August 2017

22Aug

US. How Far Does $1 Million Go in Retirement?

A million dollars—it has a nice ring to it. But as Dr. Evil learned after spending 30 years cryogenically preserved, it may not be enough—for many people, certainly not enough to comfortably retire on, depending on where and how long they live. A new report from GOBankingRates measures how long a million dollars would last for retirees 65 and older, state by state. It did that by multiplying the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ mean annual expenditures for that age group...

August 22, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
21Aug

Here’s how China’s Ageing will Narrow Income Gaps in West

In recent years politicians and thinkers in the developed world have found themselves struggling to explain three trends that have gripped advanced economies: the long-term fall in real interest rates adjusted for inflation, the fall in workers’ real wages, and the sharp rise in inequality between rich and poor. In truth, these three trends are easy enough to understand if you take a global, rather than a national or regional view. They can all be explained by the economic rise of...

August 21, 2017
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
21Aug

UK. Scale of pension scams revealed as ministers pledge fraud action

Sir Steve Webb demanded urgent action to protect savers as new figures showed £43m had been illegally siphoned off over the last three years. Critics have claimed moves in recent years to give savers more options over their pension pots has created new opportunities for fraudsters. Proposals put forward by ministers include a ban on all cold calling in relation to pensions and tougher rules on transferring money between pension schemes. Full Content: The Yorkshire Post

August 21, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
18Aug

Swiss Re is moving its €130 billion portfolio into ethical investments

One of Europe’s biggest insurers is shifting its investments towards socially responsible companies. Swiss Re, a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum, is moving its €130 billion investment portfolio to target businesses that meet specific ethical benchmarks. While the firm is the first insurer to shift its entire investment portfolio in this way, the move shows a resurgence of social responsibility in the industry. In 2016, Axa announced plans to divest €1.8 billion of tobacco investments, because of its impact...

August 18, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
18Aug

Low-fee pension funds account for 9pc of Hong Kong employees, says MPF authority

Nine per cent of Hong Kong pension fund accounts, or 834,000 accounts, have switched to the newly launched low-fee default funds since April, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) said on Wednesday. The Default Investment Strategy (DIS) reform, introduced on April 1, requires all 15 pension fund providers in the city to set up default funds for employees who do not make specific investment requests, capping management and other fees at 0.95 per cent, lower than the average of...

August 18, 2017
News
Read more...
18Aug

US. 401k ‘Cashout’ Craziness Continues

In May, Retirement Clearinghouse announced the National Retirement Savings Cashout Clock, a virtual clock that calculates 2017 year-to-date cashout leakage in real time from America’s defined contribution system. At the time it was announced, the clock had already registered $24.4 billion in cashouts. Since then, it’s added another $16 billion, and crossed the $40 billion mark in late July. As of this writing, $42.3 billion in cashouts have occurred thus far in 2017. If nothing happens to stem the flow,...

August 18, 2017
News
Read more...
17Aug

Dutch pension funds embrace UN goals

The Dutch pension fund managers PGGM and APG Asset Management have done much of the leg work for other investors wishing to align their investments with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The two investors are finalising a highly detailed process that identifies classifications where they see potential sustainable development investment (SDIs) opportunities that could transform the United Nations’ targets into tangible returns for institutional investors. The result is investment opportunities linked to 13 of the UN’s 17 SDGs, and they...

August 17, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
17Aug

US. Volatility, Retirement Top of Mind

Americans worry almost as much about short-term market volatility as they do about achieving their long-term retirement goals, Franklin Templeton Investments found in its 2017 Retirement Income Strategies and Expectations Survey. Forty-seven percent are concerned about short-term volatility and 53% about their retirement goals. Volatility concerns men more than women (51% vs. 44%) while for women, long-term retirement goals are top of mind (56% vs. 49%). Of the generations, Generation X is the least concerned about volatility—39% say they pay attention...

August 17, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
15Aug

UK. Pension rights after a TUPE transfer

The legislation governing transfers of employment originally attempted to exclude pension rights from the scope of a transfer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). Regulation 10 of TUPE states that the general employment protection provided on a TUPE transfer does not apply to “so much of a contract of employment or a collective agreement as relates to an occupational pension scheme”. The regulation states that rights that do not relate to “old age, invalidity...

August 15, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
15Aug

This person asked the internet if it was necessary to save so much for retirement — the response was surprising

When VintageBurtMacklin, as the Reddit user goes by, asked why everyone is advised to “save so much for retirement” — and if it is really the right move — the commenters of the personal finance thread of the online discussion site responded in full force. Apparently, they have been paying attention to the news of the looming retirement crisis affecting the country. VintageBurtMacklin shared his scenario: he took a new job after welcoming a new baby, and analyzed his budget, keeping...

August 15, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...