April 2017

27Apr

UK should scrap state pensions for the richest 5-10%, says OECD

The UK should scrap state pension payments for the richest retirees, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said. The Paris-based think tank has said that slashing payments for the wealthiest 5-10 per cent of people would “free up resources” to raise pensions for the less well off. Under the current system, every UK citizen is eligible to receive a full state pension once they hit retirement age, providing they have made 30 years’ of National Insurance contributions. Speaking to...

April 27, 2017
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26Apr

US. A New York hotel deal shows how some public pension funds help to enrich Trump

Public pension funds in at least seven states including Missouri have invested millions of dollars in an investment fund that owns a New York hotel and pays one of President Donald Trump's companies to run it, according to a Reuters review of public records. That arrangement could put Trump at risk of violating an obscure constitutional clause, some legal experts say. The Trump SoHo Hotel and Condominium in Manhattan is an upscale 46-story property owned by a Los Angeles investment...

April 26, 2017
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26Apr

Nigeria. All Eyes on Dikko, New PenCom DG

As Aliyu Dikko assumes office as the new PenCom DG, Nigerian workers and pensioners are expectant that the seasoned banker and experienced finance manager would bring his wealth of experience to bear in resolving pending issues in their overall interest, writes Ebere Nwoji As the new Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Aliyu Dikko, takes over the mantle of leadership from Chinelo Anohu – Amazu, a number of tasks are awaiting his immediate actions. Some of these are – implementation of...

April 26, 2017
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26Apr

China pension fund revenue grows 25 percent in first quarter: Xinhua

Chinese pension funds drew 970.8 billion yuan ($141.06 billion) in revenue in the first quarter, an increase of 25.4 percent from the same period last year, state news agency Xinhua quoted the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security as saying. Gross expenditures of the funds reached 808.5 billion yuan, up 22.9 percent from last year, and the pension funds' account balance stood at over 4 trillion yuan at the end of March, it said. China is home to more than...

April 26, 2017
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26Apr

UK. Hundreds of thousands risk being over-taxed on their pension

Royal London estimates that around 800,000 people under state pension age are receiving pensions but should be non-taxpayers because their total income is below the personal allowance. The company is urging those individuals to check that they are paying no tax and to apply for a refund if they have been over-taxed. This may be a particular issue for those who have multiple sources of taxable income such as a wage and a pension or multiple pensions. In some...

April 26, 2017
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25Apr

US. Pensylvania Governor and Treasurer push to cut Pension investment fees

Pennsylvania’s two large public-sector pension agencies got a message from Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday: cut the fees paid to outside firms handling billions in investments. Wolf and Treasurer Joe Torsella said at a news conference that they hoped that the state government pension fund would find ways to save $46 million annually and the school employees’ fund about $100 million a year. The two Democrats said Pennsylvania is near the top in the ranking of states that pay the highest...

April 25, 2017
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25Apr

Performance Evaluation of Pooled Funds in US and Canada

Pension funds kick off 2017 with positive returns. Morneau Shepell (MSI) has released the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers' Pooled Funds for the first quarter of 2017. According to the report, in the first quarter of 2017, diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 3.0 per cent before management fees. "Stock markets made strong advances in the first quarter. Emerging market equities dominated with an impressive return of 10.9 per cent for the MSCI Emerging Markets...

April 25, 2017
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25Apr

Nigeria’s PenCom General Director hands affairs over

A new chapter in the affairs of the National Pension Commission, PenCom, opened yesterday, after the erstwhile Director-General, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, handed over the affairs of the Commission to the Head of Corporate Responsibility, Aisha Dahiru-Umar. PenCom is the industry regulator overseeing assets of more than N6 trillion of pension assets in the country. The handover followed the arrival of her disengagement letter last Friday which was officially delivered to her. As reported by Vanguard yesterday, her removal was effected through...

April 25, 2017
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25Apr

CEOs urged to invest ‘sleeping giant’ corporate pensions in sustainability

The heads of the world’s largest corporate and investor sustainability initiatives have called on the private sector to mobilise the trillions locked up in corporate pension funds and invest in green projects. While companies have made progress at integrating sustainability into their operations, not enough is being done to ensure that their financial investments - pension plans in particular - align with their own sustainability values, the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and the United Nations Global Compact...

April 25, 2017
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24Apr

Is retirement problem the same as a savings problem?

HOUSE Resolution 67, which Donald Trump signed last week, rolls back a rule that the Labor Department finalised late last year, which would have made it easier for cities and counties to run retirement savings plans for citizens who couldn’t get them through work. It is an odd choice for Republicans to kill plans that would encourage private, voluntary, tax-deferred saving, which they tend to approve of. But a trade group for investment funds opposes the city-run retirement plans....

April 24, 2017
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