August 2017

08Aug

EU expresses worry over Poland reviving different retirement age for men and women

The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, is concerned that reintroducing a different retirement age for men and women in Poland could violate the bloc's equality rules, according to a letter from Brussels to Warsaw seen by Reuters. Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and President Andrzej Duda - who comes from the same political grouping - campaigned on promises to undo a 2012 reform that had been gradually raising and equalising the retirement age at 67. The government's change,...

August 8, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
08Aug

India. Want to invest 50% of govt staff pension fund in market, says regulator

India’s pension regulator, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), has written to the government seeking approval to invest 50 per cent of the funds contributed by government employees under the National Pension Scheme (NPS), its flagship scheme in stocks. This signals a major shift considering that only 15 per cent of such funds are now routed to the stock markets. The NPS now has a corpus of Rs 198,000 crore with 87 per cent — Rs 172,260 crore...

August 8, 2017
News
Read more...
08Aug

Aging Asia: Turning Demographic Weakness to Strength

Asia’s changing demographics are expected to generate winners and losers across the region, with younger nations seen enjoying a demographic dividend while aging societies tackle the costs. Yet the future for East Asia’s ultra-aging societies might not be as bleak as feared, if policymakers can turn education, migration, and technology to their advantage. Recent research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlights the expected winners and losers from aging in the world’s fastest growing region. Japan, which saw its population...

August 8, 2017
News
Read more...
07Aug

The existential challenge of AI

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are reshaping the institutional investment management industry from all angles. Over the last decade, high-speed automated trading has already revolutionised the day-to-day operation of financial markets and robo-advice has revamped the way wealth managers engage with clients. AI is upending the profit models of many companies in institutional investment portfolios. Within funds, many workers with repetitive and numbers-based jobs are set to be replaced. But the biggest fallout on superannuation and pension managers...

August 7, 2017
News
Read more...
07Aug

Nigeria. Development partners set to unlock long-term funds for infrastructure

InfraCredit, an infrastructure credit enhancement institution with GuarantCo, Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), collaborate to support investor capacity building, and knowledge sharing in the Nigerian infrastructure finance sector. It is expected that the successful operation of InfraCredit will address the constraints facing the Nigerian pension market, and other long-term investors, thereby increasing their involvement in investing in long-term bonds to finance infrastructure assets. At the first investor workshop under the capacity building programme held in...

August 7, 2017
News
Read more...
07Aug

Uk. Ageing population to make productivity crisis worse

Britain’s productivity crisis risks getting worse because the population is ageing steadily, leaving relatively fewer younger, more dynamic workers who typically innovate more. Unless drastic action is taken to boost skills and creativity, or to increase the number of young workers, then growth will struggle to pick up, according to new economic research published in the journal of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. “The share of young workers impacts the innovation process positively and, as a result, a...

August 7, 2017
News
Read more...
07Aug

Kenya. NSE share rally boosts pension fund returns

Pension subscribers have begun reaping the benefits of a recovering equities market that has now boosted average returns for schemes above the rate of inflation. An industry survey by Actuarial Services East Africa (Actserv) for the quarter ending June shows that the average return for schemes rose to 8.1 per cent from 2.5 per cent in the first quarter, buoyed by a jump in returns on equity investments to 18.3 per cent compared to 0.2 per cent in quarter one. The...

August 7, 2017
News
Read more...
04Aug

UK. State Pension rise: insurance loophole could put workers at risk

The government's announcement that it is speeding up the increase in the State Pension age might be causing problems for people with income protection. Last week, work and pensions secretary David Gauke announced that the increase in the State Pension age – from 67 to 68 – is being brought forward and will now be phased in between 2037 and 2039. This change could leave people with income protection insurance facing a one-year gap in cover between when their benefits end...

August 4, 2017
News
Read more...
04Aug

India. Government pension scheme to offer fixed rate of interest to investors

Interest rates will "slowly" become "reasonable", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday, a day after the RBI cut interest rates by 0.25 per cent. He also said that the government insurer LIC has come out with a pension scheme to offer fixed rate of interest to investors. A day after the RBI cut the interest rates, Jaitley said lending rate of 14-15 per cent will make India uncompetitive in the global market and industry cannot invest at such higher interest...

August 4, 2017
News
Read more...
04Aug

US. Pension Plans Had a Great Year, But Retirees Likely Won’t Benefit From It

Public pension plans are reporting double-digit investment returns, and some are even finishing with record highs this year. The high earnings are due to a robust stock market and are welcome news after two straight years of below-average returns for most pension plans. But finance experts say the investment boost likely won’t translate into an equally impressive reduction in pension debt because of the increasing cost of pensions. "Government contributions tend to be insufficient to reduce unfunded liabilities -- even if...

August 4, 2017
News
Read more...