June 2019

18Jun

UK. Millions at risk of retiring on incomes below living wage

Pensions providers have been called on to do more to encourage people to save for their retirement as estimates suggest millions of people are at risk of retiring on incomes far less than the current “national living wage”. Since the introduction of automatic enrolment in 2012, which obliged employers to auto-enrol qualifying staff in workplace pensions, some 10 million people have started saving, many of whom would not have done so before. A minimum of 8% of pensionable earnings...

June 18, 2019
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18Jun

Brazil: The battle over pensions

The government’s difficulties are emerging clearly, with the weakness of its parliamentary group, stuck between the unpopularity of the reform and the clientelist pressures of the parties of the centre, unable to show their support for Guedes’ proposal. So, the visit of the minister ended in noisy confusion and an exchange of insults. The embarrassment of the minister representing the banking sector in the Commission led to a fall in capital markets. The next day was marked by the...

June 18, 2019
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18Jun

Pension funds’ fixed income allocations losing ground in growth markets: report

In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, pension funds are increasing their exposure to equities at the expense of fixed income, according to a new report by Mercer. In aggregate, over the five-year measurement period, average allocations to equities for the growth markets covered by the report rose eight percentage points to 40 per cent, while fixed income allocations decreased 11.3 percentage points to 45.6 per cent. Allocations to alternatives, cash and other asset classes, which accounted...

June 18, 2019
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17Jun

G-20 Put Global Aging On The Agenda, But Did They Define Longevity As A Problem, Or An Opportunity?

The G-20, the world’s finance ministers and central bankers, are meeting in Japan. In keeping with the backdrop of Japan, the nation with the world’s fastest-aging population, global aging has made its way to the front of G-20’s agenda. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso is quoted as warning the world’s financial decision makers that they must act now to take “effective measures against it.” Those who are invested in making the world a better place for older adults have...

June 17, 2019
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17Jun

How to take advantage of all the uncertainty with the stock market

As the stock market swings amid tariff and trade war threats, you might get nervous about the effects on your 401(k) or other investments. But a shaky market is no reason to stray from your financial plan. Behavior at the end of 2018 is a striking example. As the market soured in the final months of the year, investors pulled funds to mitigate losses, according to DALBAR's 2018 Investor Behavior Study, but not nearly enough to avoid the full...

June 17, 2019
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17Jun

Is it normal to face €2,300 fee on UK pension transfer?

I am a 54-year-old woman, who has 20 years of various pensions from working in the UK. I have been living and working in Ireland for 14 years. The transfer value of my UK private pensions totals about £250,000 (€283,000). I have been discussing this with a number of financial advisers - and am now close to transferring my pensions to Ireland. Part of my pension portfolio comes from an eight-year service with a bank I have worked with...

June 17, 2019
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14Jun

Australian regulator slaps stricter conditions on AMP’s pension funds, shares fall

Australia’s banking watchdog on Friday said it had imposed stricter licensing conditions on AMP Ltd’s pension fund units following concerns regarding its compliance with superannuation laws, sending its shares down more than 4%. The move comes as the country’s largest listed wealth manager works to rebuild its brand after revelations of serious wrongdoing at an inquiry into the financial sector last year, including the charging of fees for services not rendered. Responding to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA),...

June 14, 2019
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14Jun

Zimbabwe pensioners face delay in payments amid currency row

Payments to 200,000 retirees on Zimbabwe’s public pensions scheme could be delayed this month, the national social security agency said, after a foreign currency dispute erupted between local banks and a payments software vendor. Zimbabwe is battling an extended foreign currency crisis which has affected key imports such as electricity, fuel and medicines. Many firms with foreign ownership are also struggling to repatriate dividends to non-resident shareholders. Its National Social Security Authority, a mandatory public pension scheme, said on...

June 14, 2019
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14Jun

Minding the gap between the sexes in Switzerland

In Switzerland, equal rights for women and men are enshrined in the Federal Constitution – which is what voters wanted. But nearly 40 years after the popular vote of June 14, 1981, the goal of equality has yet to be achieved. Here are five key indicators illustrating day-to-day gender inequality in Switzerland. “Men and women have the right to equal pay for work of equal value,” states the constitutional article on equal rightsexternal link. The law also expressly prohibits...

June 14, 2019
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14Jun

South Korea’s Pension Fund to Adopt New Hiring Policy Amid Staff Exodus

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has reportedly decided to introduce a new hiring policy for its portfolio managers. According to the new policy, one of the largest pension funds in the world now wants to hire fresh talents and nurture them instead of hiring experienced managers as it currently does. To date, the NPS has hired only experienced professionals for portfolio manager positions. Since the pension manages massive assets — about 675 trillion South Korean won ($571 billion)...

June 14, 2019
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