May 2021
14May

Australia Considers Paying Pensions on Parental Leave Program

Australia could chip into the pension funds of eligible workers who take up its 18 weeks of paid parental leave, just not yet, amid criticism the government isn’t doing enough to ensure women are financially secure in retirement. The policy was changed last year to also pay fathers to take time out of the workforce to help raise kids, however it hasn’t yet had time to “manifest,” Jane Hume, minister for superannuation and newly-installed minister for women’s economic security, told...

May 14, 2021
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14May

Chileans drain $10 bln more from pension funds as pandemic drives withdrawals

Chileans flocked for a third time to withdraw money from their retirement funds this week, draining nearly $10 billion from the country’s privatized pension system in a move some billed as a lifeline amid a fierce second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Read also Chicago Boys’ Free-Market Pension Model Is Unraveling in Chile Chile’s Congress in late April approved a bill allowing citizens a third opportunity to withdraw 10% of savings held in privately held pension funds. Many Chileans have already...

May 14, 2021
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14May

South Africa: Green light for infrastructure investment by retirement funds?

In South Africa, the draft Amendments to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act were published by National Treasury earlier this month. These amendments will allow retirement funds to invest up to 45% of their assets in infrastructure. This is set to open a huge potential source of funding for domestic infrastructure projects, but there has been some debate around whether this will be enough to help bridge the country’s infrastructure gap. Draft Amendments to Regulation 28 of the Pension...

May 14, 2021
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14May

US. Biden’s $86 Billion Pension Rescue Set to Boost Corporate Bonds

U.S. President Joe Biden’s pension bailout might do more than just support troubled retirement plans. It could also spur tens of billions of dollars in demand for corporate bonds with the lowest investment-grade ratings, according to Citigroup Inc. Struggling multi-employer pensions, which are often tied to unions, will be able to apply for special financial assistance, thanks to the $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief bill signed into law in March. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which insurers the plans, will make a single...

May 14, 2021
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14May

UK. Pensions Dashboard Programme publishes updated timeline with breakdown of next six months

The Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP) has published an updated timeline outlining steps and timings for data providers to enable the industry to prepare for connecting with the dashboard ecosystem. The PDP - set up by the Money and Pensions Service (Maps) - has outlined further timings for the industry to connect with the programme as part of its third progress update report including a breakdown... Read also UK. DB transfer victims lose up to 40% of compensation The PDP - set up...

May 14, 2021
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13May

US. Pension Funds Are Desperate to Cut Costs, but Consolidation Isn’t the Answer

Public pension funds that merge with their peers have historically hailed it as a smart way to cut costs and achieve economies of scale. But the strategy of consolidating funds, particularly for large ones, is not yielding the benefits it once once did, new research shows. In fact, for some funds, the economies of scale they are achieving is “rather mediocre,” according to a paper published this month by researchers Jacob Antoon Bikker and Jeroen Meringa from De Nederlandsche Bank, the...

May 13, 2021
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13May

Netherlands: Postponement of pension reforms

Last year, social partners and the Dutch government reached an agreement on pension reforms in the Netherlands. The agreement’s aims - amongst others – is to abolish defined benefit schemes and to prescribe flat rates for defined contribution schemes. It was expected that the reforms would enter into force through an accelerated legislative approval process from 1 January 2022 (with a transition period from 2022 to 2026). However, since the legislation took more time than expected to be prepared,...

May 13, 2021
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13May

China. Shanghai raising residents’ old age pensions

Shanghai is raising old age pensions, the city’s Human Resources and Social Security Bureau announced on Tuesday. Retirees covered by the social security fund for employees will get a 3 percent increase in their monthly pension from last year and an additional 70 yuan (US$10.8) a month. Women over 60 and men over 65 will get an extra 20 yuan a month per person. People included in city residents' basic pension scheme will have their pensions increased by 100 yuan to...

May 13, 2021
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13May

Turkey: The Regulation On The Private Pension System Has Been Amended

Amendments regarding the Regulation on the Private Pension System ("Regulation") were published in the Official Gazette No. 31476 dated 6 May 2021. With the changes introduced by the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency ("Agency"), new regulations have been created regarding the use of electronic means of communication, the maximum number of changes allowed in a fund distribution and the purchase and sale of pension investment funds via a central electronic platform. You can read the amendments...

May 13, 2021
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13May

US. Strong Stock Market Boosts 401(k) Investors’ Equity Exposure

A surging stock market, coupled with slow and steady trades into equities, brought 401(k) investors in April to their highest level of equity exposure since 2001, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) index. During the month, nearly all the trading days favored equities over fixed income; four days favored fixed income funds, and 17 days favored equity funds. Also of note was the fact that April has no days of above-normal trading activity. The average net trading activity was a mere...

May 13, 2021
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