April 2020

22Apr

Kenya needs better social protection programmes during Covid-19

While scrolling through Twitter, it is likely that you will come across a post appealing for food aid. As Kenya recorded its 197th confirmed Covid-19 case in early April, many enterprises had reduced their operations, or closed down, causing massive losses in livelihoods. The economic impact has, in turn, increased the prevalence of food-insecure households. Although Kenya has set up a Covid-19 Emergency Fund, it does not currently support provision of food for the most vulnerable households. On Friday,...

April 22, 2020
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22Apr

Australia. 500 firms to stop pension top-ups over coronavirus

Hundreds of companies are expected to abandon attempts to fill shortfalls in their pension schemes during the coronavirus crisis. The finding from pension experts suggests "top-up" contributions will be cut by at least £500m. Debenhams has already missed a payment and the Arcadia group, which owns Topshop, plans to stop them temporarily. Regulators are permitting the suspensions to help businesses survive. The pension schemes affected are the most valuable for staff because they guarantee a retirement income based on...

April 22, 2020
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21Apr

US Public Pension Funding Levels Plunge to 66% in Q1

The funded level of the 100 largest US public defined benefit pension plans plunged to 66% during the first quarter from 74.9% at the end of last year, according to Milliman. It was the largest quarterly drop in the history of the firm’s public pension funding index (PPFI), and it eliminated the funding level improvements made during 2019. Volatility from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in net negative cash flow of approximately $24 billion and a $419 billion loss in...

April 21, 2020
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21Apr

Debt headache compounds Kenya’s worries amid fears for economy

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be felt in July when the country will need Sh630 billion to settle debts that will fall due. Kenya’s total debt reached a new high of Sh6.3 trillion on March 20. This position has been made worse by the depreciation of the shilling, which has reached an average of Sh106.7 to the dollar, one of the lowest this month. The debt position will get worse in coming months as...

April 21, 2020
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21Apr

PensionBee: Coronavirus will see greater engagement with pensions

Clare Reilly, head of corporate development at PensionBee, believes the current challenging economic conditions could lead people to engage with their pensions more closely. Having noticed a sharp decline in their pensions’ fortunes in recent weeks, people may begin to look more closely at what their money is invested in and what causes it to go up or down. “We have very low levels of financial literacy in this country and people generally don’t engage with their pensions, which...

April 21, 2020
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20Apr

US. We Need a New Social Contract for the Coronavirus

Our collective behavior will be the primary determinant of whether we can keep this virus in check. A team of infectious disease epidemiologists has calculated that we must reduce our social contacts by 65 percent from what they were before the virus started spreading. Everyone wants to get the country back to work, school, and together again as soon as possible. On Friday, the Trump administration announced it wants to do that in phases and allow each governor...

April 20, 2020
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20Apr

5 benefits this Singaporean system has over other pension systems

If you’ve wondered how CPF measures up with other countries’ pension systems. The CPF, or Central Provident Fund, is a social security scheme funded by contributions from both employers and employees. Read also India. No deduction in pension amid COVID-19 outbreak: Union Government It helps Singaporeans set aside savings for retirement, as well as for other important things like housing and healthcare. Read also IMF warns of global social unrest amid coronavirus pandemic What sets the CPF apart from other pension systems? Here...

April 20, 2020
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20Apr

Ireland. Concern growing as social welfare budget nears breaking point

Concern is growing across Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the capacity of the Department of Social Protection to continue to fund the cost of the coronavirus shutdown without an emergency estimate. The scale of the fiscal challenges are so steep one senior Government source warned: ‘The cost of dealing with coronavirus and its impact, especially on the Social Protection budget, may compel Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to escalate the process of government formation.’ Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are...

April 20, 2020
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20Apr

India. No deduction in pension amid COVID-19 outbreak: Union Government

The Union government in its latest order has said that there will be no deductions in pension. The government clarified that it is not planning anything of this sort. As per the latest reports, India has witnessed more than 15000 cases and 507 deaths due to the deadly coronavirus. Meanwhile, 2231 COVID-19 patients have recovered. The entire nation is under lockdown till May 3 to combat the deadly coronavirus. Read More @News.abplive

April 20, 2020
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20Apr

Managing the winds of change: policy responses to fintech

Technological innovations in financial services are affecting every sector of the financial industry and generating a surge of new applications. This column takes stock of the policy responses to fintech developments in approximately 30 jurisdictions worldwide and proposes a novel conceptual framework – the ‘fintech tree’ – that distinguishes three categories: fintech activities, enabling technologies, and policy enablers. Designing a policy framework for fintech will require finding a balance that maximises its benefits while minimising potential risks to the financial...

April 20, 2020
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