December 2019

26Dec

US. Why states must address pension reform now, before it’s too late

By Keith Greinet and Seth Grove  It’s been quite a while since the American economy has performed as well as it is now doing. Joblessness has sunk to record lows, causing some analysts to suggest we may be as close to full employment as we’re ever going to get. Core inflation remains under control, wages are rising and the U.S. Treasury just announced record total tax revenues of $470 billion for the first two months of the new...

December 26, 2019
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12Dec

Armenia. Parliament adopts voluntary early retirement plan for most incumbent Justices

By Stepan Kocharyan Parliament passed the early retirement plan for Constitutional Court judges with 75 votes in favor and 34 against. The opposition had earlier said it will vote down the government-backed bill envisaging voluntary early retirement mechanisms for most of the incumbent Constitutional Court Justices. Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan told lawmakers in parliament that certain technical amendments were made in the bill after the first reading. According to Badasyan, the bill has been approved by the Venice...

December 12, 2019
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12Dec

US. New e-delivery rules for ERISA pension plans on the Horizon

By McBrayer McGinnis Leslie & Kirkland PLLC In October, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that encourages electronic delivery of ERISA-required plan disclosures. It allows plan administrators to post disclosures online to cut costs of paper delivery and is a voluntary safe harbor that plans can use to make documents accessible on a website instead of mailing paper documents. Adopting a so-called “notice and access” e-delivery structure, the DOL allows plans to save paper by emailing disclosures....

December 12, 2019
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11Dec

UK. The new pensions levy is deeply unfair

By Gregg Mcclymont Most of us spent our childhoods being conditioned to the reality that life is not fair. However, that does not make it any easier to digest when confronted with a situation that requires us to make our disquiet known. Plenty within the industry are allowing their voices to be heard in regards to the current situation surrounding the General Levy – the mechanism through which the Department for Work and Pensions extracts funding for The Pensions Regulator (TPR), the...

December 11, 2019
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10Dec

With France in Uproar Over Pensions, Macron May Need One Early

By Adam Nossiter With his country in turmoil, more chaos looming and no resolution in sight, President Emmanuel Macron of France tried changing the subject. Last Thursday, nearly a million people had taken to the streets to protest his plan to remake France’s uniquely generous pension system. But a day later, Mr. Macron, instead of addressing what was on everyone’s minds — how to get out of the standoff, which has stranded thousands of commuters — delivered a lyrical tribute far...

December 10, 2019
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10Dec

UK. What does 2020 hold for pensions?

By Andrew Tully Many changes will be taking place in the world of pensions as we move towards the end of 2019 and into 2020. Ongoing regulatory developments seem inevitable, but nonetheless it is important for firms to be aware of what changes are due and what they will mean to clients. Wake-up packs New requirements to provide wake-up packs to clients were introduced on 1 November. Traditionally, these packs were issued between four and six months before the selected...

December 10, 2019
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09Dec

US. Workers Across All Income Levels Are Making This Major Retirement Plan Mistake

By Maurie Backman Without independent savings, retirees risk struggling financially during their golden years. That's why workers are advised to sock away funds in an IRA or 401(k) -- to ensure that they have enough money to cover their living expenses when they're older. But data from J.P. Morgan Asset Management reveals that workers across all income levels are borrowing money from their retirement plans. And that's a troubling trend. The problem with borrowing from your retirement plan Though middle-income...

December 9, 2019
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06Dec

Social sustainability is the future

By Yolande Barnes I talked about writing up the conference we held on the next 100 years of real estate. To my surprise, the “mum, you’re so boring/embarrassing” teenage eye roll didn’t happen. I asked: “What do you think I should write?” I got the response: “Why don’t you write about how young people have to pay huge rents and can’t afford to get on the housing ladder?” Although this was something I had written about before, she had brought a...

December 6, 2019
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04Dec

The conflict of interest around pension transfers

By James Jones-Tinsley Things have certainly changed. Access to defined benefit schemes has dropped significantly, while the proliferation and membership of defined contribution schemes has soared. In April 2015, the pension freedoms liberated funds by offering individuals easier access to their savings from age 55 onwards. Rather than having to purchase an annuity, an individual could simply withdraw their entire pension fund in one go. But given that the pension freedoms only applied to define contribution schemes, this unfettered access...

December 4, 2019
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October 2019

23Oct

What Does It Take To Build The World’s Best Pension Systems? Ask The Netherlands And Denmark

By Elizabeth Bauer The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2019 edition has been published, and the United States has been given a rank of C+ in this comparison of pension systems of 37 rich and middle-income countries, with a score of 60.6, slightly above the average of 59.3. Also in the C+ category were the UK and France; among the C countries were Spain, Austria and Italy; B countires included Canada, Ireland, and Germany. Which countries were at...

October 23, 2019
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