October 2020

Nigeria. Workers withdraw N2.56 billion in 25% early pension withdrawal

This is in line with the provisions of the Pension Reforms Act 2014, which allows pension fund contributors to withdraw 25% of their contributions if they lose their jobs and have not found any in 4 months. Read also Government unlikely to target South Africa’s retirement funds This was confirmed by the Pension Commission in its second quarter report published on its website. According to the data, about 4,688 Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders were disengaged from work but unable...

LDI immune to COVID-19 but lack of diversification persists

Bookended by two “once in a generation” crises, the past decade was full of surprises, including a double bull market for both equities and fixed income. However, despite record-breaking returns in equity and fixed-income markets, the funded status of the pension plans of companies in the S&P 500 index, in aggregate, exhibited an L-shaped recovery. To answer why funded status did not keep up with soaring equity and bond returns, Voya Investment Management analyzed publicly available information published in...

UK launches scheme to help new COVID jobless back into work

The British government launched a new employment programme on Monday aimed at helping those left jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic to get back into work. The Department for Work and Pensions said the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) scheme would be backed by a 238 million pound investment. The ministry said jobseekers put forward for the scheme would have access to tailored, flexible support to quickly get back into employment. This could involve specialist advice on how people...

Lengthy era of rock-bottom interest rates leaving its mark on U.S. economy

Even before the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero for at least three more years, Dan Bienvenue knew he had a battle on his hands. As chief investment officer of the nearly $400 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), which provides benefits for 2 million current and future retirees, Bienvenue must earn an annual return of at least 7 percent. That’s not easy when the safe investments that pension funds usually rely on are...

PM: In 15 years Ukraine will not be able to pay pensions

In 15 years, Ukraine would not be able to pay pensions to citizens, because the state would not have such resources. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmygal during his speech to the students of Lviv Polytechnic University. The head of government noted that the reason for this may be the demographic situation in Ukraine because the number of the working-age population is gradually decreasing. " ... There will be few able-bodied people and many retirees. The ratio will...

Ghana. Workers urged to invest in Tier-3 pension scheme

The President of Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana(CLOGSAG), Dr Evans Dzikum, has asked workers to make a deliberate effort to invest part of their earnings in the voluntary Tier 3 pension scheme administered by private entities. He said that was the surest way to what he described as a happy old age as majority of workers under the present pension scheme would be entitled to only a quarter of their current incomes during retirement. Save towards pensions...

More sponsors in U.K. embrace outsourcing

Multiemployer providers see influx as plan trustees move to cut costs, meet regulations Multiemployer plan providers in the U.K. are winning more defined contribution business as sponsoring employers have been more decisive about outsourcing under the pandemic-induced lockdown. The heightened interest comes as U.K. employers were already increasingly considering outsourcing plan assets to multiemployer plans, known in the U.K. as master trusts, to cut costs at a time when the government has been increasing trustee duties and decreasing support....

Canadian investors acknowledge systemic racism, pledge action

A group of 31 Canadian institutional investors representing $2.3 trillion in assets has signed a joint statement acknowledging systemic racism against black and indigenous populations and pledging to take steps to integrate diversity and inclusion into their investment processes. Read also Canada’s pension fund plans to invest a third of funds in emerging markets by 2025. India is a major component The Canadian Investor Statement on Diversity & Inclusion has been signed by Canadian pension plans and money managers including...

US. Do Politics Belong in Retirement Planning?

In a sharply polarized environment, Americans saving for retirement are increasingly concerned about politics — those of their financial advisers. “I’ll get a phone call from one client thinking the world is falling apart, and then another thinking it’s the best time to get into the market — in the same day,” said Robert Schmansky, founder of Clear Financial Advisors in Livonia, Mich. It has been a year of tumult, because of not only the pandemic but also protests...

UK. PensionBee and Plaid team up to call for ‘open pensions’

The two fintechs are calling on the FCA to speed up the introduction of Open Finance to help people view their pensions all in one place. Digital pension provider PensionBee and financial API provider Plaid have joined forces to push for an open finance standard within the pension industry. In a report published by the pair yesterday, Plaid and PensionBee are calling for ‘open pensions’ to be made standard, something which they claim will “improve financial decisions”...