December 2021
20Dec

UK. Enthusiasm for green pensions fails to translate

Although most savers say they want their pension to be invested responsibly, very few people auto enrolled into workplace schemes have moved their investments to sustainable funds. That is according to research by Barnett Waddingham which found one in five savers (20%) said they thought ESG funds should be the default option for workplace pensions, regardless of return. A further 26% said they thought this should be the case so long as the return is the same as a non-ESG fund. Meanwhile,...

December 20, 2021
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17Dec

U.K. offers pension trustees guidance on climate standards

The Pensions Regulator issued guidance Thursday to help U.K. pension trustees meet new standards for climate-related governance and reporting of both risks and opportunities. Part of trustees' responsibility is making sure that the external advice they get is relevant and competent, the regulator said in a news release. "We recognize that the governance and reporting of climate-related risk is relatively new, so trustees may be more reliant on external experts while they build their scheme's capability in this area," said David...

December 17, 2021
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17Dec

New EU proposal aims to make long-term investment funds more attractive

Money managers operating in the European Union anticipate an increase in alternative investment opportunities as regulators relax rules for European long-term investment funds. Under the latest proposal to reform the Capital Markets Union — an ongoing initiative aimed at creating a single pan-European financial market — the European Commission is revising how money managers can set up and market European long-term investment funds, known as ELTIFs. These collective investment strategies — currently only offered by certain alternatives money managers —...

December 17, 2021
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17Dec

Canada. CPPIB targeting high carbon emitters for long-term investments

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is pursuing a new strategy that involves investing in businesses with high greenhouse gas emissions and a desire to reduce them. The strategy, which is published in a new report, aims to identify companies committed to creating value by lowering their emissions in a manner that’s consistent with the CPPIB’s own timeframe. The strategy was devised by Bill Rogers, managing director and head of sustainable energies; Mike Conrad, principal in sustainable energies; and Art Pithayachariyakul,...

December 17, 2021
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16Dec

US. Record Returns Not Enough to Ensure Public Pension Stability

Despite logging average returns of 27.5% during fiscal year 2021, state pension plans still face a large funding shortfall and might have billions more in unfunded liabilities not yet recognized on their books, according to a recent report from nonprofit Equable Institute. “This past year has been an incredibly helpful boost to state pension funds that spent a decade mired in mediocrity,” Equable Institute Executive Director Anthony Randazzo said in a statement. “But even a nearly $400 billion improvement in...

December 16, 2021
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16Dec

UK. WPC launches inquiry into saving for later life

The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has launched the third and final part of its inquiry into the impact of the pension freedoms and protection of savers, focusing on what needs to be done to help people plan and save for retirement. The inquiry, which will be hearing evidence until 2 February 2022, will consider whether households have adequate pension savings and how the government can improve member outcomes. In particular, it will consider issues around auto-enrolment, retirement income targets and...

December 16, 2021
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16Dec

Switzerland. Pension reform passes in parliament but set to be challenged to vote

By SWI The overhaul also foresees financial compensation – staggered over nine years for women directly affected by the change – as well as an increase in value-added tax. Both chambers of parliament on Wednesday agreed on a series of compromises, but left-wing political parties and trade unionsExternal link have vowed to challenge the reform in a nationwide vote. They argue women have to bear the brunt of the reform as their official retirement age will be set at 65, in line...

December 16, 2021
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16Dec

UK. 48% of retirees worried about pension adequacy

Almost half (48 per cent) of retirees are worried that they may eventually run out of money in retirement, yet 41 per cent have no plan as to how much they should be spending each year to avoid this issue, research from Abrdn has revealed. The survey showed that 24 per cent of retirees, around 3 million Brits, were expecting to boost their savings with inheritance, whilst 33 per cent, equal to around 4 million retirees, plan to downsize to...

December 16, 2021
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16Dec

Aegon strikes deal with RGA to reinsure longevity risk in pensions

Aegon, the Dutch insurer, said on Wednesday it has struck a deal with Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) to hedge the risk that people in its Dutch pensions business will live longer than expected. The move "improves the risk profile of this business and is another step to generate stable, regular, and reliable cash flows," said CEO Lard Friese in a statement. Aegon said under the deal "initially" it would sacrifice 40 million euros ($45 million) in operating capital generation at...

December 16, 2021
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15Dec

UK. Pension risk settlement market set to pass £45bn by end of 2021

The UK pension risk settlement market is expected to exceed £45bn by the end of 2021, representing the third year in a row that activity has reached this level, according to analysis from Aon. The firm explained that whilst the market was “relatively subdued” in the first half of 2021, with £7.7bn of bulk annuity deals completed, the pace has since accelerated. As a result, Aon predicted that there will be close to £30bn of bulk annuity deals completed by the...

December 15, 2021
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