October 2020

16Oct

UK. What the amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill could mean in the battle against fraud

During the maelstrom of seven months of Covid-19, we’ve grown used to hearing about a select number of reoccurring concerns, one of which is the menace of pensions fraud. Although pensions fraud is not a new phenomenon, there has been growing concern that the environment of uncertainty created by the global pandemic is enabling ruthless scammers even more freedom to wreak their misery. Barely a week has gone by without there being a round of headlines relating to the...

October 16, 2020
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16Oct

India. Regulator Plans To Hike Fee Charged By NPS Fund Managers

Fund managers of the National Pension Scheme will soon be able to charge a higher fund management fee. Read also Canada. Commission on Aging to hear about COVID-19 impact on elderly at Oct. 21 meeting A committee, comprising members of the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority as well as representatives of the mutual fund industry, is finalising a proposal for a new fee structure for the fund managers of the NPS, Supratim Bandyopadhyay, chairman at the regulator, said at...

October 16, 2020
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16Oct

The Importance of Extending Diversity to the Retirement Plan Committee

This year, in particular, with the protests that sprung up across the country following the death of George Floyd, has shown many companies the importance of having a truly diverse workforce. And that principle should extend to the retirement plan committee as well as the workforce, experts say. While having a diverse committee is ideal, the first thing plan sponsors should do is select experts to sit on the committee, says Timothy Irvin, a director and corporate markets practice...

October 16, 2020
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16Oct

Retirement tontines: Using a classical finance mechanism as an alternative source of retirement income

Households face two related but distinct financial challenges as they prepare for retirement: first accumulating enough retirement savings during their working years, and then spending down their assets wisely after retiring. A substantial literature reaching a wide range of conclusions examines the extent to which households are saving adequately for retirement. But there is more consensus about the challenges households face when deciding how best to spend down their savings. People do not know how long they or their...

October 16, 2020
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15Oct

OECD tells UK: Ditch pensions triple lock

The British government is being urged to abandon its pensions “triple lock” or face growing pressure on the public purse. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report published on Wednesday that the practice of indexing annual pension increases to the maximum of earnings growth, interest rates or 2.5% would put growing pressure on the UK at a time when public debt is already above £2tn ($2.6tn). Read also Half of UK pension funds seek...

October 15, 2020
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15Oct

PFA reports new fall in CO2 emissions, drops some oil and gas firms

Fund says equity portfolio emits 21% less CO2 per million USD invested than MSCI world index Denmark’s largest commercial pension fund, PFA, has announced a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of its equity portfolio in the first six months of this year – a period in which it now reveals it sold several oil and gas equities. The DKK599bn (€80.5bn) pension fund said the latest climate review of its equity portfolio shows that at the end of June, the...

October 15, 2020
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15Oct

5 retirement security risks that 2020 made worse

Retirement security was already on shaky ground when the calendar turned to January 1, ushering in a year of unprecedented and unexpected challenges that have compounded threats to global retirement security. According to Natixis Investment Managers’ 9th annual Global Retirement Index, the challenges of 2020 have disrupted financial markets, caused widespread unemployment and demanded urgent response from policy-makers, all of which could have long-reaching impacts on retirement security. The goal of the index is to provide an objective tool for...

October 15, 2020
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15Oct

Swiss pension schemes face arms financing ban campaign for referendum

The ban should apply to manufacturers of all kinds of war materials worldwide, including tanks, air defense systems, pistols and other components Swiss Pensionskassen will have to face a popular vote on 29 November on curbing the financing of companies producing arms used in global conflicts. The referendum is the result of an initiative by Young Greens, the younger faction of the Swiss Green Party, and the group Switzerland without arms (GSoA). The initiative wants to prevent the Swiss National...

October 15, 2020
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15Oct

US. Real estate investments cost NYC pension funds $370M

In a big investment portfolio, some part of it will inevitably underperform. For the city’s biggest pension fund, that part has been private equity real estate. The New York City Employees’ Retirement System ramped up its exposure to that category, only to see it underperform the stock market by $260 million and rack up at least $110 million in fees between 2016 and 2019, New York Focus reported. During those years, the fund increased its portfolio in private equity...

October 15, 2020
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14Oct

US. Deaths of despair: Not everyone benefits from the ‘longevity economy’

America recently passed a grim milestone of over 210,000 COVID-19 deaths, with little hope the pandemic will come under control soon. While the coronavirus has been devastating to those who’ve lost loved ones, it has also exacted a vicious toll on a particular group of older Americans: lower-wage workers, minorities and women who have labored for decades in jobs with unstable incomes and without employee benefits. Read also 5 retirement security risks that 2020 made worse We hear a lot...

October 14, 2020
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