June 2022
28Jun

Iranian Pensioners Return To Streets, Say Government Failing To Meet Promises

Iranian pensioners and retired public employees showed no signs of letting up in their protests against what they say is the government's failure to address deteriorating living conditions. Videos posted on social media on June 27 showed retirees gathering in at least four cities, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Arak, and Rasht, chanting slogans against the government of President Ebrahim Raisi. The recent wave of protests by pensioners and retirees comes after the government announced on June 6 that it would increase the monthly...

June 28, 2022
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28Jun

US. New IRS Pre-Examination Retirement Plan Compliance Program

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced a new pilot pre-examination retirement plan compliance program initiated in June. If you are a plan sponsor, do not play ostrich should you receive an IRS Pre-Examination Retirement Plan Notice. Failure to respond timely to the pre-examination notice may result in larger legal, accounting and/or audit fees and the imposition of larger sanctions. Under the new program you have 90 days to do a self-audit of the plan that is the subject of the...

June 28, 2022
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27Jun

China: Securities regulator proposes rules for inclusion of mutual funds in private pension scheme

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has said that mutual funds with at least CNY50m ($7.48m) of assets over the past four quarters are eligible to participate in the country's pilot private pension scheme. The securities regulator has proposed rules to regulate mutual funds, setting the criteria for qualified products and sales agents under a private pension scheme that will channel fresh savings into the country's capital markets, reported Reuters. The draft rules, published on 24 June, follow the launch by...

June 27, 2022
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27Jun

UK. Four in five DB transfer requests raise scam warning

Four in five (83 per cent) defined benefit transfer requests have raised one or more warning flags, according to XPS Pensions Group. The firm’s scam flag index recorded May to have the highest number of scam warnings in the tracker’s history, up from a near record high in March. This is an increase of roughly 30 per cent since the beginning of 2022. XPS Pensions Group client lead, member engagement hub, Helen Cavanagh, said: “We continue to see the rate of potential...

June 27, 2022
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27Jun

Could ESG improve scheme engagement?

Industry Voice: A major survey carried out by Aegon shows pension savers care deeply about climate change and the environment Aegon's recent survey of around 10,000 UK residents shows that most pension investors care deeply about the environment and their world's future. It also suggests that the more someone's investments are helping the climate emergency, the more likely they are to be happy about their investments and be better engaged with their pension arrangements. But too many customers remain unaware...

June 27, 2022
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27Jun

Vietnam: Most citizens grow old without retirement funding plans

Many Vietnamese citizens likely to grow old without any savings or retirement plan due to low income and lack of access to elderly care. Ms Luong Thi My Hanh, head of domestic asset management at investment fund Dragon Capital Vietnam, said most Vietnamese workers do not have a retirement plan and are focused merely on meeting daily needs, according to a report in VnExpress. Most of them save for short-term goals and usually spend all the money they have, she added. Over...

June 27, 2022
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27Jun

UK. Retirement guidance improving but decumulation challenges remain

Support available to those approaching retirement is improving, particularly in master trusts, but a comprehensive framework is still required to ensure all savers get the help they need, according to new research. The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association created such a framework — known as guided retirement income choices — in 2019, which would require schemes and providers both to guide members through retirement, while also ensuring they have access to a full range of retirement solutions. Its new report, published...

June 27, 2022
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24Jun

US. Growing Inclusion of Alts in DC Plans

For defined contribution plan sponsors, alternative investments have become increasingly common. Mega plans—with assets in the billions and hundreds of millions—were historically more likely to include alternatives such as core private real estate. The asset class was most prevalent among large corporate plans, but that has evolved, explains Jani Venter, executive director, defined contribution fund management, real estate Americas at JP Morgan. “Historically, it’s been large corporate and public plans with custom structures that made the decision to include real estate,...

June 24, 2022
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24Jun

New UK trial seeks to ‘nudge’ people into making greener pension choices

A new trial to encourage people to learn more about making greener pension choices in the UK has been launched. Dubbed the ‘Green Nudge’, the trial will test the impact of behavioural nudges and messages on increasing saver engagement with the sustainability of pension investments and how it could translate into greener pension decision-making. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is working in partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), Aviva, Smart Pension and Hargreaves Lansdown to deliver the “nudges”...

June 24, 2022
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24Jun

Nigeria. Pension assets rise 0.7% to N14.2trn

Total Pension Fund assets of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, increased by 0.71 percent Month-on-Month, MoM, to N14.2 trillion in May 2022 from N14.1 trillion recorded in April 2022. According to the monthly report released recently by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), total Retirement Savings Account (RSA) registration increased by 0.3 per cent to N9.67 million from N9.64 million recorded in April. A breakdown of the figures shows that investment in federal government securities rose by 2.3 per cent to N8.8...

June 24, 2022
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