June 2022
07Jun

Students imagine better products, services, and infrastructure for an aging society

A pop-up hearing aid exposition called HearWeAre. A travel agency that matches older and younger travelers for group adventures. An app that guides outgoing hospital patients through every step of the discharge process. These are a few of the projects presented by students on the final day in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP)’s class 11.547J/SCM.287J (Global Aging and the Built Environment). Taught by Joseph Coughlin, the director of the MIT AgeLab, and supported by his team...

June 7, 2022
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06Jun

Investors put new weight behind ESG mandates

Institutional investors have focused on ESG for many years, but the industry may be reaching a tipping point in terms of the specificity and sophistication of ESG mandates. Against a backdrop of increasingly hard to ignore climate risks and social unrest brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the death of George Floyd and the war on Ukraine, institutions are moving away from passive exclusion strategies and leveraging new data to engage with management teams, set specific goals and measure...

June 6, 2022
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06Jun

UK. Pension policy dissatisfaction rises; majority sceptical of triple lock future

Over three quarters (81 per cent) of pension professionals are sceptical about the future of the state pension triple lock and doubt it will exist in its current form in five years’ time, according to the latest Pensions Management Institute (PMI) Pulse survey. The research also revealed a broader dissatisfaction over the handling of pensions policy, as fewer than half (49 per cent) of pension professionals were satisfied with its direction over the past six months, marking a 12 percentage...

June 6, 2022
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06Jun

People in Germany retired earlier with slightly higher pensions in 2021

For years, the average retirement age in Germany has been increasing, but 2021 saw a little blip in the trend, with employees retiring a little earlier and with slightly higher pension benefits than in previous years. People retired earlier with higher pensions in 2021 On average, people working in Germany retired a little earlier last year and with slightly higher pensions, according to new figures from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, which were made available to Bild. In total, 1,435 million employees retired in...

June 6, 2022
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06Jun

US. Pension Funds Push for More Disclosure Rules for Private-Equity, Hedge Funds

Pension plans and other institutional investors are embracing a federal proposal that would force hedge funds and private-equity funds to provide more disclosures to investors. University endowments, insurance funds and retirement funds serving teachers and firefighters are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to move forward with a proposed rule that would ensure private-fund investors receive annual audits and quarterly statements. The rule, which has been heavily criticized by the private funds and Republicans, would also prohibit fund managers from...

June 6, 2022
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03Jun

How the U.S. retirement system shortchanges the middle class

America has a vast and elaborate system of public policies supposedly designed to help us all save for retirement and avoid the catastrophe of a penurious and poverty-stricken old age. But does this system end up shortchanging the middle class that is the backbone of the country and the economy? That’s the accusation of a new report from the National Institute for Retirement Security, a nonpartisan think-tank. It’s hard to argue they’re wrong. Read also Governance Issues Loom Over US Pension...

June 3, 2022
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03Jun

Pension funds lead the way on ESG in Africa

Discussion on attracting much-needed investment into Africa has generally focused on non-African sources: foreign firms, multilateral financial institutions and non-African institutional investors. Yet far greater attention is now being paid to investment funds based within the continent itself. As African pension and social security funds grow in size, they have the potential to support more African companies and projects. They can ensure that they maximise the benefits of this investment by building environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into their...

June 3, 2022
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03Jun

Canada. Pension plan sponsors uncertain about balancing ESG factors, fiduciary responsibilities: ACPM

Defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution pension plans are uncertain about how to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment processes in a way that’s consistent with fiduciary duties, according to a new white paper from the Association of Canadian Pension Management. “Sustainable investing, including ESG, is an area where some investment risks that have been acknowledged for decades are now becoming more acute (e.g., climate risk),” said the white paper. “How pension plans can, and should,...

June 3, 2022
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03Jun

Governance Issues Loom Over US Pension Funds

Fiscal year 2021 was a great year for public pensions. According to funding data from Pew Charitable Trusts, a decade of increasing pension contributions was bolstered by the reopening rally of 2021. As a result, public pensions in all 50 states saw their funding ratios top 80%, the highest level since before the Great Recession. By the end of fiscal 2021, public pensions had made the greatest progress in a century toward closing the gap between plan funding and...

June 3, 2022
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02Jun

China: National pension insurer’s first annuity product approved

Beijing-headquartered national pension insurer, Guomin Pension & Insurance Co, has got off on a flying start with approval from CBIRC for a product named "Guomin Good Life Pension Annuity Insurance". This is the first annuity insurance of plan of the start-up company that was established only in March 2022. The product was included in the catalogue of filed life insurance products on the official website of the CBIRC in mid-May. This product, which pays benefits for the rest of the policyholder's...

June 2, 2022
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