June 2021

US. The Death Of Public Pension Transparency

Forensic investigations reveal that public pensions in states such as Pennsylvania, California, Tennessee, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and, most recently, Ohio, have long abandoned transparency, choosing instead to collaborate with Wall Street firms to eviscerate state public records laws and avoid accountability to stakeholders. Read also US. Pension Worries Ease for States, Localities on Stimulus, Stocks Predictably, billions that could have been used to pay government workers retirement benefits have been squandered. Read also US. Despite Market Rebound, Rising Unemployment Hurt Public...

German Pensionskassen call for rule easing to improve outlook – WTW survey

German Pensionskassen are calling for more relaxed regulatory requirements with a view to a more optimistic outlook, taking into account the current challenging environment. Read also Air France–KLM Completes De-Risking of Pension Plans According to a survey conducted by Willis Towers Watson (WTW), 62% of surveyed Pensionskassen support regulatory changes to improve future prospects. Read also UK. Why investment pathways matter more than you think However, only 14% of the respondents consider Pensionskasse an “interesting way” to run company pension schemes, the survey...

UK. Industry fears customers are still not getting enough support with pension withdrawals

Withdrawal behaviours are among the top concerns of a third of pension providers, whilst two thirds fear this concern will only grow in the future as more and more people start to rely solely on a defined contribution pension. A new report from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), 'Future Proofing the Freedoms: Supporting customer decisions about pension withdrawals ', published today found pension industry experts fear that many people are withdrawing from their pension without any advice or guidance,...

Air France–KLM Completes De-Risking of Pension Plans

It has taken airline operator Air France–KLM several years, but it has finally completed the de-risking of its three main Dutch KLM pension plans in a move it says will create more predictable annual contributions and less balance sheet volatility. The airline reported late last week that it had reached an agreement with the five Dutch ground unions in KLM to convert the pension plan for its ground staff into a collective defined contribution (DC) plan. Under the terms of...

US. Despite Market Rebound, Rising Unemployment Hurt Public Pensions

Although cuts to state and local employment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had only a minor impact on public pensions’ funded ratios, they did cause a rise in the required contribution rates, according to a recent report from the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College. The report said that despite better-than-expected revenue for state and local governments during fiscal year 2020, a “dramatic reduction” in the size of the state and local workforce has negatively impacted public...

​Pension investors press companies over Myanmar human rights risks

Swedish pension fund AP7, the Dutch architects’ pension fund, Velliv and other European pension funds have signed a joint declaration urging companies with business in Myanmar to take action, given the risk of human rights violations under the military dictatorship. Led by Norwegian asset manager Storebrand and three other organisations, the declaration called on firms to map their activities in Myanmar in this regard, and use their leverage in support of human rights – among other things. Kamil Zabielski, head of...

US. Pension Worries Ease for States, Localities on Stimulus, Stocks

Public pensions performed better than anticipated during the pandemic, easing the financial strain on state and local governments sponsoring the plans, thanks in part to U.S. aid and stock market gains. The massive federal stimulus has helped head off the dire revenue picture that many governments were facing early in the pandemic. At the same time, record stock market gains and past changes to public pension operations helped drive funded levels higher and push pension management down the list of...

A preservation ‘revival’ will supercharge South Africa’s retirement outcomes

South Africa's retirement outcomes will improve radically if all retirement funding contributions are kept invested when fund members change jobs. Other quick wins include increasing the minimum government pension; delaying the government retirement age beyond 60 years; and refocusing the industry from saving a lump sum at retirement to providing a sustainable income in retirement. These observations were made by Dr David Knox, the lead author of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (GPI), during a keynote address to...

UK. TPR secures £730m insolvency protection for Sanofi Pension Scheme

Sanofi’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme has additional insolvency protection of up to £730m for 20 years, following intervention from The Pensions Regulator (TPR). The regulator worked with the global healthcare company to secure the increased financial support for the scheme, which also includes deficit repair contributions and an upfront payment of £37m, after warning that it would take enforcement action if necessary. TPR added that the scheme, which has 16,500 members, now also benefits from a legally binding agreement which...

US. Maine forces pension funds to dump fossil fuels

Last week, Maine passed bill LD99; an act to require the state to divest itself of assets invested in the fossil fuel industry. Needing 17 votes to pass, it succeeded with 18 in favour while 15 voted against the bill and two were excused. Under the law, the Maine Public Employees Retirement System "may not invest the assets of any state pension or annuity fund in any stocks or other securities of any corporation or company within the fossil fuel...