February 2017

28Feb

NCSSF to manage pension funds across seven Chinese provinces

Seven of China’s local governments, including Beijing and Shanghai, have agreed to hand over the management of their pension funds to the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF) in an effort to increase investment diversification and improve yields, Wang Zhongmin, vice chairman of NCSSF, confirmed to local media, according to a report on Chinese news site china.org.cn. This means that approximately 360 billion RMB (US$52.37 billion) will be transferred to the NCSSF for centralised asset management from local authorities,...

February 28, 2017
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28Feb

Finally, a Retirement Plan for Job-Hopping Millennials

Workers in their 20s and 30s are changing jobs at a record pace, yet they often view retirement stability as a back-burner issue. A law passed in Maryland last summer could give those without conventional pensions or 401(k) plans a way to save for retirement without the nuisance of setting up individual savings accounts. But despite broad bipartisan support in the state, the application of the law has now stalled with a new Republican Congress and White House. Maryland is one...

February 28, 2017
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28Feb

What to Do Now to Retire Better

Learn the money basics Two books to consider: “How to Think About Money,” by Jonathan Clements, and “Heads I Win, Tails I Win: Why Smart Investors Fail and How to Tilt the Odds in Your Favor,” by Spencer Jakab. The Investor Protection Institute’s site, iInvest.org, offers free guides that explain stocks, bonds and mutual funds. You might also consider taking a personal finance course at a community college or checking the online offerings on sites like Coursera.org. Sketch out your monthly budget Add...

February 28, 2017
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27Feb

5 Ways Fake News Could Be Sabotaging Retirement Plans

We've been hearing a lot about "fake news" lately and now there's some concern that the president's budget will use overly optimistic economic assumptions. Regardless of how you feel about the budget and the assumptions it's based on, that's certainly not a mistake you want to make in your own planning. After all, the government can simply pass on any mistakes to current or future taxpayers, but we have no such luxury. Here are some overly optimistic assumptions that...

February 27, 2017
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27Feb

Retired Teamster to meet with Paul Ryan, Bernie Sanders in hopes of saving crumbling retirement fund

Faced with a potentially devastating meltdown of their pension fund, retired Teamsters across the country are mobilizing to save themselves. Across 37 states — mainly in the Midwest and South — ex-truckers who had hoped to be living out their retirement in a state of relaxation have turned to political activism, building a grassroots network that rivals anything put together by a professional operative. On Monday, retired Teamster Bob Amsden will show up again in Washington — a trip he's made...

February 27, 2017
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27Feb

Savers hoping for flexible retirement face working into late 70s, expert warns

Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister, warned that the dream of a flexible retirement where people gradually go part-time before giving up work entirely when it suits them could turn out to be a "mirage" - if people only contribute minimum amounts into their workplace pension pot. Sir Steve, who is now director of policy at Royal London, said an average worker wanting a "gold standard" of retirement - where their pension income equates to two-thirds of pre-retirement levels...

February 27, 2017
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27Feb

Rethinking Retirement for Longer Lives With Fewer Safety Nets

Five days a week, Kim Moske makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and brown-bags it to work. “I’ve been doing that for 30 years and saving what I would have spent eating my lunch out someplace,” she said. “That’s added up to a lot of money, and truthfully, I don’t care what I eat for lunch.” That is a small gesture, but it is indicative of the advantages of making daily choices to help save for a financially secure...

February 27, 2017
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27Feb

The public pension system is under stress, thanks to global ageing

Rene Schaaf, senior vice president and chief operating officer, Principal International, is responsible for global business development, strategy and operations of the company in Latin America and Asia. She met Mint during a recent visit to India and discussed global trends in the pension industry. She also elaborated how India is in a unique position when it comes to the retirement market, thanks to the relatively younger population. Schaaf stresses the importance of defined contribution plans for sustainable evolution...

February 27, 2017
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26Feb

Extreme Poor Persons in UE get support to set up Micro Enterprises

Four thousand one hundred and ninety four extreme poor persons in the Upper East Region have so far been supported by the Japan Social Development Fund Project (JSDF) to set up their own micro enterprises. Majority of the beneficiaries who are women and are drawn from the Bawku West , Talensi, Kassena-Nankana West, Garu –Tempane, Builsa North, South and the Nabdam Districts were trained in the areas of entrepreneurial skills, business advisory services among others in addition to receiving small...

February 26, 2017
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26Feb

Creating a Pension to Fit the Needs of the Rural Poor

Pensions are, in a sense, a necessary by-product of a rich economy. But what will it take to sell the idea to the rural poor? Especially when their income (never particularly substantial) is seasonal, increasing at harvest time and with demand in the cities for construction-related labor. What are the inducements that can convince them to invest for a future forced upon them by the changing social structure? Olivia S. Mitchell, a Wharton professor of business economics and public policy...

February 26, 2017
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