May 2018

Hong Kong faces challenge in how to manage its ageing population

According to “Hong Kong Population Projections 2015-2064”, the number of elderly people, those aged 65 or older, in Hong Kong will reach 2.58 million by 2064, around 35.9 per cent of the population. The work force, those aged 15 to 64, will shrink to 3.92 million, or 54.6 per cent of the population). In 2014, the elderly dependency ratio was 198, meaning each elderly person was supported by 2.4 of working age. The ratio is projected to jump to 567...

US. Lawmakers Give 401k MEPs A Close Look

Politicos might finally understand—the path to more retirement coverage for American workers lies in simplifying and modernizing often arcane employment and labor laws. The Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, held a hearing on Wednesday to examine four bipartisan proposals to do just that for employees of businesses large and small. The hearing focused on legislative proposals that would update the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that governs and sets minimum standards for...

UK. Tata Steel unions urge benefits to be restored after £1.6bn profit

Tata Steel moved back into profit at the start of this year, in large part due to a boost of more than £1.5bn from the restructuring of its pension scheme, prompting unions to demand that cuts to members’ benefits be reversed. The Indian steelmaker swung to a profit of 146.9bn rupees (£1.6bn) in the three months to the end of March, from a loss of 11.7bn rupees a year earlier. It benefited from a one-off gain of £1.54bn related to...

Rwanda. Pensioners welcome move to increase their benefits

Pensioners have welcomed the move by Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) to implement a presidential order increasing benefits for pensioned workers. The Presidential Order increasing pension and occupational hazards benefits granted by Rwanda Social Security Board, which was published in official gazette on April 16, 2018, states that pension and occupational hazard benefits granted to the insured person cannot be less than Rwf13,000 per month. The new scale came into force on Wednesday. “Pensioners have instructed us to write a letter to...

Tens of thousands protest Belgian pension reform

Tens of thousands of people marched through the Belgian capital Brussels on Wednesday to protest the centre-right government's plans to reform pensions. Police said 55,000 people took part in the demonstration against a points-based retirement system and the planned increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67 years around 2030. Unions said there were 70,000 protesters. Police said some 25,000 took part in a similar protest in December. Read More: Agence France Presse

US. An increasing number of savers are rejecting retirement accounts in favor of these investments

More people are stashing their money in taxable accounts and less so in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Ownership of taxable brokerage accounts jumped 10 percentage points over the last five years, and checking, saving and CD accounts increased 9 percentage points, according to retail investor data firm Hearts & Wallets. Meanwhile, ownership rates remained the same for employer-sponsored plans like a 401(k), but consumers were contributing less — a total decline of 5 percentage points. Accounts with specialties, like Roth retirement plans...

UK. Key findings from the MPs’ report into Carillion’s collapse

A report into the collapse of Carillion by two parliamentary select committees has spread the blame liberally among the directors of the company, its auditors, the regulators and the government. Here are the key findings from the report: Directors The committees found that the directors sought to increase dividends and protect executive bonuses as the company began to unravel, while funding the pension scheme was “treated with contempt”. Their report urged the government’s Insolvency Service, which is still trying to salvage jobs from the wreckage of Carillion, to consider whether directors...

The pensioners retiring overseas because they can’t afford Australia

On a cobbled street in the south of Spain, Norah Ohrt lives like a typical Andalusian in a little white house with red flowers blooming from the windows. It's a world away from what her life would be like if she was still living in Australia. The 71-year-old former gallery owner says that in Perth she'd be living in state housing, surviving "on the smell of an oily rag on the Australian pension". With property prices and cost of living on...

What Returns Do You Give Up for Doing Good?

Environmental, social and governance concerns are playing a bigger role in influencing how investors allocate the money they oversee. That's welcome. But there's a risk of mission creep as funds come under pressure to use their financial clout to change society in ways that should remain the domain of lawmakers. More investors are choosing to put savings into specifically designed ESG funds -- pools, for example, that only take stakes in companies that pledge to reduce their carbon emissions. Assets...

Singapore. Finding the silver lining: Ageing population puts heat on senior housing plans

Developers could look at Western housing models for Singapore's silver-haired generation. Singapore’s ageing population may provide developers opportunities for senior housing solutions, Colliers International said. According to a report, Japan’s seniors will comprise a staggering 36.4% of the population by 2050; South Korea (35.3%), Hong Kong (33.9%), Singapore (33.6%) and Thailand (29%) representing the top five Asian economies with the highest percentages of seniors by 2050. Read More: Singapore Business Review