February 2019

14Feb

Pensions: Council confirms agreement on pan-European pension product

EU institutions agreed new rules that will make it easier for people to put money aside for their retirement. EU ambassadors today endorsed the agreement reached between the presidency and the European Parliament on 13 December on the proposed 'pan-European pension product' (PEPP), a new class of personal pension scheme. The draft regulation is aimed at providing greater choice for people who wish to save for their retirement, and at the same time boosting the market for personal pensions....

February 14, 2019
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14Feb

Japan. The 100-year life and public pension reform

The Abe administration emphasizes the arrival of the “100-year life,” and the government envisions labor market reforms that meet the needs of a society in which people live much longer than past generations. While elderly people will need to have more money to cover the expenses of living longer, the policies that address this issue are not being seriously discussed by the government. Given the growing length of post-retirement life, will people still be able to heavily depend on...

February 14, 2019
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14Feb

Denmark’s Biggest Pension Fund May See 40% Surge in Inflows

Denmark’s biggest pension fund, with about $120 billion in assets under management, may end up handling even more money as a result of plans to make retirement savings obligatory for the unemployed and others receiving government support. Under the proposal in parliament, funds currently allocated for social, health and labor programs will be rerouted to ATP, the state-backed pension fund to which all working Danes must contribute. If passed, the proposal would raise annual net payments into ATP by...

February 14, 2019
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14Feb

US. Retirement In America Is Too Expensive, But It Doesn’t Have To Be

In a recent survey, Legg Mason found that a 32% of Americans are “very confident” that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement. That same study finds that retirement confidence falls sharply as Americans approach retirement and really understand just how expensive it is to retire – that is, exactly how much money must be saved that will last through retirement. In contrast, just 17% of Baby Boomers who have retired or are approaching retirement are very...

February 14, 2019
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13Feb

US. Police Pension Backs Morgan Creek’s plans to invest in cryptocurrency

Police officers and other state employees in Virginia’s Fairfax County will be looking forward to retirement with potential dividends from an unusual source: bitcoin. Two separate pension funds that collectively manage $5.1 billion in assets for the state’s police force and other employees have joined a $40 million investment in the Morgan Creek Blockchain Opportunities Fund, which in addition to backing some of the best-known startups in the space, plans to invest in cryptocurrency. Already, a portion of the...

February 13, 2019
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13Feb

UK. ‘Fraudster families’ target pension savers

Organised crime groups led by married couples or families are running pension scams worth millions of pounds. The ‘fraudster families’ often hire rogue financial experts to run the large-scale scams on their behalf. Victims of these scams lost an average of £91,000 each to fraudsters in 2017 but some people have lost much more. They reported receiving cold-calls, offers of free pension reviews and promises that they would get high rates of return – which are all key warning...

February 13, 2019
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13Feb

Nigeria. Between NUPENCO and PenCom’s Transfer Window

The recent approval of operational license for Nigerian University Pension Management Company (NUPENCO), a new Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) that will oversee the management of pension funds contributed by university workers, by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has raised a lot of questions on the modus operandi of the 15- year old contributory pension scheme(CPS) in Nigeria. The questions are coming from stakeholders who argued that before now, many contributors had been agitating to migrate from their pension fund...

February 13, 2019
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13Feb

US. Bosses, Beware! You’re Legally at Risk Over High 401(k) Plan Fees

Yes, CEOs have a fiduciary responsibility to their employees, and if they fail to fulfill it, the employees can sue. And win. A good 401(k) plan can be an amazing tool for helping to build your retirement nest egg. Most companies offer at least some level of employer match, and the tax deferral is a great perk. But if your 401(k) options come larded with excessive fees, it's a whole different story. In this segment from the Motley Fool...

February 13, 2019
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13Feb

Australia. Pensioners set for income threshold boost

Draft laws allowing pensioners to earn $300 a fortnight - up from $250 - without it hurting their welfare payments passed the first green light of parliament. Pensioners will soon be able to earn $300 a fortnight without it hurting their welfare payments under draft laws which passed the first hurdle of parliament. The proposal cleared the lower house alongside two other measures - means testing pooled-retirement-income products and allowing more older Australians to access the pension loan scheme...

February 13, 2019
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12Feb

In Nicaragua, steep pension cuts, tax increases could plunge country into recession

Last April, news of these measures led to protests and a government crackdown that led to hundreds of deaths and over fifty thousand leaving the country. Nicaraguans revolted last April when the government announced it was raising payroll taxes and cutting retirement benefits to bolster a social security program hemorrhaging money. The unrest led authorities to quickly withdraw the measure, but as the protests boiled for months and broadened into demands that President Daniel Ortega leave office, security forces...

February 12, 2019
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