February 2021
25Feb

Emerging Europe strong on women’s economic opportunities but dragged down by low pensions

Countries from the emerging Europe region performed well on the latest global survey of women’s economic opportunities from the World Bank. The post-socialist countries of Central, Southeast and Eastern Europe and Eurasia had an average score of 86.4 points out of 100, while globally, women had just three-quarters of the legal rights afforded to men on average around the world. The report “Women, Business and the Law 2021”, looks at laws and regulations in eight areas that affect women’s economic opportunities...

February 25, 2021
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25Feb

Germany. Vantik and Mastercard simplify saving for retirement with new debit card

Financial security in retirement is one of the most urgent issues in Germany and Europe. In order to offer people a simple access to savings for retirement, the Berlin-based Fintech Vantik announces a partnership with Mastercard and the banking-as-a-service-platform Vodeno. The heart of the cooperation is the combination of a free debit Mastercard with long-term savings: users of the Vantikcard receive 1% cashback on every purchase, which are automatically invested into a sustainable pension fund. Saving for retirement is thus...

February 25, 2021
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24Feb

U.S. Teachers’ Pensions Helped Fund War Over Oil in Iraq

It’s not likely that any of Pennsylvania’s public school teachers paid attention to it, but a brief announcement in early 2018 held some unwelcome news for their retirement savings. Public pension funds have a reputation for being conservative investors. Yet, on March 19, 2018, a terse corporate notice alerted the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System to the fact that its latest investment was anything but bland. “We hereby inform you,” the notice began, “that as a result of the...

February 24, 2021
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24Feb

Take-home pay in South Africa falls due to COVID-19 lockdown

The average take-home pay in South Africa has declined compared with the same period last year as businesses struggle to cope under national lockdown rules. This is according to the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), which found that the real average salary fell by 2.4% in the past month. “The real average and overall salary paid contracted in January 2021 after coming under strain from the pandemic and level 3 lockdown, according to the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI),”...

February 24, 2021
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24Feb

Italy. Pension funds pull positive returns in 2020 despite pandemic

The pension fund for management staff of oil and gas company ENI has recorded positive results for all its investment options last year. The performance of its garantito assicurativo fund stood at 1.71%, 11.28% for the last five years. Its bilanciato (balanced) fund recorded a positive performance of 3.44% in 2020, with a 13.52% for the past five years. Fopdire’s dinamico fund hit 5.20% last year, reacing a 21.70% figure for the last five years. On average annually, for the...

February 24, 2021
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24Feb

S.Korea’s state-run pension fund posts 9.7% return in 2020 – health ministry

South Korea's state-run pension fund posted a provisional annual return rate of 9.7% in 2020, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said on Wednesday, as the COVID-19 pandemic drove volatility in global financial markets. The National Pension Service (NPS) is the world's third-largest pension fund, with 833.7 trillion won ($750.39 billion) in assets as of the end of 2020. Last year's annual rate of return was lower than 2019's 11.3%, which was the highest on record since the National Pension Service Investment Management,...

February 24, 2021
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24Feb

Puerto Rico governor rejects key deal with creditors to reduce debt due to pension cuts

Puerto Rico’s governor announced Tuesday that a federal control board reached a key deal that would reduce the U.S. territory’s overall debt by nearly 80 percent, but that his administration is rejecting it because it would require cuts to the island’s crumbling public pension system. The impasse between the governor and a board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances threatens to throw into limbo attempts to end a bankruptcy-like process for a government that six years ago declared unpayable its more...

February 24, 2021
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24Feb

US. Women’s Retirement Savings Especially Affected by the Pandemic

By Amanda Umpierrez The pandemic has aggravated financial insecurity for millions of American workers, but data shows it’s affected women more severely than men. A study by Nationwide found that among 297 women with investable assets of $100,000 or more, 72% believe the pandemic had a negative impact on their retirement savings. Additionally, women listed losses from the pandemic as their top financial concern last year. Other worries involved protecting assets, health care costs and longevity risk during retirement. “With women, when...

February 24, 2021
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23Feb

Swiss scheme assets expected to drop by 2035 if fossil investments kept

Swiss pension funds will experience on average a 10% loss in assets in the next 15 years if they continue to invest in fossil fuels and industries with high CO2 emissions, according to a report by Climate Alliance, a group of civil society organizations. Pension funds with an above-average share of foreign equities and bonds in their portfolios carrying high climate risks could see assets declining by 18%. The study predicted funding ratios to sink to 90% with assets falling...

February 23, 2021
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23Feb

British Airways defers £450m of pension payments as Covid cuts flights

British Airways has struck a deal to delay £450m of pension deficit contributions as the company struggles through Covid travel restrictions that have left most of its planes grounded during the pandemic. The carrier’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG), has also reached a final agreement over a £2bn loan that will give the company a larger financial cushion until Covid restrictions are eased. BA, which usually pays £37.5m a month into the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS), has struck a deal...

February 23, 2021
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