March 2017

13Mar

World’s Best-Funded Pension Market Shows Dark Side of New Rules

No country on the planet has a better-funded pension system than Denmark. So when its life insurance industry encounters some hurdles, it’s worth paying attention. Because of a challenging cocktail of record-low interest rates and stricter capital requirements, pension funds have been transferring risk to customers instead of keeping it on their own books. Given the developments, the head of Denmark’s financial supervisor wants a regulatory rethink to reflect the new world order he says many pension clients don’t yet understand....

March 13, 2017
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10Mar

India. Let government staff’s pension funds to invest 50 per cent in equities

The pensions fund regulator PFRDA wants government to more than treble the investment levels in equity markets by government subscribers under the National Pension System (NPS) up to 50 per cent from 15 per cent. The regulator has sent a proposal to government seeking to allow government subscribers (state and central government employees) invest up to 50 per cent in equities under the NPS, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority chairman Hemanth Contractor said. The authority manages about Rs 1.70 trillion...

March 10, 2017
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10Mar

The Benefits of the Canadian Model to Headline the Best Practices in Pension Fund Management at the 2017 Pension Bridge Annual Conference

Many of the most influential governing and lead plan sponsor investors from the institutional investment industry will be providing their valued insights at the Pension Bridge Annual Conference in San Francisco. The industry’s only controlled attendance structured event will be held on April 18th and 19th at Four Seasons Hotel, San Francisco. The exclusive conference will attract over 225 pension plans, corporate funds, foundations, endowments and consultants, while limiting the investment manager firms. Jim Keohane, President and CEO of the...

March 10, 2017
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09Mar

Lack of pension equality for same-sex couples ‘is sexual discrimination’

Denying equal pension rights to a same-sex husband – as opposed to a wife – amounts to direct, sexual discrimination, the supreme court has been told in a test case which could affect thousands of couples. The claim at the UK’s highest court on Wednesday is being brought by John Walker, a former cavalry officer, who is determined to win pension rights for his husband. Walker, 65, wants to ensure that, should he die first, his 52-year-old husband will be adequately...

March 9, 2017
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09Mar

Sustainability vital for China’s pension funds

China is home to more than 220 million people over the age of 60 in China, or 16.1 percent of the population, and the numbers are growing. As the population ages, the country faces the challenge of building a more sustainable pension system. Since late 2016, China has invested an initial 360 billion yuan (about 52 billion US dollars) of pension insurance funds from seven provincial-level regions in financial markets. As the financial lifeline for China's elderly, the flow of that...

March 9, 2017
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09Mar

Older Americans may have to postpone retirement under Republican health bill

The House Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would allow insurers to charge older workers health insurance premiums five times as much as younger ones and give states the option to set their own ratio, according to published reports. Under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, plans can charge their oldest customers only three times the prices charged to the youngest ones. Given that possible change, experts say pre-Medicare workers are likely to stay in their jobs longer...

March 9, 2017
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09Mar

UK. L&G Operating Profit Rises 7 Percent on Boost From Pension Unit

Legal & General Group, the UK’s largest manager of pension assets, posted a 7 percent increase in full-year operating profit after earnings jumped at its retirement division. Operating profit advanced to 1.56 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) from 1.46 billion pounds a year earlier, according to a statement Wednesday. That compares with the average 1.62 billion-pound estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by L&G. Operating profit at the retirement division rose 27 percent, while earnings at the investment management unit increased 3...

March 9, 2017
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08Mar

Regulator’s Lisa rules highlight pension risk warnings

The Financial Conduct Authority has published the regulatory framework for the Lifetime Isa, less than a month before the product is due to be launched. The FCA provisional rules, published in November, remained largely unchanged in the final guidelines, with just a handful of key modifications, most significantly to risk warnings. No change was made to the FCA's decision to allow the Lifetime Isa to be sold without advice. The final rules come almost a year after former chancellor George Osborne announced...

March 8, 2017
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08Mar

63% of Irish women don’t know how to start a pension

A new study from Standard Life has warned that Irish women are falling behind when it comes to preparing for their future and life after retirement. It's concluded that the average woman needs €30,600 per annum to live comfortably after they retire - but female workers are saving only €1,500 per year. That excludes the maximum state pension of almost €12,400. "The best case scenario for the average woman is a retirement income of €13,900 per annum which is not enough...

March 8, 2017
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08Mar

World’s Biggest Pension Fund Finds Friend in Trump

One of the world’s most conservative investors has found an unlikely new ally in one of its most flamboyant politicians: Donald Trump. The unconventional president-elect’s victory is helping Japan’s giant pension fund in two important ways. First, it’s sending stock markets surging, both at home and overseas, which is good news for the largely passive equity investor. Second, it’s spurred a tumble in the yen, which increases the value of the Japanese manager’s overseas investments. After the $1.2 trillion Government...

March 8, 2017
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