June 2020

30Jun

Dutch schemes fail to push management fees below 0.5% threshold

Large Dutch pension funds have not been able to push their investment management fees to below the 0.5% threshold, even though their assets under management increased by 28% in the past five years. Consultancy LCP looked at total management fees as a percentage of total assets for the seven largest occupational funds – ABP, PFZW, PMT, PME, BpfBouw, Vervoer and PGB – and three large company pension funds (Philips, Rabobank and Shell). Together, these funds administer two thirds of all...

June 30, 2020
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30Jun

BP under scrutiny over Zambian pension shortfall

When BP sold off its Zambian fuel marketing business in 2010 to Puma Energy, it appeared to be a fairly straightforward example of a super major dispensing with non-core assets. For former employees of BP Zambia, though, it marked another setback in their struggle to win recognition for pensions earned. As BP’s new CEO Bernard Looney has set out his thoughts on tackling racial injustice and a desire to help the world “build back better”, the case of ageing...

June 30, 2020
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30Jun

UK. Regulator to focus on protecting savers amid Covid

The Pensions Regulator has said it will prioritise protecting savers during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as schemes continue to deliver benefits. The regulator's corporate plan for 2020-21, published this morning (June 29), sets out how it will continue to address the risks to the savers through regulatory interventions and scheme supervision. It also highlights the regulator’s determination to continue to fight against pension scams by taking action against fraudsters and working with other key industry organisations to...

June 30, 2020
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30Jun

WeBank, Huawei and KPMG Share Insights on Fighting COVID – 19 with FinTech

As part of their efforts to promote fintech solutions in the post-pandemic era, the Financial Services Blockchain Consortium Shenzhen (FISCO), Singapore FinTech Association, FinTech Association of Hong Kong and Shenzhen FinTech Association organized the "Financial Digitalization & Fintech Evolution in the Wake of COVID-19" webinar on June 23. It was the first joint event conducted by FinTech associations in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Singapore. Senior members from WeBank, Huawei and KPMG shared their insights on the trend of financial...

June 30, 2020
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29Jun

Raiding the pot: how the pandemic has deepened the pensions crisis

The arrival of coronavirus in Australia in March left Marie Piggo struggling to put food on the table. The 32-year-old hairdresser from Sydney quickly saw two-thirds of her income disappear as customers stayed at home. Worse still, her husband lost his job. So when the Australian government announced in March it would allow young people like herself to raid their retirement pots to ease financial pressures caused by the coronavirus lockdown, she jumped at the chance. “We didn’t take...

June 29, 2020
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29Jun

US. Coronavirus puts company match under pressure

For the employers that suspended or reduced their matches in defined contribution plans, the coronavirus — which caused the economic havoc leading to cost-cutting — also looms over their efforts to reinstate these benefits. "If companies can bring back the match, they will," said Gregg Levinson, the Philadelphia-based senior director of retirement at Willis Towers Watson PLC. However, a new survey by his firm, conducted during the first half of June, shows that bringing back the match could take...

June 29, 2020
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29Jun

NPS and Allianz to set up $2.3 bn Asian property fund

The National Pension Service (NPS) is to launch a $2.3 billion property fund with Germany’s Allianz SE to invest in core real estate in Asia, with the pension scheme expected to deploy at least 30 trillion won ($25 billion) in new alternative investments by year’s end. Read also Dutch schemes fail to push management fees below 0.5% threshold The 50:50 co-investment fund will target landmark office buildings and logistics and residential facilities in big cities in Asia such as Australia,...

June 29, 2020
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29Jun

Changes To Social Security Insurance In China

China has updated their social security insurance policies with some noteworthy changes. Jurisdiction China What's new? 1. Faster social security card application process The State Council and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will facilitate a faster application process for social security cards through the nationwide integrated online government service platform. Read also WeBank, Huawei and KPMG Share Insights on Fighting COVID – 19 with FinTech 2. Merging of Maternity Insurance with Basic Medical Insurance The State Council...

June 29, 2020
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29Jun

Increasing compulsory superannuation would crush consumer spending

The Grattan Institute has attacked the legislated lift in the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12%, claiming it would “leave an enormous hole in economic activity”: Legislated plans to increase the rate of compulsory superannuation contributions incrementally to 12 per cent of wages between 2021 and July 2025 would also exacerbate the economic problems caused by COVID-19, and should be abandoned. At least 80 per cent of the cost of higher compulsory super contributions comes at the cost of lower...

June 29, 2020
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26Jun

US. DOL Proposal Will Chill ESG Corporate Pension Investing, Advocates Say

Advocates of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing have decried the US Department of Labor (DOL)’s newest proposal as poison for sustainable investments in pension plans. Read also 2 Danish pension funds chip into latest European green bond On Tuesday, the DOL proposed a rule that said company defined benefit (DB) retirement plans have a fiduciary duty to beneficiaries, not to social causes advanced through ESG investing that could reduce returns or increase risk. Read also The Mixed...

June 26, 2020
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