March 2017

14Mar

US. Insurance Companies Taking Over Pensions

US insurers are buying corporate pension plans at a record clip as rising interest rates and all-time high stock-market values give companies the perfect excuse to offload them. “The movement is expected over time to transform the management of pensions for employers, which can slash their exposure to the volatility of the stock and bond markets, as well as for the insurance industry, which gains a source of growth at a time when some traditional businesses are slipping,” The Wall...

March 14, 2017
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14Mar

Iceland lifts foreign capital bans for Pension Funds to invest abroad

Iceland lifted its remaining capital curbs on Tuesday, ending more than eight years of controls on businesses and citizens put in place after its banks collapsed during the financial crisis. Icelandic lenders buckled under the weight of huge debts amassed over years of overseas expansion, spreading instability through other European nations and making the country a symbol of the excesses that helped to trigger the financial crash. The government started dismantling capital controls last year by easing restrictions for local residents...

March 14, 2017
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14Mar

US. Lawmakers could end state pension plan for new employees

S.C. lawmakers eventually could walk away from the state’s pension plan. In passing a fix to the state’s underfunded pension system, the state Senate last week approved closing the current retirement system to new employees once it is made financially whole. But that could take about 30 years, officials estimate. Still, lawmakers are planning to explore changing the retirement options for state and local government employees, including teachers. A special panel already has agreed to look at who is eligible to...

March 14, 2017
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13Mar

New Zealand. Raising the retirement age to 67 not enough to support ageing population

The very idea of changing the age of eligibility for NZ Superannuation from 65 to 67 has certainly caused all sorts of reactions, from support for a bold action, to complaints it didn't go far enough, to criticisms that it is unfair and inequitable. But we think these reactions miss the point. The official news release states the change is to "ensure the scheme remains affordable into the future." The implication is that if something doesn't change then there won't...

March 13, 2017
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13Mar

Canada pension funds to invest in Singapore, Indonesia warehouses

Canada's two biggest pension funds have agreed to partner with LOGOS, a real estate logistics operator, to invest in warehouses in Singapore and Indonesia, betting on demand from the rise of e-commerce and a burgeoning middle class in southeast Asia. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the top pension fund of the country, said in a statement it will initially commit S$200 million ($142 million) for an about 48 percent stake in LOGOS Singapore Logistics Venture. It will also commit...

March 13, 2017
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13Mar

UK. Scots council pension funds ‘put at risk’ over fossil fuel investments

SCOTTISH councils are putting at risk their pension funds and face a possible legal challenge by failing to ditch investments in companies most responsible for climate change, according to a new report. While £1.7 billion is being invested in fossil fuel firms, just £234 million is being invested in renewable energy and social housing across all Scotland's council pension funds, according to a study by think tank Common Weal, Unison Scotland and Friends of the Earth Scotland. The study by think...

March 13, 2017
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13Mar

World’s Best-Funded Pension Market Shows Dark Side of New Rules

No country on the planet has a better-funded pension system than Denmark. So when its life insurance industry encounters some hurdles, it’s worth paying attention. Because of a challenging cocktail of record-low interest rates and stricter capital requirements, pension funds have been transferring risk to customers instead of keeping it on their own books. Given the developments, the head of Denmark’s financial supervisor wants a regulatory rethink to reflect the new world order he says many pension clients don’t yet understand....

March 13, 2017
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10Mar

India. Let government staff’s pension funds to invest 50 per cent in equities

The pensions fund regulator PFRDA wants government to more than treble the investment levels in equity markets by government subscribers under the National Pension System (NPS) up to 50 per cent from 15 per cent. The regulator has sent a proposal to government seeking to allow government subscribers (state and central government employees) invest up to 50 per cent in equities under the NPS, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority chairman Hemanth Contractor said. The authority manages about Rs 1.70 trillion...

March 10, 2017
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10Mar

The Benefits of the Canadian Model to Headline the Best Practices in Pension Fund Management at the 2017 Pension Bridge Annual Conference

Many of the most influential governing and lead plan sponsor investors from the institutional investment industry will be providing their valued insights at the Pension Bridge Annual Conference in San Francisco. The industry’s only controlled attendance structured event will be held on April 18th and 19th at Four Seasons Hotel, San Francisco. The exclusive conference will attract over 225 pension plans, corporate funds, foundations, endowments and consultants, while limiting the investment manager firms. Jim Keohane, President and CEO of the...

March 10, 2017
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09Mar

Lack of pension equality for same-sex couples ‘is sexual discrimination’

Denying equal pension rights to a same-sex husband – as opposed to a wife – amounts to direct, sexual discrimination, the supreme court has been told in a test case which could affect thousands of couples. The claim at the UK’s highest court on Wednesday is being brought by John Walker, a former cavalry officer, who is determined to win pension rights for his husband. Walker, 65, wants to ensure that, should he die first, his 52-year-old husband will be adequately...

March 9, 2017
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