March 2017

21Mar

Canada Pension Plan looks to raise its bet on China

China's gradual market liberalization may be good news for Canadian pensioners. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the country's largest pension fund, currently has 4 percent of its portfolio in the mainland — a figure that president and CEO Mark Machin said is too low for a globally diversified portfolio such as his. But he plans to increase that share as the world's second-largest economy opens itself up. "We want to significantly increase our investment here over the long term," he said,...

March 21, 2017
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21Mar

Teacher Pensions in Puerto Rico

You are right in identifying the underfunding of teacher pension funds in Puerto Rico as a big problem: Teachers and public employees have fulfilled their commitment to their pensions by contributing year in and year out, yet politicians failed to properly fund them and engaged in risky financial bets that made things only worse. In Puerto Rico, between 2007 and 2013, the government shortchanged the teachers’ pension plan by $2.6 billion. Government advisers then pushed deals with hedge funds and...

March 21, 2017
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20Mar

UK. New tax raid on pensions: OUTRAGE at Hammond’s plans to fill £2billion budget blackhole

After a bruising week where the Chancellor had to reverse a planned tax on the self employed from his Budget, he has identified pensions as “top of his list" to raise funds. But former pensions minister Baroness Altmann has warned that the move could have political consequences by hitting the Tory party's core vote. And Ukip has called on him to dip into the protected £12 billion aid budget to help fund care for the elderly instead of spending taxpayers' cash...

March 20, 2017
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18Mar

Why is Brazil pushing ahead with contentious pension reform?

After the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, Temer ascended to the presidency promising wide-scale economic reform. Temer has since unveiled a Private Partnership Investment Program (PPI), which seeks to lift Brazil dramatically out of recession. On March 7th, the fiscal plan gained momentum following the unveiling of 55 privatized infrastructure concessions, with investments valued at $14.4 billion. The hope is that a sweeping privatization program will encourage a boom in investment and public spending. As of yet, Temer’s policies have not...

March 18, 2017
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17Mar

UK’s pensions rescuer warns of zombie attack

For a man who might be considered to have one of the stuffiest jobs in Britain, Alan Rubenstein does not conform to type. As chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund, the 60-year old qualified actuary and former Lehman Brothers investment banker has just celebrated his ninth year as the UK's chief rescuer of crisis-hit pension funds. Full Content: Financial News

March 17, 2017
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17Mar

US. Retirement industry to undergo major changes with or without DOL fiduciary rule

The business of saving for America's retirement is changing. The retirement industry is facing a $7.7 trillion gap, and the Department of Labor's new fiduciary rule, which states that advisers must give clients the best advice at a reasonable price, is at risk. The rule was originally supposed to take effect on April 10, but President Donald J. Trump in February ordered its review, resulting in the DOL's recent proposal to delay the rule's implementation for 60 days. Regardless of...

March 17, 2017
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17Mar

UK. It may be a case of prepare a proper pension or prepare for poverty

Pensions are undergoing some radical changes. Many more workers are accessing pension schemes through auto-enrolment, even if the adequacy of many of these schemes is poor. Good quality Defined Benefit (DB) – where you know what you put in and what you’ll get out – schemes are being replaced by often poor quality Defined Contribution (DC) – where you only know what you’ll put in, not what you’ll get out. DC schemes shift the investment risk from employers to...

March 17, 2017
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16Mar

UK. BMW workers hold protests over pension scheme closure plans

Members of Unite held demonstrations at the Mini plant in Cowley, Oxfordshire, and the Hams Hall engine plant in the West Midlands. The union said closure of the BMW occupational pension scheme could see some workers lose up to £160,000 in retirement income. A ballot for industrial action is being held, with the result due at the end of the month. A BMW statement said: " BMW Group has always prided itself in providing excellent pensions for all its staff and wants...

March 16, 2017
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16Mar

Germany. Lufthansa, pilots agree wide-ranging deal on pay, pensions

Lufthansa and its pilots' union have reached agreement on a wide-ranging labour contract, including pay rises, changes to pension schemes and job creation, bringing an end to years of wrangling and strikes, the two sides said on Wednesday. The agreement on pensions and early retirement payments will boost the company's profit in 2017 and reduce its pension liabilities by a high hundred-million-euro amount, it said in a statement. In exchange, management has agreed that at least 325 of its planes will...

March 16, 2017
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15Mar

Public Pensions and the Assets That Could Sustain Them

For decades, when cash was scarce, corporate pension-plan sponsors have made in-kind contributions -- non-cash assets such as securities and real estate -- to fund their retirement plans. US Steel, for example, contributed 170,000 acres of timberland to meet its pension liabilities. General Motors used securities from a subsidiary company. Facing bankruptcy, Pan American World Airways transferred the lease for its flagship terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport to its pension funds. These private-sector plan sponsors looked to their...

March 15, 2017
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