with unpaid pensions and gratuities amounting to N145 billion. He noted that the issue of unpaid pensions arrears and gratuities in Osun got compounded...

November 24, 2022
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