May 2022
05May

U.S. corporate pension plan funding rises in April

U.S. corporate defined benefit plan funding ratios rose in April despite poor market returns, primarily due to rising discount rates, which lowered liability values, three reports show. In Wilshire Advisors' monthly report, the aggregate funding ratio for U.S. corporate pension plans increased by 30 basis points in April, to 97.4% as of April 30 from 97.1% as of March 31. While assets fell 7.7 percentage points due to a troubled equities market in February, liability values offset those losses by dropping...

May 5, 2022
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05May

Zimbabwe: Pensioners Lose Billions to Financial Abuse

Zimbabwe´s senior citizens have been getting swindled out of billions of United States dollars and the trend is only getting worse as inflation sinks its teeth deep into their pockets. Read also Kenya. Cash-strapped KBC fails to remit Sh984m in pension This came out during a debate in the National Assembly over the Insurance and Pensioners Amendment Bill. Former finance minister Tendai Biti, contributing to the debate, claimed at least US$9 billion worth of pensioners funds has been lost in the past...

May 5, 2022
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05May

UK. Pasa sets out good practice for DB transfers

The Pensions Administration Standards Association has published good practice guidance for those dealing with defined benefit transfers. At its annual conference in London yesterday (May 3), Pasa explained that the time taken to process DB transfers varies hugely, and sometimes, unexplained delays damage the relationship members have with their scheme, and pensions in general, which can lead to a breakdown of trust. Some transfers can often take months to execute, while others are processed within a month but administration delays can...

May 5, 2022
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04May

The post-pandemic prognosis for pension systems

Pension systems around the world faced a “stress test” during the pandemic—what you might call the “pension pandemic paradox.” Read also US. Study sheds light onto biracial, LGBTQ older adults for the first time On the one hand, there was pressure to allow access to pension savings as emergency support during a period of sharp economic downturn. This was understandable, since for many people pension savings are their biggest financial asset. But, in some countries, this turned into unprecedented access beyond...

May 4, 2022
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04May

US. State Public Pension Fund Returns Expected to Decline

About 29 million Americans have been promised retirement benefits through state public sector pension systems. And more than half of those benefits depend on earnings generated by nearly $4 trillion in assets held in trust by those systems.1 However, with more than two-thirds of those assets allocated to risky investments—publicly traded stocks, also known as equities, and alternative vehicles, including private equity, real estate, and hedge funds—retirement systems’ ability to meet their commitments hinges largely on investments that are...

May 4, 2022
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04May

UK. DB schemes with DC AVCs will need to comply with ‘stronger nudge’ regs

Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes with a defined contribution (DC) additional voluntary contribution (AVC) facility will need to comply with the government’s ‘stronger nudge’ regulations that are coming into force from 1 June. LCP noted that as the new rules apply at the benefit level rather than at scheme level, occupational schemes that are mainly DB but have DC AVCs will also be impacted. The stronger nudge to pension guidance will require pension schemes to offer to book a Pension Wise...

May 4, 2022
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04May

South Africa. GEPF signs new unlisted Africa investment mandate with PIC

The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) have signed a new mandate related to unlisted developmental investments in Africa. The PIC confirmed the new mandate in a short statement on Tuesday, but did not reveal the value of the deal. However, Bloomberg reported that the agreement is worth around $1.6 billion (just over R25 billion If this figure is correct, then it is much lower than the GEPF’s previous unlisted developmental investment mandate with the PIC,...

May 4, 2022
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04May

Luxembourg. Number working beyond retirement age doubles in decade

The number of people continuing to work beyond retirement age in Luxembourg has doubled in the last decade, according to figures released in response to a parliamentary question on Monday, after reforms aimed at incentivising older workers to stay in the labour market. Luxembourg's official retirement age is 65, but people can take early retirement at 57 or 60, depending on their level of contributions. The number of people continuing to work after receiving pension payments increased sharply in both...

May 4, 2022
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04May

US. Study sheds light onto biracial, LGBTQ older adults for the first time

A new study presented at the 2022 American Society on Aging’s annual conference is hoping to shed light on the lived experiences connected to the health and well-being of older adults who identify as biracial/multiracial and bisexual. Deana Williams, PhD, MPH, lead researcher of the study and a research investigator at the MultiCare Institute for Research and Innovation, told SeniorsMatter while research is increasing for some of these groups – including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults –...

May 4, 2022
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03May

UK. Less than third of schemes regularly track individual fund performance

Just 30 per cent of pension schemes regularly monitor individual fund performance as experienced by members, according to new research. Defined contribution schemes must start targeting retirement outcomes over outperforming indices, Aon said in response to its survey of 109 UK DC schemes. In contrast, 90 per cent of schemes are using an index-based perspective for monitoring performance against market indices and benchmarks. Even fewer schemes — 15 per cent of respondents — monitored performance in the context of how it delivered...

May 3, 2022
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