May 2020
29May

Allianz unveils the first edition of its Global Pension Report

Allianz recently unveiled the first edition of its Global Pension Report, which analyses pension systems from countries around the world using Allianz's very own pension indicator - the Allianz Pension Indicator (API). The indicator follows a simple logic: it begins with an analysis of demographic and fiscal preconditions, after which it looks at national pension systems based on two crucial dimensions: sustainability and suitability. It is therefore based on three pillars and takes into account a total of thirty...

May 29, 2020
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29May

Transaction costs make up 37% of UK pension investment costs: CACEIS

Transaction costs make up an average of 37 per cent of the total costs relating to pension scheme investments, data from CACEIS has revealed. This makes transaction costs the second largest outlay in scheme investments, after management costs which make up 42 per cent of total investment costs. The proportion of investment expenses made up by transaction costs has increased from CACEIS’ previously reported figure of 25 per cent. CACEIS said this is in part due to new methodology...

May 29, 2020
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29May

US. Department Of Labor Simplifies Electronic Disclosure Requirements For Retirement Plans

For years, employers have struggled to satisfy Department of Labor (DOL) requirements for providing legally required notices and documents to retirement plan participants through electronic means. The DOL itself has long acknowledged that its electronic disclosure regulations were outdated and unnecessarily burdensome for employers. On May 27, the DOL published new regulations that simplify the process for providing legally required notices and documents to retirement plan participants. At a high level, these new regulations provide a safe harbor...

May 29, 2020
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29May

Pension Fund Managers dump Nigerian Treasury Bills

Analysis of the recently released summary of Pension Fund Asset data for the first two months of 2020 by the Pension Commission of Nigeria has shown that pension fund managers are no longer in love with Treasury Bills like they used to be in the past. Time was when fund managers allocated much of their assets to treasury bills, but that seems to be waning as yields on treasury bills head towards subzero. According to the analysis, pension fund...

May 29, 2020
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28May

Australian regulator urges poorly performing pension funds to find buyers, exit industry

Many Australian pension funds have been suffering from falling asset prices, liquidity pressures and declining investor inflows due to the coronavirus pandemic and some should consider finding a buyer, the industry regulator said on Wednesday. Trustees must “be able to demonstrate their ‘right to remain’,” the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said in an article published on its website “For some the only way forward ... may be to exit the industry and pass on the trusteeship of their...

May 28, 2020
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28May

The Game of Pension Risk Transfers Continues

fsi Many employers with defined benefit pension plans would love to put responsibility for the plans in the hands of a life insurer, by buying a large group annuity contract. Predictions about how the current COVID-19, stock price and interest rate turmoil will affect the market for pension risk transfer annuities are… highly diverse. The life insurers in the market say demand is strong. Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service say big pension risk transfer units could help buffer...

May 28, 2020
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28May

Will COVID-19 Create a New or Accelerated Normal for Pensions?

Will COVID-19 usher in a 'new normal' in pensions? Or will it accelerate trends that were already evident before the crisis? Some sectors and industries will see entirely new ways of working. This is unlikely to apply in pensions. Instead, our view is that the COVID-19 crisis will lead to an 'accelerated normal'. In other words, COVID-19 will not be midwife for the birth of new trends in the world of pensions. Instead, it will be a catalyst accelerating...

May 28, 2020
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28May

Bitwage and Gemini Partner to Launch Bitcoin-Based Retirement Plan for Employees

Cryptocurrency payroll service Bitwage has announced the launch of a Bitcoin 401 (k) plan, allowing companies to give their employees a BTC-based retirement plan. In a press statement, Bitwage, which claims to have tested the product on its own employees for 10 months, said workers now have the ability to invest their pre-tax and post-tax dollars in BTC, through their employer. A 401(k) is a retirement plan that allows employees of a company to save and invest for retirement...

May 28, 2020
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27May

US. The Federal Employee Retirement Plan Should Add, Not Delete Chinese Stocks

By Ric Edelman Never mix investing with politics, as I wrote in my bestselling book, The Truth About Retirement Plans and IRAs. Sadly, for millions of American public servants, the board that controls their $600 billion retirement savings plan just did. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board just halted its plans to include Chinese stocks in the Thrift Savings Plan, the 401(k) equivalent for federal employees and members of the military. First, some background. The TSP has five core...

May 27, 2020
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27May

South Africa. Odds stacked against investment industry as Covid-19 hits pension contributions

The investment industry could face one of its toughest years to date in 2020 as people are losing their jobs and cashing out their pensions to survive, while companies are giving those who remain employed options to save less for retirement. One of SA's biggest asset managers, Coronation Fund Managers, said while it is still early to assess the impact of coronavirus-related job losses on the industry, it is safe to expect that less money will be coming in....

May 27, 2020
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