February 2021
09Feb

Kenya. Public servants take salary cut in new pension plan

Civil servants, teachers and security forces are having to re-organise their budgets after taking a two per cent cut on their January payslips. The deductions will go towards financing the State workers’ newly introduced mandatory retirement savings plan, known as the Public Service Superannuation Scheme (PSSS). Retired public servants have been receiving lifetime pensions paid directly from the exchequer, but the new scheme will see them now shoulder a portion of the ballooning pension burden that hit Sh109 billion last...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

U.K.’s Sunak to Protect Pensioners With Triple Lock Pledge

U.K. finance minister Rishi Sunak is planning to keep the government’s promise to increase the state pensions of millions of elderly people by at least 2.5% every year, saving a flagship policy despite the costs. According to a person familiar with the matter, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will retain the “triple lock” guarantee to raise the state pension by the highest of three measures: annual growth in average earnings, inflation, or 2.5%. Around 12.5 million people receive the pension. The...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

Ontario teachers pension fund gains $500 million by cashing in on GameStop stock rebellion

Wall Street's hedge funds are set to lose tens of billions of dollars after a mob of traders on Reddit's WallStreetBets page sent GameStop, AMC Entertainment, and other stocks skyrocketing in recent days. However, some Canadian entities are cashing in on what is being touted as the "biggest short squeeze in 25 years." Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan—the largest shareholder in U.S. mall owner Macerich Co.—reportedly sold its entire holding for nearly $500 million when the stock soared. According to...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

US. AIG to pay New York $12M for unlicensed pension risk transfer business

American International Group (AIG), the multinational finance and insurance corporation, owes the state of New York $12 million in penalties for insurance law violations stemming from its pension risk transfer (PRT) business. Deutsche Bank to pay $150M penalty for suspicious handling of Epstein accounts Linda A. Lacewell, Superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS), announced the penalty on Monday. She said an investigation from her department revealed that a subsidiary of AIG solicited and did insurance business in New...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

Peru court scraps law allowing withdrawals from state run pension system

Peru's Constitutional Court on Thursday tossed out a law that would have allowed the partial withdraw of savings by citizens enrolled with state pension fund, a measure that had prompted fierce opposition from interim President Francisco Sagasti. The court said in a statement that it had voted unanimously to overturn the law, calling it "unconstitutional." The law passed by opposition members of Congress in December, intended as a lifeline for those in need amid the coronavirus crisis, would have allowed members...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

US. Insurers Have Been Draining Funds from New Jersey’s Pensions for 15 Years

Insurance firms have been siphoning off money from New Jersey’s pension funds for the past 15 years thanks to a policy decision that shifted financial obligations for employee injuries to pension funds, according to an investigation by acting state Comptroller Kevin Walsh. A report on the investigation said that a 2006 policy adopted by the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) encourages injured employees to accept continuing medical monitoring and coverage instead of cash settlements. The report said the approach, which...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

UK govt pension liabilities surge £1.3trn in 3 years

The UK government's pension liabilities have risen 22 per cent in three years, raising questions about the sustainability of public pension schemes. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, published yesterday (February 8), the government’s pension liabilities had surged by 22 per cent between 2015 and 2018, to £6.4tn. State pension liabilities amounted to £4.8tn, or 224 per cent of gross domestic product. Unfunded public sector defined benefit scheme liabilities stood at £1.2tn, or 55 per cent of GDP, while...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

Australia. Retirement Income Review Under Spotlight

The future of retirement income policy – including pensions, superannuation and thee role of housing – will come under the spotlight as the nation’s decision-makers and policy experts canvass the implications of the Retirement Income Review at the Council on the Ageing’s National Policy Forum on 26 February. The full day conference to be held at the National Press Club in Canberra, and streamed virtually, will include: A keynote address by Treasurer John Frydenberg A lunchtime debate between Minister for Superannuation Jane...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

Canada. Pension plans focusing on streamlining ESG strategies in 2021

Pension plans in Canada now factor environmental, social and governance monitoring in their investment process, and in the absence of national guidance, plan managers are using various tools and methods to analyze ESG risk, noted panelists of a roundtable recently hosted by The Association of Canadian Pension Management. “Considering ESG requires a balance of the investment opportunities with the risks, I think we’re still in an evolving situation right now where lack of data is a challenge to assessing...

February 9, 2021
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09Feb

How do we stop a generation from sleepwalking into retirement?

Five years on from the introduction of Pension Freedoms, new research by The People’s Pension and State Street Global Advisors has shown that mature savers are sleepwalking into retirement. They risk running out of Defined Contribution pension savings and, with a third of their retirement still to come, could spend their later years reliant on the state pension. In-depth research by consultancy Ignition House explores both retirement planning and spending habits following the introduction of freedoms in 2015. The...

February 9, 2021
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