August 2022

UK. Andy Bell: Common sense failure risks good work on pension transfers

By  Andy Bell In December last year I wrote in Money Marketing that new regulations designed to protect savers from pension scams would only work properly if common sense was applied by schemes administering transfers. Sadly, in certain parts of the industry, it appears ‘common sense’ is an alien concept, and it looks increasingly likely the rules will need to be revisited to ensure legitimate transfers aren’t slowed to a crawl or blocked altogether. Pension transfer scams As a reminder, this saga started...

GOP Fury Over ESG Triggers Backlash With US Pensions at Risk

Investment professionals are warning that a Republican campaign seeking to wipe ESG off the financial map puts at risk the savings of ordinary Americans caught in the political crossfire. Read also United States: ESG And Political Climate Changes Environmental, social and governance investing is now under attack in the world's largest economy. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis this week banned state pension funds from screening for ESG risks. Texas is seeking to isolate financial firms it says are hostile toward the fossil-fuel...

Climate Risk and Indian Pension Funds

Since Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published its discussion paper on climate risk for stakeholder consultation it is somewhat puzzling to notice that other financial regulators have not taken a similar approach to gauge the extent of climate risk in their respective domains. Climate risk, being a systemic risk, will impact the entire financial sector. Let us take the case of pension funds. Globally, since the signing of UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), major pension funds such as the Ontario...

US. Texas’s threat to boot BlackRock from pension funds forces corporations into can’t-win battle over ESG investing

Hi from Geneva, Switzerland. Peter Vanham here, filling in for Alan. I’m Fortune’s newly minted executive editor, responsible for the Connect learning platform. I’ll also be joining Alan in writing on corporate America’s turn to stakeholder capitalism and sustainable business practices. Speaking of which, in the latest backlash to ESG, Texas state comptroller Glenn Hegar yesterday listed BlackRock and nine other asset managers using ESG investing as “financial companies that boycott energy companies.” He warned BlackRock and Co. would be “subject...

Nigeria. Pencom to push pension remittances, attract informal sector operators

The National Pension Commission is taking urgent steps to enforce remittances of pension deductions by employers and to widen its public awareness of the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) in other to encourage participation among operators of the informal sector, in the country The Head of Micro Pension Department, Mr. Dauda Ahmed, said in Abuja, yesterday, that MPP was a veritable tool against poverty at old age, which he observed has been the worst challenge of people employed in the informal...

UK. Just 6% of pension transfers not flagged as scams

A staggering 94% of pension transfer cases reviewed by XPS Group’s Scam Protection Service were registered as having one or more scam warning signs in July 2022 – a small fall from 97% in June 2022. The firm said this is the second month in a row where the rate has been in excess of 90% of cases, with the overseas investment amber flag being the most common warning identified. However, pension transfer activity seems to be on the rise as...

Florida State Board bans ESG considerations in managing pension plan

Florida State Board of Administration, Tallahassee, passed a resolution Tuesday that all decisions related to the investment management of the Florida Retirement System will not include ESG considerations. The trustees of the board, which oversees a total of $240.1 billion, including the $189.7 billion Florida Retirement System, are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody. A news release from Mr. DeSantis' office said the trustees passed the resolution to update the fiduciary duties...

UK. Cost-of-living crisis could slash pensions by quarter

The youngest UK workers could see their retirement savings cut by a quarter if they were to reduce their pension contributions by 2% in response to the cost-of-living crisis. That is according to new analysis by consultancy firm Broadstone, which found that 25-year-olds could lose up to £60,000 of their pension savings if a ‘temporary’ cutback in contributions becomes permanent. This is based on 2% reduction in employee contributions – taking total contributions down from 8% to 6%, assuming that 3%...

China launches human resources website for older people

China on Wednesday launched a human resources website for older people, marking the first step of building a human resources information service platform for the country's older citizens. Read also New York City pension fund returns plunge in difficult year The website, launched by the China National Committee on Ageing, offers content including human resources policies, human resources knowledge and employment information. Read also Climate Risk and Indian Pension Funds The website aims to build a platform to help older people with employment,...

Why Offering Retirement Benefits Helps Attract And Retain Top Employees

As a business owner in 2022, how many times have you heard yourself ask, “What do employees want?” After all, nearly 24% of the American workforce left their jobs in 2021, leaving small and medium-sized business owners, in particular, wondering how to not only attract top talent but how to retain them. Well, the good news is that statistics support a pretty clear answer. Not only do workers want more money, but 62% seriously consider the availability of a retirement...