April 2017

03Apr

UK. Pension schemes are a ‘material risk’ to FTSE 250

A significant number of British businesses are sitting on pension schemes that could represent a "material risk" to their business, a retirement consultancy has warned. An analysis of FTSE 250 accounts has found that 23 businesses - including the AA, Thomas Cook and Balfour Beatty - would have to withhold payments to shareholders for over two years if they needed to clear their pension shortfalls, compared to just seven in the FTSE 100. The study by JLT Employment Benefits also found...

April 3, 2017
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03Apr

The Future of Labour Is Not Pre-Determined

In the heart of the Agenda for Sustainable Development is the demand to end poverty worldwide. Decent work seems to be the best way to generate income for people worldwide under fair conditions. In 2017 according to calculations by the International Labour Organization (ILO), about 200 million people are unemployed, another 1.4 billion are underemployed. There is still a long way to go. Guy Ryder, the general director of ILO has found the time to discuss with DDD why...

April 3, 2017
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03Apr

UK. Pensions hole deepens at Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia

The pension deficit at Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group soared to £565m last year as BHS was dragged to its knees by its own shortfall, according to new documents released last night by MPs. The retail billionaire had said he would double his annual contribution into Arcadia’s pension fund to £50m. However, at that time it was believed the deficit was only £200m. Now new papers, dated after the company’s triennial valuation, show the full severity of the issue. They also...

April 3, 2017
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March 2017

31Mar

US. Congress could kill state retirement plans

New state-sponsored IRA plans would aim to help small business employees who don't already have access to a retirement savings plan at work -- like a 401(k). But new legislation could stop them before they even begin. The House of Representatives voted along party lines last month to roll back an Obama-era rule that paved the way for these plans. On Thursday, the Senate narrowly passed legislation that takes another step toward finalizing the repeal. Republicans say that under President Obama,...

March 31, 2017
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31Mar

UK. Insurers call for pension dashboard regulation as tech set to launch

Insurers have called on the government to start legislating for a pensions dashboard, as they prepare to launch the first working prototype next month. In last year's Budget the Treasury set out expectations for the pensions industry to build a dashboard to allow people to see where all their retirement savings are by 2019. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has taken responsibility for organising the project. Currently 17 providers have signed up to help develop the dashboard. Technology for the dashboard...

March 31, 2017
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30Mar

UK. Slowdown in life expectancy could ease pension deficit pressure by £28b

The latest projections from the Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) would reduce life expectancies at 65 by around 1.3% for males and 2% for females, compared to the previous version of the model. According to Mercer's Pension Risk Report, at 30 December 2016 the pension liabilities for FTSE 350 employers were £857 billion so, in total and to the extent the experience underlying the new model has not already been allowed for, the adjustment could remove around £28 billion of...

March 30, 2017
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30Mar

Nigeria. Insurance Companies Yet to Remit over N19bn Pension Fund

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said that the federal government is yet to recover all the legacy pension assets, funds and liabilities including over N19 billion in the custody of insurance companies. The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Ms. Sharon Ikeazor, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on “reshaping the landscape of pensions administration for the defined benefits scheme.” Ikeazor said that the legacy fund was inherited from the defunct Pensions Offices and Boards of Parastatals when PTAD...

March 30, 2017
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30Mar

US. The Fed’s pension fund is flashing a warning sign about the Trump trade

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen went out of her way during her March press conference to emphasize the central bank's decision to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point was predicated on past economic performance, not extrapolations about future policy from the administration of President Donald Trump. "The basis for today’s decision is simply our assessment of the progress of the economy against our long-established goals of maximum employment and price stability," Yellen told reporters on March 15. "There’s...

March 30, 2017
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29Mar

Ghana. Informal sector players to enroll on pension schemes

Some financial institutions have begun moves aimed at getting more workers in the informal sector to enroll on pension schemes. According to some reports, about 70 percent of Ghana’s working force that fall under the informal sector do not have any pension scheme. In an interview with Citi Business News, the Chief Executive Officer of Old Mutual Ghana, George Kojo Addison said talks have begun with associations in the informal sector to increase their interest in pensions as well as get...

March 29, 2017
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