News Archives - Page 427 of 957 - Pension Policy International

16MayMay 16, 2022

UK. Cost of living crisis could worsen pension scams

The cost of living crisis could worsen the number of pension scams according to wellbeing specialist People-tech. It warns people struggling with rising costs are likely to access their pensions and has relaunched a scam predictor tool. The pension scam predictor works as savers are asked a range of straight forward questions that a scammer might use to coerce them into transferring their pension. Once complete the predictor displays a likelihood of the pension transfer being a scam, listing the red flags...

May 16, 2022

News2022, Regulation, Risk, UK

16MayMay 16, 2022

Australia. Pensioners hit hard by living cost increases

Annual increases in living costs have continued to rise, with age pensioner households experiencing a annual spike of about five per cent in living costs, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] data. According to the ABS data, the annual increase in living costs to the March 2022 quarter for employee households (households whose principal source of income is from wages and salaries) was 3.8 per cent. However, the annual rise in living costs for age pensioner households (households whose...

May 16, 2022

News2022, Australia, Income

13MayMay 13, 2022

Are pension funds transparent enough about their investments?

The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in April 2022, made clear that the window for preventing the worst of climate change is closing fast. Plans already in place are not enough to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, said the report, and more must be done to accelerate the energy transition. These efforts will require huge levels of capital. The UN has estimated that $90trn in infrastructure investment alone is needed by...

May 13, 2022

News2022, Climate crisis, Corporate Governance, Investment, Pension design

13MayMay 13, 2022

UK. 12 pension funds launch EM climate collaboration

A group of 12 UK pension funds convened by the Church of England (CofE) Pensions Board have teamed up in a bid to find ways in which to support the climate transition in emerging markets. The schemes include the £83bn Universities' Superannuation Scheme; the £57bn BT Pension Fund; Railpen, which manages the £37bn of assets; the £35bn Brunel Pension Partnership; the £55bn Border to Coast Pension Partnership; Nest, which has £24bn; and the £30bn Legal & General Workplace Pension Plan...

May 13, 2022

News2022, Corporate Governance, ESG, Investment, UK

13MayMay 13, 2022

Why a Zimbabwean firm offers pensions denominated in cows

Kelvin chamunorwa’s mother was a middle manager at a bank in Zimbabwe. She worked there for 25 years, steadily contributing to a pension. But horrendous inflation, which reached an annual rate of 231,000,000% in mid-2008, wiped out her savings. When she retired, her pension was so small it was barely worth collecting. So Mr Chamunorwa, an actuary trained in Britain, started a company, Nhaka Life Assurance, to sell inflation-proof pensions to Zimbabweans. The pensions are not denominated in Zimbabwe dollars,...

May 13, 2022

News2022, Income, Payout, Pension design, Zimbabwe

12MayMay 12, 2022

Pensions: people on lower incomes can be confused and disadvantaged by defined contribution pensions

New research released finds defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, which do not automatically offer a secure, guaranteed income for life, can lead to poor outcomes for those on lower incomes. Since the introduction of ‘pension freedoms’ in 2015, the vast majority of consumers are opting against a guaranteed income, resulting in them facing significant threats to their retirement security. Researchers from the University of Birmingham, supported by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, conducted in-depth interviews with DC pension consumers and gained...

May 12, 2022

News2022, Financial Education, Income, System sustainability, UK

12MayMay 12, 2022

US. State pension funding soars to 83.3% in fiscal year 2021 – Wilshire

U.S. state pension plans' estimated aggregate funding ratio at the end of fiscal year 2021 jumped to 83.3% from 70% in the previous year, a report from Wilshire Advisors shows. Based on more than 100 state plans' most recent annual reports, most of which provide data as of June 30, the aggregate funding ratio is based on $3.957 trillion in aggregate assets and $4.752 trillion in aggregate pension liabilities, according to Wilshire's 2022 Report on State Retirement Systems. Asset levels rose...

May 12, 2022

News2022, Funding, State Pensions, US

12MayMay 12, 2022

Nigeria. Civil war veterans protest 44 years unpaid pensions in Ibadan

Some retired military men who fought during the Nigerian civil war protested their 44 years of unpaid pensions on Wednesday in Ibadan, Oyo State capital. The group under the umbrella of the First Intake Able Voluntary Retired Or Discharged Ten Or More Years in Military Service, and led by their national coordinator, Babawande Philips, took to the streets of Ibadan with placards bearing various inscriptions. Mr Philips said the ex-military men had continued to suffer in the last 44 years when...

May 12, 2022

News2022, Nigeria, Pension Payout, Public Pensions

12MayMay 12, 2022

UK. 60% of pension funds don’t expect to meet net zero goals

Sixty per cent of a group of large pension funds across North America, Europe and Australasia believe they will fail to achieve their net zero goals under current conditions, new research has revealed. This pessimistic outlook — disclosed by Create-Research, which surveyed 50 large funds that collectively manage €3.3tn (£2.9tn) in assets — comes despite more than half of those surveyed having either already embedded or are in the process of incorporating net zero strategies into their portfolios. The findings will...

May 12, 2022

News2022, Climate crisis, Corporate Governance, UK

11MayMay 11, 2022

Russia-Ukraine War Has U.S. Pensions Examining Long-Term Investment Sustainability

Russia´s invasion of Ukraine has caused U.S. pension plan sponsors to focus on the long-term sustainability of their plan’s investments. U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia have caused U.S.-based pension funds to divest from or suspend allocations to the emerging market’s assets. But this will have narrow impacts to defined benefit plans’ risk and return outlooks, according to pension investment experts. “For most of our clients, their exposure to Russian securities is very small,” says David Eisenberg, outsourced chief investment officer leader at Buck. Many pension plans...

May 11, 2022

News2022, Investment, US

May 2022