March 2020

27Mar

US. Stimulus deal includes temporary relief for retirement plans

Historic legislation would also ban companies’ use of aid to buy back stock. The Senate approved on Wednesday a roughly $2 trillion economic stimulus package for affected companies and workers that also provides some temporary relief for retirement plan sponsors and participants. Final approval is expected Friday in the House of Representatives, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she expected to debate the measure on the floor. Defined benefit plan sponsors gained a one-year holiday from making their 2020 contributions, but...

March 27, 2020
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26Mar

Europe. Social protection pays off

If the COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world one message, it is that we are only as safe as the most vulnerable among us. Those who are unable to quarantine themselves or to get treatment endanger their own lives and the lives of others, and if one country cannot contain the virus, others are bound to be infected, or even re-infected. And yet, around the world, social-protection systems are failing miserably at safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable...

March 26, 2020
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26Mar

Masataka Miyazono to Head up Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund

The Japanese government named Masataka Miyazono, as the new President of Japan Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). Masataka Miyazono is the former Deputy President of Norinchukin Bank. Masataka Miyazono will replace current president Norihiro Takahashi, whose term is due to expire at the end of March 2020. Masataka Miyazono retired from Norinchukin Bank on June 22, 2018. Read more @swfinstitute

March 26, 2020
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26Mar

UK. PFS pushes for grace period on PI amid ‘evidence of serious impact’

The Personal Finance Society has called for a four-month grace period for advisers whose professional indemnity insurance is due for renewal during the coronavirus lockdown. In a letter sent to the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury this week the professional body asked for regulatory concessions to help advisers at at time when "demand for their help has never been greater, yet pressure on their own resources are stretched". This included a call for advisers to be granted...

March 26, 2020
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25Mar

UK. Parliament pension fund cuts fossil fuel investments

Parliament’s pension fund has made record investments in renewable energy and cut its exposure to fossil fuel companies to bring MPs’ pensions in line with the government’s climate action targets. A report from the £700m pension fund showed that almost a third is now being invested in low carbon and environmentally sustainable funds following calls from hundreds of MPs to align the fund with the government’s legally binding climate commitments. Read also Swedish Pension AP1 Divests From Fossil Fuels ...

March 25, 2020
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25Mar

Kenya. Covid-19 test to our social protection system

As the world grapples with the Covid-19 global pandemic, the government has set in motion a raft of measures designed to not only arrest the spread of the coronavirus disease in Kenya but also ameliorate its negative financial and economic impact on the population. Read also Kenya’s Pezesha wins CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa 2020 bootcamp Many governments in the developed world are at different stages of deploying a variety of financial and social assistance mechanisms to help its citizens and business...

March 25, 2020
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25Mar

German federation proposes standard product for private pensions

The Federation of German Consumer Organisations – vzbv – and the state of Hesse have proposed a standard product, or Extra Rente, for private pensions to reform the system. The proposal aims to fix some of the problems brought by the privately funded pension system – Riester-Rente – since its introduction almost 20 years ago, precisely at the time when the government coalition weighs up possible changes. Dorothea Mohn, head of the financial market team at Vzbv, told IPE...

March 25, 2020
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25Mar

Swedish Pension AP1 Divests From Fossil Fuels

Swedish pension fund AP1 said it will no longer invest in fossil fuel companies. The SEK365.8 billion ($35.8 billion) fund said the transition to a low-carbon economy represents a significant amount of uncertainty for companies involved in coal, oil, and natural gas activities and that “continued investments related to these activities can increase the financial risk exposure of the fund.” The fund said the move is a result of its work to identify and analyze climate-related financial risks in...

March 25, 2020
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24Mar

US. Pension Plan Funding Relief Needed ASAP

Last week, in a throwaway line in an article on multiemployer pensions, I considered it something of a given that, following a script similar to the 2008 crisis, Congress would provide “funding relief” to single-employer pension plan sponsors, allowing them to defer contributions to their pension plans which would otherwise be substantially elevated, and that it was multiemployer plans, with their pre-existing funding challenges, that faced greater difficulties. Unfortunately, that isn’t quite right. Single-employer plans are facing their own...

March 24, 2020
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24Mar

UK. Parliamentary pension fund steps up renewables investment, but MPs insist full divestment urgently needed

MPs and peers have today again called on Parliament's pension fund to divest from fossil fuel assets, after its latest annual report revealed that despite an uptick in green investments the fund is still heavily reliant on fossil fuel majors. The cross-party Divest Parliament initiative today responded to the recently released annual report from the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF), which revealed that the fund has significant increased its interest in low carbon assets while reducing its exposure to...

March 24, 2020
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