March 2022

UK. Flexi-retirement increasingly common due to gig economy

Flexi-retirement is becoming increasingly common, as more and more retirees are opting to work part-time in the gig economy. According to a new report from Abrdn, two thirds of people retiring in 2022 do not plan on giving up work completely. This compares to just over half of those who retired in 2021 and a third of 2020 retirees. The report, which surveyed 2,000 UK adults, reveals how the “class of 2022” plan to spend their and money in retirement. A quarter said...

Ireland. State to pay €1 for every €3 a worker puts into new auto-enrolment pension scheme

Ireland. State to pay €1 for every €3 a worker puts into new auto-enrolment pension scheme

About 750,000 workers who do not currently have a pension will be enrolled in a new workplace pension scheme from January 2024, it has been announced. The Cabinet has agreed its long-awaited auto-enrolment pension scheme, which will cost the taxpayer €3 billion in its first year. Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys has said this pension scheme will operate in addition to the State pension and will kick in at retirement age which is currently 66. The State will pay €1 for...

Finland’s ageing population increasing at record speed

Finland’s ageing population increasing at record speed

Finland’s elderly, one of the world’s largest cohorts compared to the country’s remaining population, is growing rapidly, a new survey has found. Finland ranks third among OECD countries in terms of the largest share of people over 65, the report compiled by the UK-based organisation, Ageing in Place reveals. With 22.49%, Finland trails behind Italy with 23.37% and Japan with 28.79%. This figure also saw a rapid increase in Finland as only 17.26% fitted in that bracket in 2010. The trend can...

Climate campaigners condemn award to East Sussex Pension Fund

Climate campaigners condemn award to East Sussex Pension Fund

Climate campaigners have condemned the decision to give an award for ‘LGPS [Local Government Pension Scheme] Fund of the Year’ to the East Sussex Pension Fund, saying that the Fund has failed one of the most basic litmus tests for such an award: namely, a public commitment to fully divest from the giant fossil fuel (oil, coal and gas) companies that are driving the climate crisis. The award was bestowed at the ‘LAPF [Local Authority Pension Fund] Investments Awards’...

US. House passes SECURE 2.0 bill

The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan retirement security bill in a 414-5 vote. Read also US. SEC takes ‘monumental’ step on climate disclosure The Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022, introduced by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, builds on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known as the SECURE Act, which Congress passed and was signed into law in late 2019. Read also US. Saving for retirement...

An ageing population means its time to rethink pensions in the Gulf

An ageing population means its time to rethink pensions in the Gulf

Pension reform during much of the 20th century was heavily focused on allowing the elderly to enjoy financial security after their working lives had ended. Western nations, as well as regions such as the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, spent decades building up increasingly comprehensive pension systems that typically provided significant incomes for those enjoying a well-deserved rest after decades of work. Read also German government prepares Aktienrente bill But changes in demography in richer countries is altering assumptions that were once...

Private Equity’s Opaque Costs Mystify the Pensions That Pay Them

Private Equity’s Opaque Costs Mystify the Pensions That Pay Them

On top of management fees, investors pay for a variety of funds’ business expenses, from travel to research to “other.” The stewards of billions of dollars in retiree savings are struggling to account for fees charged by one of the wealthiest industries on Wall Street. Investors who put money into a private equity fund expect to pay a management fee as well as a share of their profits to the firm running the fund. But on top of those costs are...

Will this new pension option provide retirement security for more Canadians?

Larissa Dundon values her independence. After quitting her corporate gig five years ago to launch her own communications firm, she can’t imagine ever returning to a nine-to-five. Not even a coveted defined-benefit pension is enough of a lure. “I have way more potential earning power, and I control where I want to go,” said the 37-year-old Vancouverite. “The payoff of having a pension isn’t worth it.” She saves for retirement in her registered retirement savings plan and tax-free savings account...

German government prepares Aktienrente bill

German government prepares Aktienrente bill

The statutory equity pension is an ‘integral part’ of the work of the current coalition government, says FDP’s Vogel The German government is working on a draft law to reform the first pillar scheme with the statutory equity pension model, or Aktienrente, to be finalised in the next few weeks, said Johannes Vogel, deputy chair of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and member of the parliamentary committee on labour and social affairs, in an interview with T-Online.de. The government, supported by...

A human-centered approach for impact investing in climate action

Climate finance is booming, now reaching over $600 billion in 2020. Yet, as the newest IPCC report makes clear, unequal climate impacts are escalating, making a justice-oriented approach to climate finance more important than ever. The question is: how can funders most effectively and meaningfully implement an intersectional lens to their climate investments? Read also US. SEC takes ‘monumental’ step on climate disclosure Climate justice recognizes that the communities least responsible for creating the climate crisis will be hardest hit by...