June 2022
02Jun

Industry is ramping up ESG efforts but more still to do

It has been impossible to ignore the increasing focus on environmental, social and governance factors in financial management. Many individuals have held deep-seated principles regarding the environmental and social impacts of the financial services sector. However, the mainstream acceptance of ESG as a legitimate tool within financial institutions has been a relatively recent phenomenon. Indeed, then-UN secretary general Kofi Annan sparked the initial ESG flame in 2004. Annan wrote to more than 50 chief executives of major financial institutions, inviting them...

June 2, 2022
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01Jun

Today’s Pensions Just Don’t Favor Millennials and Gen Z

Even in 2022, pensions still command an aura of reverence. A benefit where you work for one company for 30 years and then retire with a livable wage? And you don’t have to fret about picking investments? What’s not to like? Although pensions are increasingly rare in the U.S., they’re not obsolete. About 38% of the private workforce had access to a defined benefit plan in 1980. By 2008, that had fallen to 20%. In spring of 2020, it was...

June 1, 2022
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01Jun

UK. Providers urge earlier introduction of Pension Wise ‘nudge’

The Financial Conduct Authority’s new rules guiding customers to use Pension Wise before drawing down their pension, which came into force on June 1, have been criticised as “poorly timed and mismanaged” by one provider. Trustees and providers are now required to offer customers aged 55 and above, who are accessing their funds for the first time, an appointment with Pension Wise. The service offers free 45-minute sessions on savers’ retirement options. The FCA said that this “nudge” can be delivered...

June 1, 2022
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01Jun

European Union Will Lend Ukraine EUR 9 Billion for pensions, among others

The European Union Summit has decided to provide Ukraine with an urgent loan in the amount of EUR 9 billion to pay off urgent budgetary needs. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated this at a press conference on the night of May 31, European Pravda reports. "Ukraine needs urgent financial support. As you know, about EUR 5 billion is required monthly in Ukraine to support basic payments, such as salaries, pensions, etc.," von der Leyen recalled, speaking...

June 1, 2022
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01Jun

25% of Americans are delaying retirement due to inflation, survey finds

Americans’ finances are being squeezed as inflation pushes up prices on things such as rent, groceries and gasoline. As a result, one-quarter of Americans will have to delay their retirement, according to the BMO Real Financial Progress Index, a quarterly survey conducted between March 30 and April 25. Putting off retirement plans is mostly due to disrupted savings from increased prices, the survey found. Thirty-six percent of survey respondents have reduced their savings and 21% are putting away less for retirement...

June 1, 2022
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01Jun

The Rise Of Green Pension Funds

This marks another milestone in the pressure to be ‘green’ when investing. Scheme members are already expecting to see a responsible investment approach from their managers, adding to the pressure for trustees to produce a coherent and measured sustainability strategy. These disclosures will further fuel a movement towards responsible pension investing. In July 2021, pensions minister Guy Opperman described climate change in no uncertain terms, as a “major systemic financial risk and threat to the long-term sustainability of UK private...

June 1, 2022
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May 2022
31May

Survey finds 56% of U.S. employees expecting less than $500K in retirement savings

While U.S. employees say it takes $1.1 million in savings, on average, to retire comfortably, 56 per cent expect to have less than $500,000 saved, according to a new survey by Schroders. It found 36 per cent of respondents expect to save less than $250,000 and only 24 per cent expect to save $1 million ahead of retirement. Among respondents nearing retirement age, more than half (54 per cent) said they’ll have less than $250,000 saved for retirement, while 22...

May 31, 2022
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31May

UK. 17 further organisations pledge to align with MMMM’s Green Pensions Charter

Seventeen organisations, including British Red Cross, Green School Projects and Citizens UK, have signed up to Make My Money Matter’s (MMMM) Green Pensions Charter, bringing the total number of signatories pledging to align their company pension schemes with net-zero targets to 100. The new signatories are a broad mix of UK companies and charities including Abel&Cole, Bates Wells, Living Wage Foundation, TrustPayments, DoNation, The Climate Coalition, Positive Planet, CH&Co, Zero Bees, Moyu, Turning Trusts, TXImpact, Eco-nnect, and Homethings. Read also Industry...

May 31, 2022
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31May

Sustainable Investing Slowly Taking Root at Central Banks

A new report says central banks are increasingly looking to align their operations with sustainability objectives within the constraints of their mandates. Central banks are increasingly aligning their pensions and portfolios to sustainable outcomes, according to a recent report published by INSPIRE, the International Network for Sustainable Financial Policy Insights, Research and Exchange. Alongside their financial stability remits, central banks are increasingly managing sustainability-related risks and aligning their activities with wider government commitments including net zero targets. The report highlighted eight key...

May 31, 2022
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30May

UK. Pension savers struggle to consolidate pots

More than one in 10 (11 per cent) of pension savers are struggling to consolidate their pension pots, according to research from pension specialists iSipp. The consolidation of pension pots could reduce annual fees and save time on administration. However, more than one in 10 have tried to consolidate funds and failed, while nearly two out of five (38 paper cent) admit they do not know how to consolidate pensions into one fund. Just one in five (19 per cent) of those...

May 30, 2022
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