September 2020

21Sep

New pension law proposed for South Africa

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for comment on its proposed Private Member’s Bill (PMB) to amend the Pension Funds Act. Read also It’s too early to panic over plans for South African pensions: asset managers The bill aims to amend the current Pension Funds Act to enable pension fund members to access a percentage of their pension fund before retirement as a guarantee for a loan. Read also Ghana: Press highlights plight of pensioners, removal of 7,000 ‘ghost’ names...

September 21, 2020
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21Sep

Japan proposal on contribution limits could hurt

Japan's regulators are moving to put "fairer" contribution limits for corporate defined contribution plans in place this year but analysts warn their proposed changes could just as easily shrink Japan's DC market as expand it. Along the way, some of Japan's biggest corporate plan sponsors could be forced to restructure the mix of DC and defined benefit retirement plans they offer to employees. At issue are current rules that mandate across-the-board reductions in DC contribution ceilings for companies that...

September 21, 2020
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21Sep

UK. Platform giants join firms in pension switching call

latform giants Hargreaves Lansdown and Aegon are among 67 firms to join an initiative calling for greater standards in pension switching. The partnership between Criterion and TeX, under the brand of Star, is working on a transfers & re-registration initiative which it hopes will shape "recognised, industry-wide standards to promote good practice in transfers". Fidelity and Standard Life have also petitioned their fund groups to support the campaign. Andrew Marker, chairman of the Star steering group and...

September 21, 2020
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21Sep

Romania. The Evolution of the Private Pensions Market in the First Six Months of the Year 2020

The value of the total assets under management, at the level of the entire private pensions system, has reached the amount of 68.57 billion RON, at the date of 30.06.2020, exceeding in Euro equivalent the value of 14 billion, increasing by 6.31%, as compared to December, 2019. Moreover, the share of private pensions in the Gross Domestic Product[1], at the end of June, 2020, was of 6.39%, above the level of December, 2019. 'The economic context in the first...

September 21, 2020
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18Sep

India. More pension fund managers by December, expense ratio to be relooked: PFRDA

Soon, National Pension System (NPS) subscribers could have a longer list of fund managers to choose from for managing their voluntary retirement contributions. “We will be coming out with our RFP (request for proposal) in another 2-2.5 months. So, by December, the RFP should be out. Everyone is welcome to come and manage it. It will not be restrictive (in terms of numbers), but there will be entry barriers to ensure only serious players come in,” said Supratim Bandyopadhyay,...

September 18, 2020
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18Sep

California Mandates Cannabis Companies to Provide Retirement Plans by September 30th

Yikes! Who knew?! Soon, ALMOST ALL California cannabis companies will have to offer a retirement plan of sorts (for ease of reference, the author refers to a 401(k) plan, but there are other types of plans). Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10 § 10001. In fact, the deadline for cannabis companies with more than 100 employees is September 30, 2020. For cannabis employers with more than 50 employees, the deadline is June 30, 2021; for cannabis employers with five or...

September 18, 2020
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18Sep

Revised Mercer U.S. Pension Buyout Index Methodology Shows That Costs of Annuity Buyouts Could Be Less Than Accounting Liability

Mercer, a global leader in redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being, and a business of Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC), announces that the costs associated with annuity buyouts may be increasingly attractive, as Mercer data indicates that a hypothetical retiree buy-out transaction may cost 97.7% of the plan’s accounting obligations1. The discovery comes following enhancements introduced by Mercer to its U.S. Pension Buyout Index (the “Index”). Originally launched in...

September 18, 2020
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18Sep

Ghana. Government to develop micro-pensions policy for informal sector

Government is considering the development of a micro-pensions policy to guide efforts at improving informal sector coverage to unlock its huge potential. Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, disclosing this, said since 2017, government had been creating awareness on the Third-Tier pension scheme for occupational groups, which had whipped up the interest of informal sector workers not covered by any pension scheme. Addressing a “press briefing” in Accra , he said effective January next year,...

September 18, 2020
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18Sep

Canada pension plan’s fossil-fuel investments raise climate risks, study says

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which manages the pensions of 20 million Canadians, is investing billions of dollars in fossil fuel companies, exposing it to significant climate-related risks, research by two universities said on Thursday. The study was done by Canada Climate Law Initiative (CCLI), a project of the University of British Columbia and Toronto’s York University. The research acknowledged the progress made by Canada’s biggest pension fund, including the doubling of its renewable energy holdings, but found...

September 18, 2020
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18Sep

COVID-19 and pensions in Latin America

By Ernesto Brodersohn In the last 2020 edition of “G7 Pensions LT Investment Summit. Modern Asset Allocation, ESG & Inclusive Growth” I was invited to deliver some remarks on the current situation of Pension Systems in Latin America in the juncture with the health and economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. This sparked a quick updated stocktaking over the latest responses that different jurisdictions have been applying to pension schemes throughout the region. Over the past couple of months pension systems...

September 18, 2020
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