June 2018

26Jun

UN. Time to retire unsustainable pensions

Pensions, by their very nature, have to be sustainable. After all, they’re supposed to provide a measure of long-term certainty in an uncertain world. Much of the world’s working population counts on this basic premise as they seek to build a nest egg for later life. Rather than stash their cash under the mattress, they put their faith in investment funds making what they hope are healthy bets. Naturally, the assumption would be that pension funds are investing in sustainable businesses,...

June 26, 2018
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25Jun

India. AUT stages demonstration

Around 250 members of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), Tamil Nadu, held a demonstration on Saturday. Among the issues highlighted, the teachers said managements of institutions across the State had been indulging in violations with regard to the direct pay system implemented as a part of the Private College Regulation Act 1976. “Aided colleges, which need to be nurtured and promoted to provide quality and subsidised education, have several issues. A college in Chennai, which has had aided courses...

June 25, 2018
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25Jun

Armenia. Pension Reform Bill Approved by Parliament

The National Assembly approved on Wednesday the new Armenian government’s decision to complete an unpopular reform of the country’s pension system, which was launched four years ago. The new Western-backed system is to cover 280,000 or so Armenian workers born after 1973. It requires them to earn most of their future pensions with monthly financial contributions to one of two private pension funds operating in Armenia. Both funds are owned by European companies. The former government, which embarked on the pension...

June 25, 2018
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25Jun

Egypt raises military pensions amid austerity measures

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has raised pensions for military personnel and salaries for civil servants by 15% amid a wave of price hikes linked to austerity measures. The raises, published late on Saturday in the official gazette, will take effect on July 1. Sisi, a retired general, has raised military pensions several times in recent years. In recent days the government has raised the price of fuel, drinking water and electricity as part of a reform program tied to a three-year,...

June 25, 2018
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25Jun

UK. EC2 Master fined £15,000 for not collecting or investing nearly £900,000 of pension contributions

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has fined master trust pension scheme trustee EC2 Master, which holds assets for the Autoenrolment.co.uk master trust, £15,000 for failing to collect and invest £888,651.94 worth of pension contributions from 2,115 members. TPR found in its determination notice, published on Friday 22 June 2018, that EC2 Master did not ensure that the Autoenrolment.co.uk master trust scheme, which is run by Smart Pension, had a proper reporting system in place to comply with statutory requirements. This meant that...

June 25, 2018
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25Jun

Nigeria. PenCom allows pension contributors to pick investment options

Beginning from July, workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme will be allowed to go to their Pension Fund Administrators to choose how they want the money in their Retirement Savings Accounts to be invested so as to gain higher interest based on the new multi-fund structure, NIKE POPOOLA writes Following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act, 2014, the National Pension Commission amended the investment regulation in April 2017, largely to incorporate the new provisions in the law as well...

June 25, 2018
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22Jun

Ghana. Workers Advised To Invest In Tier-3 Pension

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NBC Ghana Trust, William Asiedu Yeboah, has charged Ghanaian employees to invest in Ghana’s Tier 3 pension scheme to secure their future. “The surest way to a happy old age is to save towards retirement, so workers, both in the formal and informal sectors, must invest in the Tier-3 pension scheme, Mr Yeboah added. In an interview recently in Accra, the CEO stated that the introduction of the two new pension tiers – Tiers 2 and...

June 22, 2018
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22Jun

European adviser body head calls for pension reform

The European Federation of Financial Advisers and Intermediaries (FECIF) has called for European state-members to reform social welfare and warns about the need for European citizens to build private pension savings to insure an adequate income after retirement. FECIF says the crisis has provided an opportunity to review the efficiency and goals of pension systems at both national and EU level and stimulating private pension provision would help consolidate national budgets. “The adequacy of pensions is now centre stage for governments...

June 22, 2018
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22Jun

Taiwan passes bill to cut veterans’ pensions that sparked violent protests

Taiwan’s military veterans will see their pensions cut as soon as next month after parliament passed a controversial bill that had sparked violent demonstrations. Wednesday’s vote marks a victory for President Tsai Ing-wen, whose attempts to make sweeping pension cutbacks since she came to power two years ago have faced intense opposition. Senior veterans will see their monthly stipend cut by more than 20 per cent over the next decade, after a smaller initial drop, according to official estimates. Read More: South China...

June 22, 2018
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21Jun

Trade Association Launches European Pension Institute

The European Federation of Financial Advisers and Financial Intermediaries (FECIF) is launching a pan-European pension foundation—the FECIF European Pension Institute—to help address the pension gap, and promote the development of consumer-oriented personal pension offerings. “The subject of additional pension provision is now more than ever on the table, with the European Commission’s draft Regulation for a Pan-European Personal Pension Product,” Daphne Foulkes, chair of the FECIF European Pension Institute (FEPI), said in a release. The FECIF is a Brussels-based non-profit organization...

June 21, 2018
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