December 2021

Sustainable finance roundtable: EIOPA announces its sustainable finance activities for the coming three years

Sustainable finance roundtable: EIOPA announces its sustainable finance activities for the coming three years

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions (EIOPA) is organising today its 5th Sustainable Finance Roundtable which gathers representatives from supervisors, industry, consumer organisations, and academia to discuss society's resilience to sustainability risks, the role of insurers and pensions and EIOPA's work in this area. On this occasion, EIOPA announced its three year plan which will help to integrate sustainable finance across all areas of its own work. From 2022-2024, EIOPA defined its key areas of activity: Integration of sustainability risks in...

Iceland’s Gigantic Pension Fund Is Creating a Headache at Home

Iceland’s Gigantic Pension Fund Is Creating a Headache at Home

Iceland is confronting the trouble that comes with having a pension system so successful in amassing savings for future retirees that it was recently rated the best in the world. With assets now at about double the size of the north Atlantic island’s economy, the government is considering allowing investment managers to diversify by buying up more securities abroad, prompting the central bank to urge caution. The rules currently limit the share of overseas holdings in pension assets at 50%. “The...

Jamaica. Informal Sector Workers to Get NIS Benefits

Jamaica. Informal Sector Workers to Get NIS Benefits

For the first time, Jamaica’s household helpers and fisherfolk will be able to secure pension benefits under the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) as the Government moves to formalise these sectors. This will be facilitated under the Transition to Formality Action Plan, which will see this segment of workers being able to access health and life insurance, pension and other facilities to provide them with security and protection in their work environment. The Action Plan, which was officially launched by Minister of...

Low Pension Savings in Ukraine: Ahead of Reform?

Low Pension Savings in Ukraine: Ahead of Reform?

Ukraine took the penultimate place in the ranking of pension savings among the countries of the world. Despite the work of non-state pension funds in the country, people are reluctant to use their services. There are several quite simple reasons for this. But the low place of Ukraine in the rating can accelerate the introduction of a mandatory funded pension. Poverty and Mistrust According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Ukraine is ranked second to last in terms...

UK. Thousands of pension plans lost as billions accumulate – where does the money go?

MILLIONS of pension plans are at risk of being lost by Britain's workforce, with unclaimed policies racking up billions. So what happens to this money? And how can you check yours? A recent study conducted by a financial services firm has shown more than 200,000 people placed calls to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in the past four years alone hunting for lost pensions. Some experts have claimed the amount in lost pensions within the UK system could...

Australia’s $3.3 trillion pension pot reaps dividends with ESG

Responsible investing is paying dividends for Australia's A$3.4 trillion (S$3.3 trillion) pension pot. Funds seen as sustainable leaders controlled 42 per cent of the assets in the nation's default savings plans last year, up from 28 per cent in 2019, according to the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA). The 13 leading funds - which integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, are transparent and demonstrate a commitment to good governance and accountability - also outperformed rivals over three, five and...

Few Companies Make The Hard Tradeoffs To Reduce Carbon Emissions

Few Companies Make The Hard Tradeoffs To Reduce Carbon Emissions

The law firm Crowell & Moring recently released a survey-based report that looked at how companies are navigating pressures to improve their environmental performance. The company surveyed 225 executives whose jobs included environmental, social, and governance issues. 56% of respondents said their company does NOT measure its carbon footprint. What may surprise many people is that increasing pressure from investors is the third most common reason - cited by one third of respondents - for companies to adopt environmental goals....

U.S. corporate plans’ funded status slips in November

Funding ratios for U.S. corporate pension plans decreased in November, according to reports from Legal & General Investment Management America, Insight Investment and Northern Trust Asset Management. Read also US. SEC guidance opens the door for more ESG proxy proposal LGIMA's monthly pension solutions monitor showed that the funding ratio of a typical corporate pension plan decreased by roughly 1.6 percentage points to 90.1% in November, primarily because of poor equity performance and lower Treasury yields. Read also US. Most Kentucky pension...

UK. Trustees warn lack of member appetite for ESG investing is hindering progress

More than half (53 per cent) of professional defined benefit (DB) pension trustees have cited the lack of member appetite for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing as a factor hindering the growth of sustainable investing. The study, conducted by Charles Stanley Fiduciary Management, found that 35 per cent felt a lack of understanding about the options available as a hindrance, while the suspicion that ESG investing was just a fad, fears that it could harm returns, and underwhelming investment...

How Technology Can Support Healthy Aging

As populations are aging around the world, people are spending more time in poor health. In 2019, the global average time spent in poor health was 10 years, up from 8.6 years in 2000. The COVID-19 pandemic has now exacerbated health risks for the elderly, while straining the capacity of health and care systems to cope with growing demand. This moment calls for a re-examination of how the elderly can age well: independently, well cared for and happily. Below are...