February 2018

12Feb

US. Can ESG help make NJ’s pension-fund investments more ethical?

Some states are using ESG factors - environmental, social, and governance - to evaluate investments in companies. Will New Jersey follow suit? The federal government's inaction on issues like climate change and gun violence has led elected officials in New York City, California, and other places to start using public-employee pension funds to exert more influence, including by pulling back investments in oil companies and gun manufacturers. That hasn't been the case so far in New Jersey, but policymakers for the...

February 12, 2018
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09Feb

Bosnian workers go hungry in fight for full payment

"If we must, we will die for our rights," says Jasmin Arific. Every morning Arific and his former colleagues from the Hidrogradnja public construction company gather in front of the government's headquarters in Sarajevo to demand their pensions. Hidrogradnja was once a jewel in the Yugoslav construction sector, an industrial mammoth employing up to 4,000 people. But after Bosnia's war in the 1990s, business gradually went downhill like at many state-run firms hit by both the transition to a market economy...

February 9, 2018
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09Feb

Greece. Pensions keep getting smaller

One in three pensioners has to live on less than 500 euros a month at a time when pensions in Greece have been constantly falling, according to the Helios online data system’s monthly reports. The Labor Ministry platform showed that the average income of Greek retirees amounts to 894 euros per month: The average main pension from all social security funds comes to 722 euros a month while the average auxiliary pension amounts to just 171 euros a month. The...

February 9, 2018
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09Feb

Protected rights: urgent action required by UK pension scheme trustees

Between 6 April 1988 and 5 April 2012, it was possible for schemes to contract out of the earnings-related element of the state pension by providing “protected rights” which were a form of DC benefit. Certain contributions had to be paid into a member’s DC “protected rights” account, and the pot of money that resulted had to be used in particular ways laid down in legislation on the member’s retirement or death. This form of contracting-out was designed for DC...

February 9, 2018
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08Feb

Kenya. Over 5,000 senior citizens to benefit from social protection programme

Over 5, 000 elderly persons will benefit from the government’s social protection programme this year in Siaya County, area Social Development Officer Maxwel Anyona has said. Anyona said 5,182 people aged over 80 years will benefit from the programme that will see them earn sh2,000 monthly from the state coffers. He said that apart from the programme that targets those aged 80 years and above, another programme that benefits selected old persons aged 70 years and above will also see another...

February 8, 2018
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08Feb

Brazilian gov’t presents softer pension reform bill

A new version of Brazil's controversial pension reform bill that lowered the minimum contribution period to receive a pension was presented to the Congress on Wednesday. The proposal was presented by Arthur Maia, rapporteur for the pension reform in the Chamber of Deputies, to gain the two-thirds majority needed to pass the reform. The new bill lowered the minimum contribution period to 15 years from 25 years in the previous draft. The revamped bill maintains the same minimum retirement ages at 65...

February 8, 2018
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08Feb

Malaysia’s KWAP aims to have 70% of AUM be ESG-compliant

Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), Malaysia’s second largest pension fund, hopes to have 70% of its assets under management (AUM) be environmental, social and governance (ESG)-compliant. KWAP, a pension fund for civil servants, had AUM of 137 billion ringgit (US$32.1 billion) as at end-September 2017. Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad, the fund’s chief executive officer, says currently, about 50%-60% of the AUM comply with ESG principles. Read More: Asia Asset

February 8, 2018
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08Feb

UK. Property remains popular retirement savings tool

While employer pensions are still considered the safest way to save for retirement, property has been inching closer, a population survey from the Office for National Statistics reveals. The data (recorded between July 2016 and June 2017) shows that 40% believe that their workplace pension is the safest bet, while 30% believe property is. This is probably thanks to the fact that house prices are still rising, although the most recent statistics from Halifax show that house prices only saw...

February 8, 2018
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08Feb

Australia’s superannuation is the top returner, but there are hidden risks

Australian superannuation funds’ love affair with equities is paying off with the super system growing faster than comparable countries over the last 20 years, making annual returns of 12.1 per cent, according to a new report from asset advisors Willis Towers Watson. But there is an unnoticed risk hidden in the figures, with Australian super fund equity investments being the most concentrated in the world. And these risks have been highlighted by the market gyrations of more than four per...

February 8, 2018
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08Feb

UK. Pensions FEAR: Middle-aged workers risk poverty in old age over poor planning

Almost three quarters (73 per cent of people aged 45-plus longing for the freedom retirement brings, the research found. But almost half (46 per cent) of those with a pension have no idea how much it is currently worth. Almost a fifth (19 per cent) have no pension at all, found life savings company Standard Life. Two thirds of those aged 45 and older (67 per cent) are hoping for a shift in lifestyle, keen to retire early before the state pension...

February 8, 2018
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