August 2022

Japan’s GPIF eyes more alternatives after promising returns

After joining alternatives investment rush relatively late, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is now speeding up its allocation to the asset class after solid initial performances. As of end June 2022, alternative investments made up 1.32% of the ¥193 trillion ($1.5 trillion) portfolio, amounting to ¥2.548 trillion. The alternatives portfolio was up from ¥1.456 trillion a year before, an increase of about 75% in one year. While growth might not continue to be as rapid, GPIF is advertising for new...

Ghana. SSNIT to embark on mass registration exercise

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) says it will soon embark on a mass registration exercise, especially among those in the informal sector to shore up its membership. The prime objective is to ensure many Ghanaian workers are enrolled onto the scheme as against the current situation where only 1.7 million out of the remaining millions of the workers are active members of SSNIT. Read more Nigeria. Pension fund, contributors hit N14trn, 9m respectively – PenCom Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, the...

U.S. public pensions suffer worst year since the financial crisis

An ugly start to the year for stocks and bonds has put a dent in the retirement plans of millions of state and local employees. U.S. public pension plans saw big losses during this year’s market rout, with median losses totaling 7.9% for the year ended June 30, according to data from institutional investment consultant Wilshire Associates. This marked worst annual performance — and first annual decline — for public retirement systems since 2009, according to Wilshire's data. Plans worth over $1...

Canada. CPPIB returns -4.2% in quarter on equity market losses

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto, returned a net -4.2% for the quarter ended June 30, the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, said a news release Thursday. CPPIB, which manages the assets of the Canada Pension Plan, said the pension fund's net assets totaled C$523 billion ($406.1 billion) as of June 30, down 3% from C$539 billion three months earlier. The C$16 billion quarterly decrease in net assets consisted of a net investment loss of C$23 billion and C$7...

U.K. pension regulator calling on plan sponsors to support pension scam prevention strategy

The Pension Regulator, the U.K. government body that oversees defined benefit pension plans, is calling on plan sponsors to help advance a three-pronged strategy to fight pension fraud. “Over many years, we have worked to prevent savers’ losses and put fraudsters in prison: running large-scale public awareness campaigns, leading a multi-agency response to the threat through [the pension scams action group]. . . . But the truth is, we must all do more to combat pension scams,” said Nicola Parish,...

Clorox to terminate primary U.S. pension plan

The Clorox Co., Oakland, Calif., is terminating is primary U.S. pension plan. The household products company's board of directors approved the resolution May 17 to terminate the plan, according to its 10-K filing with the SEC on Wednesday. The company plans to settle the plan with a combination of lump sums to participants and the purchase of a group annuity contract from an insurance company to transfer the remaining assets and liabilities, the filing said. The completion of the termination is expected...

Canada Pension Plan discloses billions in investments

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto, reported a large number of investments and commitments it made in the first and second quarters of fiscal 2023, according to news release Thursday issued along with its results for its first fiscal quarter that ended June 30. CPP Investments, which manages the assets of the C$523 billion ($406.1 billion) Canada Pension Plan, said in the fiscal first quarter it closed a C$230 million investment in the term loans of Legal Search, a provider...

More than 13,000 sign petition calling for guaranteed £200-a-week UK pension

More than 13,000 people have signed a petition demanding a guaranteed pension of £200-a-week in the UK. A group of pensioners is calling for the weekly rate to go up in light of the cost of living crisis The Silver Voices group, which successfully fought for free TV licences for the over-75s, wants the Government to set a new floor for the amount OAPs receive. It comes as households are engulfed by soaring energy costs, runaway inflation and food price...

Ghana National ID card will save SSNIT $126 million

Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang has said the GhanaCard will save the state pensions body several millions of dollars in the long term if properly synced to capture the bio-data of Ghanaians working and their survivors. According to him, only 2 million of the estimated 10 million working Ghanaians in both the formal and informal sectors are active SSNIT contributors and have been issued with biometric identity cards, while efforts are being...

US. Minor Saving Increases Can Achieve 75% Income Replacement

Vanguard defined contribution plan participants’ saving rates may be close to providing adequate income replacement in retirement, new research shows. The research paper, “The Vanguard Participant Saving Rate Index,” assesses whether participants in DC plans where Vanguard is the recordkeeper are saving optimally in their current workplace retirement plan. The paper says that 9 in 10 participants can achieve optimal saving rates in their workplace retirement plan with modest increases. According to the research, 7 in 10 Vanguard DC plan participants...