November 2019

04Nov

UK. NHS misses deadline for staff pension statements

The NHS missed its three-month deadline for issuing pension statements to more than 4,000 staff this year as the service struggles to cope with requests from doctors worried about tax bills. Between January and September, the NHS pension scheme received 15,200 requests from hospital consultants for an annual allowance statement, which is needed to assess their tax position. But one in four of those requests — or 3,824 — were not completed within the target timeframe, according to a...

November 4, 2019
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04Nov

Canada. Are automatic DC plan features affecting the pension gender gap?

With cohorts in the workforce behaving differently as they prepare for retirement, it’s important for plan sponsors to consider these differences along gender and generational lines. At Benefits Canada’s 2019 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto on Sept. 27, Jean Young, senior research associate at the Vanguard Center for Investor Research, shared a survey that found women (60 per cent) are slightly more likely than men (58 per cent) to participate in voluntary retirement plans. However, women have a...

November 4, 2019
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04Nov

These are the hottest fintech startups and companies in the world

It's a fascinating time for fintech. What was once a disruptive force in the financial world has become standard practice for many industry leaders. Fintech industry funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3. Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are emerging on the scene. And some fintech companies, including a number of insurtechs, have dipped into new markets to escape heightened competition. Now...

November 4, 2019
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01Nov

Thailand’s $30 Billion Pension Fund Curbs Risk in New Allocation

Thailand’s $30 billion Government Pension Fund is lowering exposure to riskier assets in a revised asset allocation for the medium to long term. The plan involves bolstering exposure to defensive Thai stocks, including those offering higher dividends, as a cushion against any downturn or market volatility, the fund’s Head of Investment Strategy Arsa Indaravijaya said in an interview. “The new allocation points to a de-risking mode,” he said in Bangkok. “Risky assets have been shaved off, reflecting a late cycle that we’re moving...

November 1, 2019
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01Nov

World’s Largest Pension Fund Sees Gain as Japan Stocks Rally

The world’s biggest pension fund posted a gain for a third consecutive quarter, with Japanese stocks providing the best return among assets amid a global shift to value shares in September. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund returned 1.1%, or 1.8 trillion yen ($17 billion), in the quarter ended Sept. 30, with assets totaling 161.8 trillion yen, it said Friday in Tokyo. Domestic stocks were the fund’s best performing investment, gaining 3.3%, while foreign equities added 0.1%. The return was 1.2%...

November 1, 2019
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01Nov

How China and the World Reacted to Xi Jinping’s Blockchain Comments

China’s President, Xi Jinping, sent waves through the industry with his speech on blockchain technology last week.  The leader of the Communist Party of China reaffirmed the trend of the past five years with his keynote speech that welcomed the dawn of blockchain technology in the country. He told members of the party: “WE MUST TAKE THE BLOCKCHAIN AS AN IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGH FOR INDEPENDENT INNOVATION OF CORE TECHNOLOGIES.” Many provinces across China had already been utilizing the technology behind cryptocurrencies but now Xi wants...

November 1, 2019
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October 2019

31Oct

UK. Delivering pension dashboards

The inclusion of the pension dashboards among the announcements in the Queen’s Speech on October 14 was an important step forward for this initiative, reflecting support from the government and enabling the industry to move forward to deliver dashboards with renewed vigour and certainty. Read also UK. Retirement income gender gap is the biggest in a decade While it has been pointed out that a lack of government majority in parliament means the proposals contained in the pensions bill might...

October 31, 2019
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31Oct

US. MIT agrees to pay $18 million in suit over retirement plan fees

St. Louis law firm Schlichter Bogard & Denton has reached an $18.1 million settlement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a lawsuit over the university's 401(k) retirement plan. The firm, headed by Jerome Schlichter, sued the university in 2016 on behalf of employees and retirees. The suit accused MIT of paying excessive record-keeping fees to Fidelity Investments and failing to monitor the plan's investments. The lawsuit pointed out that Fidelity's chief executive was an MIT trustee, and that...

October 31, 2019
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31Oct

Ireland. Plans to auto-enrol workers in pension schemes announced

The Government is to introduce a system of pension auto-enrolment on a phased basis from 2022. Read also Irish pensions need urgent reform, industry specialist says The details have been published by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Under the system, a worker will be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme when they start a job. Read also UK. Watchdog hails success of auto-enrolment pensions It will apply to all employees aged between 23 and 60 earning more than €20,000 a year...

October 31, 2019
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30Oct

Serbia to increase public sector wages, pensions this year and next

The Serbian government is ready to raise wages in the public sector this year and pensions in 2019, on the back of favourable fiscal revenues and in line with a non-financial arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Tuesday. Read also France. Macron vows to push pension reform ‘to the end’ despite strikes The government of the Balkan country this month moved from a small surplus to a deficit of 0.5% of GDP, to allow for...

October 30, 2019
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