January 2022
10Jan

US. The clock is ticking on retirement security bills, industry experts say

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are motivated to pass another major retirement security package in 2022, but with midterm elections looming in November, time is of the essence, retirement industry sources said. Bipartisan bills were introduced in the House and Senate in 2021 that build 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. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ben Cardin, D-Md.,...

January 10, 2022
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10Jan

UK. Pensions largest component of household wealth – ONS

Pensions make up more than any other component of total net household wealth at 42 per cent, although inequalities remain within pension provisions, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed. The ONS noted that the proportion of pension wealth has increased over the past 14 years, likely due to the introduction of auto-enrolment, increases to state pension age, and varying defined benefit (DB) pension pot valuations. Retired households were found to be wealthier than those of working age,...

January 10, 2022
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10Jan

Malaysia. Tweak pension fund to benefit low- income workers

In our published paper nearly a decade ago, we wrote that “... scant attention is given to the plight of low-income workers in a situation of rising inequality caused by widening pay-gaps or differences in actual wages”, and “low average savings balances raise the question of retirement adequacy at desired income replacement rates” (Hamid and Chai, 2013). We stated that, “Since either expanding the accumulation phase or setting a minimum sum balance would result in unpopular delayed pay-outs, other solutions must...

January 10, 2022
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07Jan

US. Pandemic’s impact on retirement savings varies by geography, gender and age

Nearly every American has felt the impact of the pandemic on the ability to save for retirement. “Retirement is expensive, and Americans were struggling to save enough money for it long before the pandemic,” according to a report from The Penny Hoarder on its recent survey. “The economic turmoil of the pandemic underscored some critical lessons about investing for the long term, including keeping calm during turbulent markets and using market slumps as an opportunity to invest when prices are...

January 7, 2022
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07Jan

UK. Expanding auto-enrolment could cost employers more, experts warn

Proposed legislation expanding auto-enrolment pensions to include thousands more employees, including younger workers and lower earners, could lead to higher costs for employers, experts have warned. A bill was introduced to Parliament yesterday (5 January) that would see the minimum age for auto-enrolment drop from 22 to 18, giving employees an extra four years of savings towards their pensions. The proposal would also scrap the £10,000 minimum earning threshold that currently triggers automatic enrolment, meaning that all workers over 18 would...

January 7, 2022
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07Jan

India’s jobs crisis is more serious than it seems

Jitendra Maurya was one of more than 10,000 jobless young people who turned up for interviews for 15 low-skilled government jobs in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Many of them were overqualified - aspirants, according to one report, included post-graduates, engineers, MBAs and people like Maurya, who is preparing for a judge's exam, according to a BBC report. "The situation is such that sometimes there is no money to buy books. So I thought I will get some work [here],"...

January 7, 2022
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07Jan

UK. FTSE 350 DB pension deficit falls by £28bn; ‘looming risks’ ahead

The aggregate accounting deficit of FTSE 350 companies’ defined benefit (DB) pension schemes fell by £28bn during December, ending the year at £76bn, according to Mercer's latest Pensions Risk Survey. It revealed that liability values fell from from £962bn to £913bn during the month, although asset values also declined, from £858bn to £837bn. However, whilst the deficit had fallen compared to November, it had increased year-on-year, with an aggregate deficit of £70bn recorded at the end of 2020 and of £41bn...

January 7, 2022
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06Jan

UK pension risk settlements to see volumes of over £45bn in 2021: Aon

Aon expects the UK pension risk settlement market to see volumes of over £45 billion reported for full-year 2021, making it the third year in a row that it has reached this level. Compared with recent years, the market in the first half of 2021 was relatively subdued with £7.7 billion of bulk annuity deals completed. However, the pace then accelerated in the next six months and Aon expects that there will be close to £30 billion of bulk annuity deals...

January 6, 2022
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06Jan

Commentary: China and ESG — a delicate balance

China and sustainable investing are two of the most important growth drivers for the asset management industry. So far, fund managers have pursued these two efforts in splendid isolation, without worrying about how activism at home might affect business in China. We expect this partition of affairs won't be sustainable for much longer. China represents the single most attractive new growth region for asset managers. It is already the second-largest market (after the U.S.) for asset management services: By year-end...

January 6, 2022
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06Jan

The great population growth slowdown

At the stroke of midnight on January 1, New York City welcomed its first new inhabitant of 2022: Leyla Gessel Tzunun Garcia, born as the new year began at Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn. Read also India’s jobs crisis is more serious than it seems Given changing trends around population and fertility, though, there’s less competition to become the first baby of the new year than there used to be. Fewer babies were born in New York City in 2020 than...

January 6, 2022
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