March 2025
28Mar

Chile: Strengthening social security and increasing labor costs

Congress has approved social security reforms aimed at improving retirement outcomes for workers, primarily by significantly increasing employer contributions over time and encouraging greater competition among service providers. In Chile, social security retirement, survivors’ and disability benefits are based on compulsory individual defined contribution (DC) accounts managed by private fund administrators (Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones – AFPs). Accounts are funded primarily by employee contributions at 10.0% of covered pay. The increases are to start six months after publication of...

March 28, 2025
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28Mar

UK. Reeves could tax pensions and wealth if economy worsens, says IFS

Pensioners and wealthy people could be the target of tax increases at Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget if the drastically worsening economic backdrop fails to improve, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. After the chancellor’s spring statement featured deep cuts to welfare to meet her fiscal targets, the UK’s leading experts on the public finances said Reeves could be forced to come back later this year with tax rises. Paul Johnson, the IFS director, said a “risky and changing world – as...

March 28, 2025
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28Mar

BlackRock Targets Pension Funds in Growth Strategy for Brazil

BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, is in talks with Brazilian pension funds to expand further into the 2.9 trillion-real ($510 billion) industry. “Today, we don’t have a mandate to manage money from pension funds locally in Brazil,” Bruno Barino, who took over as BlackRock’s Brazil country manager in October, said in an interview. “But it’s a natural evolution; there is no way to be in this market and not do it.” With $11.6 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock...

March 28, 2025
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27Mar

UK. Three quarters of pension schemes have now adopted net-zero targets

Three quarters (75 per cent) of schemes have adopted net-zero targets, with more schemes than ever taking action to address climate risks, XPS analysis has revealed. The firm published a new analysis of 48 pension schemes' task force on climate-related financial disclosure (TCFD) reports to review climate change risk management and reporting approaches. This showed that three-quarters of schemes have adopted net zero targets, up from 60 per cent last year. Of these, 75 per cent have indicated clear plans aligned to...

March 27, 2025
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27Mar

U.S. Bill Seeks to Limit ESG Investments in Pension Funds

U.S. lawmakers target ESG in pensions: A U.S. bill previously rejected by Biden seeks to limit ESG factors in pension investments. InnoEnergy accounces €160B clean tech push: With focus on batteries, solar PV, and hydrogen, InnoEnergy mobilizes €160 billion for clean tech. Nvidia hit by China’s new energy efficiency rules: China’s stricter energy efficiency rules threaten chip sales. New PRI data reveals ESG investing remains strong: Report shows responsible investing is still growing despite political setbacks. U.S. lawmakers propose bill to curb ESG...

March 27, 2025
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27Mar

How one of Japan’s largest insurers is pivoting to serve an aging population

Sompo Holdings, a leading global insurance provider, is undergoing a significant transformation under Group CEO Mikio Okumura. The company, with operations in 28 countries, has restructured into two main segments: Sompo Property and Casualty (P&C) and Sompo Wellbeing. “The integration between Sompo Japan, Sompo International, we hope they can improve resilience. They can utilize balance sheets wisely, so they can improve risk-taking capability,” Okumura told CNBC’s Christine Tan in the latest episode of Managing Asia. Okumura hopes the restructuring will help the company to compete...

March 27, 2025
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27Mar

The value of active strategies in old-age provision

The choice between active and passive strategies should not be reduced to a binary decision, eg, based solely on fees. Instead, it should reflect the investor’s unique goals, the product framework (eg, unitlinked or pension plans) and the market environment. In the context of old-age provision, we question the suitability of passive strategies. In a competitive market situation, with greater volatility and structural shifts, we think active approaches with selective decisions have greater potential to outperform and protect...

March 27, 2025
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26Mar

U.S. Pension Risk Transfer Market Size to Hit $102.38 Billion by 2030 – Arizton

The US pension risk transfer (PRT) market is experiencing rapid growth, fueled by regulatory changes, favorable economic conditions, and a heightened focus on reducing financial risks. Key trends include increased plan terminations, the growing adoption of de-risking strategies, rising interest in buy-ins, and the emergence of sidecar solutions. PRT transactions, which encompass lift-outs, plan terminations, and buy-ins, are available in various sizes, with small plan sizes seeing the most significant growth. The evolving regulatory landscape is prompting companies to adopt...

March 26, 2025
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26Mar

Policy certainty and structural reforms required to ‘boost’ pension investment in UK assets

Policy uncertainty and regulatory hurdles are preventing UK pension funds from investing more into UK productive assets, the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has warned. Its report called on the government to provide policy certainty, remove structural blockers to investment, and incentivise growth-driving capital allocation to enable increased pensions investment into UK productive assets. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership said there is a “significant” appetite for institutional investment in the UK, demonstrated by the fact that...

March 26, 2025
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26Mar

Why China is betting on birth subsidies to solve its population crisis

When Tang Tang, a mother from Tianmen in central China, gave birth to her second child in December, it brought her family untold joy – and a thick wad of cash. Within months of leaving hospital, the local government paid Tang a 6,500-yuan (US$897) reward for having two children as part of a new birth subsidy scheme introduced last year. She will also receive an 800-yuan allowance every month until her new baby turns three. For a family in Tianmen, where...

March 26, 2025
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