February 2022
09Feb

US. Pension risk transfer market posts record-breaking 2021

The U.S. pension risk transfer market had a record-breaking year in 2021, with an estimated total volume of between $38 billion and $40 billion, according to a report from Legal & General Group. Read also US. New York’s public pension fund to divest from 21 companies over transition risk In the insurer's latest Pension Risk Transfer Monitor, issued Tuesday , the U.S. PRT market's volume for the year well exceeded the total of $27 billion for 2020, and also exceeded the...

February 9, 2022
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09Feb

UK. Climate change a ‘fundamental risk’ to scheme longevity

Climate change is severely impacting on the covenants of a range of employers sponsoring UK defined benefit (DB) schemes, the Employer Covenant Practitioners Association (ECPA) says. In a paper published today (8 February), the ECPA said climate change is "progressively impacting" the covenant of many sponsors, from impacting upon cashflows to representing a "fundamental risk" to scheme longevity. It argues that DB schemes should consider the impacts of climate change through sectoral analysis, including regulation and technological evolution, to best consider...

February 9, 2022
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09Feb

India’s APY scheme sees gradual increase in membership

The number of subscribers under the government-administered pension scheme, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), has exceeded 7.1m as of 24 January this year, Parliament has been told. “As per information received from PFRDA, 7,106,743 subscribers have been enrolled under APY up to 24 January 2022, during the financial year 2021-22,” Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament. In FY20 (the financial year ended 31 March 2020), there...

February 9, 2022
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09Feb

Ghana. Campaign to register private, informal sector workers to roll out in April – SSNIT

Pension schemes are for all workers-SSNIT The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has revealed that it will commence a sensitization campaign in April to encourage informal and private sector workers to patronize the pension scheme. Read also Tunji Andrews is Building Awabah, a Pension Platform for Nigeria´s Informal Sector Acting Public Affairs Manager of SSNIT, Charles Akwei Garshong, speaking on JoyNews’ The Law, on Sunday said the campaign will specifically target celebrities and all those in the informal sector, to enlighten...

February 9, 2022
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08Feb

Kenya. Pension returns up five percentage points on stocks gains

Pension fund returns rose by five percentage points in 2021 on improved performance of equities and offshore investments, signalling higher interest earnings for savers. Pension fund administrator Zamara said that in 2021, the median return for schemes stood at 12.4 percent compared to 7.3 percent in 2020. The higher returns were mainly driven by a rebound in equities, where returns stood at 18.4 percent in the year compared to a decline of 10.4 percent in 2020. This asset class accounts for...

February 8, 2022
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08Feb

Can aging population trends tame inflation?

By Larry Berman The Economist, one of my favourite weekly reads (or listens these days with audio features), highlights a recent paper examining the effects of demographic change on saving, Etienne Gagnon, Benjamin Johannsen and David López-Salido of the Federal Reserve Board suggest that aging in America may account for about one percentage point of the drop in interest rates since the 1980s. Other research has suggested it could be as much as three per cent. One thing is fact,...

February 8, 2022
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08Feb

AstraZeneca moves to terminate U.S. pension plan

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Wilmington, Del., has announced plans to terminate its U.S. defined benefit plan. The company informed participants in its AstraZeneca Defined Benefit Plan on Jan. 25 of its intention to terminate the plan, according to a statement emailed by AstraZeneca's media relations team. The termination "involves transferring the responsibility for payments, recordkeeping and asset management to a qualified, carefully selected insurance company with expertise in the long-term management of pension benefits," according to the statement. The U.S. defined benefit plan...

February 8, 2022
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08Feb

ESG Vs. Impact Investing–Understanding Their Different Goals

The movement of investment capital into funds that seek to effect positive change has been substantial in recent years. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) assets rose to more than $35 trillion in 2020 to account for more than one-third of total global assets under management, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. This figure is expected to rise above $50 trillion by 2025. Despite this rapid growth, there remains deep skepticism about the effectiveness of the ESG framework. Some of...

February 8, 2022
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04Feb

GPIF, World’s Top Pension, Has Record Seventh Quarterly Gain

The world’s largest pension fund posted a record seventh straight quarter of gains in the three months ended December, as stocks outside Japan helped the fund boost returns. Read also U.S. public pension funds may turn to more ‘aggressive’ investment, report says Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund gained 2.8% in the quarter, with assets climbing to a record 199.3 trillion yen ($1.73 trillion), the fund said in Tokyo. Read also China rolling out perks to encourage couples to have 3rd child amid...

February 4, 2022
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04Feb

UK. Prudential reports itself to regulator over AVC failings

Prudential is one of the UK’s largest additional voluntary contributions providers for Local Government Pension Scheme funds. Standard Life, Scottish Widows, Aegon, Legal & General and Clerical Medical also process AVCs. LGPS members have two options when it comes to increasing their pension benefits. They may buy an extra pension in the LGPS, and are allowed to make additional contributions to buy up to £7,316 of extra pension, if they are in the main section of the scheme, or they...

February 4, 2022
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