June 2019

26Jun

S. African Pensions Seen at Risk If State Forces Investments

A plan mooted by South Africa’s ruling African National Congress to force retirement funds into investing in specific state-owned companies or government projects could leave pensioners poorer. The ANC in its election manifesto earlier this year said it would investigate using prescribed assets to help foster inclusive economic growth, fund social improvements and diversify the finance industry. A lack of detail as to how this could materialize since it was accepted at the party’s policy conference in 2017 has...

June 26, 2019
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26Jun

Japan. Abe survives no-trust vote over pension report scandal

The opposition bloc tabled the motion in Japan's National Diet just before the current parliamentary term was due to come to a close. Given the ample majority enjoyed by Abe's government in both of Japan's parliamentary chambers, the no-confidence vote was never expected to pass. Opposition parties moved against the head of government following a controversial government report earlier this month that underscored the unsustainability of the public pensions system and seemed to encourage private savings as a...

June 26, 2019
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26Jun

US. The Gender Gap We Need to Worry About: Retirement-Savings Shortfalls

Most Americans aren't saving enough for retirement, leading to big retirement-savings shortfalls. In fact, according to Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), more than four in 10 families where the head of household is between the ages of 35 and 64 will run short of money during their retirement. Not all households are equally short on cash for the future, though. In fact, EBRI found a shocking discrepancy between the projected retirement-savings shortfalls of older single women and those of...

June 26, 2019
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26Jun

Virtual visits: how Finland is coping with an ageing population

It’s 11.30am on a midweek June morning in Helsinki, Finland. Duvi Leineberg, a remote care nurse, is doing the lunch rounds. But instead of jumping in a car and visiting each person one by one, she is sitting in an office looking at a large computer screen where she can see into seven people’s homes. Most are sitting at a table preparing to tuck into some food. This is a virtual lunch group, set up to make sure older...

June 26, 2019
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25Jun

Pensions, Nonprofits Lean Into Social Investing

Two new reports on environmental, social and governance investing show pensions and nonprofit firms’ greatest ESG interests, while another report shines a light on which firms are living up to ESG expectations, and which aren’t. Social investing seems to be the most active area of ESG for pension and nonprofit funds, according to a report by Escalent, a human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. Social investing was defined as pertaining to diversity,...

June 25, 2019
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25Jun

South Africa’s Market for Retirement Funding, 2019: Covering Comprehensive Profiles of 27 Public & Private Companies

This report is on retirement funding and provides information of size and state of retirement funding in South Africa, on the continent and internationally as well as the factors influencing the sector. There are comprehensive profiles of 27 public and private companies in the sector. These include the Public Investment Corporation, which manages the Government Employees Pension Fund, with 1.27 million members and assets under management totalling around R1.8-trillion. There are profiles of notable private sector players such as...

June 25, 2019
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25Jun

UK. Asset managers step up on cost transparency

Data collection and analysis platform ClearGlass has added six asset managers to its list of firms that have provided 'exceptional' cost transparency to their clients. ClearGlass provides investment cost reports to pension schemes by collecting and analysing data from asset managers, according to the standardised templates prescribed by the Financial Conduct Authority’s Institutional Disclosure Working Group (IDWG). The platform was set up by Chris Sier, the former chairman of the IDWG and a professor at Newcastle University Business School....

June 25, 2019
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24Jun

UK. Record £7 billion of longevity risk reinsured by PIC in 2019

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has completed £5.8 billion (USD 7.4 billion) of pension buy-ins and buyouts and has reinsured a record £7 billion (USD 8.9 billion) of longevity risk so far in 2019. The specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds has highlighted a very active year for the pension risk transfer market, which has seen PIC conclude a huge £5.8 billion of buyouts and buy-ins with the trustees of these schemes. During 2019, PIC has also reinsured £7...

June 24, 2019
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24Jun

Over 2 million Pensioners in Bulgaria with Higher Pensions From July

More than 2 million and 130,000 pensioners will receive higher pensions from next month. The increase is 5.7%. About BGN 277 million are provided for it. The minimum retirement pension will increase by about 12% and the old-age pension will be around 7 BGN. The pension ceiling is increasing from BGN 910 to BGN 1200. Thus, about 43,000 people will receive the real amount of their pensions. 26 thousand will remain limited by the higher ceiling. After the increase...

June 24, 2019
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24Jun

Japan. Abe survives censure motion by opposition over pension report

A censure motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe submitted by opposition parties over his finance minister's refusal to accept a report suggesting pensions are inadequate for most retirees was voted down in the House of Councillors on Monday. The motion was submitted last Friday as opposition parties launched a last-minute offensive before the end of the current Diet session Wednesday and an upper house election in July to take issue with the Abe government's reluctance to address public concerns...

June 24, 2019
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