July 2022
01Jul

UK. Majority of CEOs unaware their pension scheme could contribute to climate change

Less than half (45 per cent) of UK CEOs and business leaders are aware that their company pension scheme could be contributing to climate change, according to research from Make My Money Matter (MMMM). Earlier analysis by the campaign group and sustainability research house Route 2 showed that the investments of UK pension schemes allow an estimated 330 million tonnes of carbon to enter the atmosphere every year – more than the UK’s entire national carbon output. This lack of awareness...

July 1, 2022
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01Jul

Japan. World’s Top Pension Fund Writes Off Russia Stocks, Sells Bonds and Closes Year With Gains

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund said Friday that it’s been selling Russian assets since March following the invasion of Ukraine, marking down some values to almost zero in the process. The world’s biggest pension fund has substantially reduced holdings of Russian bonds, which can still be traded over-the-counter. The fund has been largely stuck with the country’s stocks, as foreign investors face trading restrictions, Chief Investment Officer Eiji Ueda said in the GPIF annual report. The Government Pension Investment Fund lost...

July 1, 2022
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June 2022
30Jun

DC 2.0: Three Paths To More Equitable Retirement Programs

Among C-suite and financial executives at both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, 99% are committed to helping employees save for retirement and 84% believe they have made significant progress toward achieving their organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals. That’s according to a December 2021 PNC Survey on institutional social responsibility. Despite these commitments, many employees remain underprepared for retirement. Specifically, low-income workers, women, and people of color tend to have significantly less access to retirement plans, and when these groups...

June 30, 2022
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30Jun

India. PFRDA to go fully digital in operations, invites bids from IT vendors to launch tech project

Pension fund regulator PFRDA has initiated steps to digitise its operations through the 'Technology Architecture (TARCH) Project', inviting bids from IT solutions providers to launch the project. PFRDA's most of the operations are currently manual in nature, and digitisation is partial. PFRDA has decided to digitise and automate its operations through Technology Architecture (TARCH) Project, which is envisioned to be a modular and API (Application Programming Interface) based platform, PFRDA said in a bid document seeking interest from reputed IT...

June 30, 2022
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30Jun

South Korea’s pension fund carried out rare FX hedging this month

South Korea's National Pension Service sold a small amount of dollars on the forward market this month in its first foreign exchange hedging since early 2020, an official at the agency told Reuters on Thursday. The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, did not disclose any more details such as the timing of the sale and amounts involved. The agency held a combined 312.3 trillion won ($240.21 billion) worth of foreign stocks and bonds...

June 30, 2022
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30Jun

Vanderbilt University Launches Study on LGBTQ+ Aging, Health Disparities

Researchers have launched a four-year longitudinal study of older LGBTQ+ people in the South to better understand aging and health disparities in the community. A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University has announced the first-ever longitudinal study of LGBTQ+ aging to better understand stress, resilience, and health disparities in this infrequently studied population. The effort, known as the Vanderbilt University Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study (VUSNAPS), is entirely comprised of LGBTQ+ people, including older LGBTQ, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming adults....

June 30, 2022
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29Jun

US. Social Security is valuable and needs attention sooner rather than later

This program has demonstrated its worth in tumultuous times The 2022 Social Security Trustees Report, which was prepared in February when the outlook for the economy looked less uncertain, shows a slight decrease in the program's 75-year deficit from 3.54% to 3.42% of taxable payroll (see Figure 1). The depletion date for the trust fund bounced back from 2034 to 2035. What does a deficit of 3.42% of taxable payrolls mean? That figure means that if payroll taxes were raised immediately...

June 29, 2022
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29Jun

UK. DWP launches consultation on dashboards availability point

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation seeking further views on the dashboards available point (DAP), and on the disclosure of information between the Money and Pensions Service (Maps) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR). The DWP previously ran a consultation on the draft pensions dashboards regulations, which outline the requirements pensions dashboards and their providers, and the trustees and managers of relevant occupational pension schemes, will need to meet. Feedback from this initial consultation argued that the...

June 29, 2022
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29Jun

South Africa. Treasury sheds light on retirement reform proposals

At a recent conference, National Treasury’s Acting Director-General expounded on the two-pot retirement system, the governance of umbrella funds and changes to Regulation 28. Ismail Momoniat, Acting Director-General at National Treasury, addressed the Pension Lawyers Association Virtual Conference in May with an update on retirement reform developments. He confirmed that retirement reform is alive and well, although there is still a need to consolidate the various proposals. He focused on five main areas: 1. Two-pot system proposal On the two-pot system proposal, which...

June 29, 2022
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29Jun

Bulgarian minimum pension will rise in July

Parliament finally approved the minimum pension to reach BGN 467 (EUR 240) as of July 1st. From this date, the maximum pension rises to BGN 2,000 (EUR 1,026). From October 1, the ceiling will rise once again - this time to BGN 3,400, which is the amount of the maximum insurance income. After parliament finally approved an increase in the minimum and maximum pensions from July 1st, Social Policy Minister Georgi Gokov confirmed that payments for the increase are still likely...

June 29, 2022
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