September 2020

07Sep

UK universities and staff face huge jump in pension contributions

UK universities and thousands of their staff face increased annual pension costs totalling billions of pounds under proposals to plug an estimated £18bn deficit in the sector’s main retirement scheme. Read also £15bn boost if UK scraps pensions triple-lock, says think tank The £67bn Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK’s largest private-sector pension fund, will on Monday lay out a range of options to reduce the burgeoning deficit, which was £3.6bn in 2018. Read also US. The crisis of multiemployer pension...

September 7, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
07Sep

US. DOL´S mixed message for plan sponsors

The Labor Department is on a tear. In recent actions, it has opened the door for sponsors of defined contribution retirement plans to consider adding alternative investments such as private equity to their lineups. And it also sent a stern warning for both defined benefit and DC plan sponsors over including investments with an explicit ESG focus. More recently, it has proposed blocking an ERISA plan sponsor's ability to vote a proxy unless the issue has an economic impact on...

September 7, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
07Sep

Canada. CPPIB announces $235M investment in GLP Japan logistics fund

On 4 September the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) confirmed its participation in the launch of a $2.6 billion Japanese logistics fund announced by GLP late last month, marking the latest cooperation between the pension fund manager and Asia’s largest logistics developer. CPPIB, which has backed GLP ventures in Japan since 2011, is committing JPY 25 billion ($235 million) to GLP Japan Income Fund (GLP JIF), an open-ended core vehicle which GLP and its partners have already seeded...

September 7, 2020
News, Slider,
Read more...
07Sep

Greece.Pay as you go for auxiliary pensions

The government’s major social security reform will be promoted in 2021, following the necessary economic and actuarial studies and public consultation. Its main focus will be on the creation of a deposit system in auxiliary pensions. This is based on the idea that the contributions of salary workers who have just entered the system will not be used for the payment of today’s auxiliary pensions, but instead form the pension capital of each individual worker. The changes will be...

September 7, 2020
News, Slider,
Read more...
04Sep

Norway Pension Giant Drops Three Companies over Alleged Human Rights Violations

Norway’s $1.17 trillion Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) said it is excluding three companies from the fund because of an “unacceptable risk for violation of human rights.” They are Taiwan-based Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. and its subsidiary Formosa Taffeta, as well as Indian textiles company Page Industries. Norway’s central bank, Norges Bank, which manages the country’s sovereign wealth fund, made the decision based on the recommendations of its Council on Ethics. The council also recommended that the fund...

September 4, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
04Sep

US. No, Joe Biden Won’t Kill Your 401(k)

A simmering debate among financial professionals and policy wonks has intensified as the presidential race kicks into high gear: Should Joe Biden become president, will he reinvent the 401(k)? A Biden campaign pledge to make employer-sponsored plans more equitable is driving the conversation. While Biden’s team hasn’t offered many details, some observers believe a Biden administration would favor changing retirement plan tax benefits to the benefit of lower-income workers. Skeptics worry this would depress retirement savings overall and lead...

September 4, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
04Sep

UK. The pensions regulator: imposing joint and several liability for pensions liabilities

Investigations by the Pensions Regulator have dealt immense damage to companies' reputations in the past. What are its moral hazard powers, and how can organisations mitigate the risk of an intervention? Anne-Marie Winton, Partner at Arc Pensions Law LLP, examines the role of the Pensions Regulator in imposing joint and several liability on group companies. Defined benefits (or final salary) pension schemes are often a group’s largest unsecured UK creditor by far, possibly representing hundreds of millions of pounds of...

September 4, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
04Sep

Disruptive fintech is our best bet to economic recovery post COVID-19

History has taught us that times of crisis drive demand for technological advancement. Those that leverage innovative technology, to tackle challenges and turn them into opportunities, are often the most successful in helping society to recover. Earlier this year, when the novel coronavirus sparked a global pandemic, physical distancing was enforced around the world to limit the spread of infection. This led to a surge in remote working and a spike in unemployment, sparking technological innovation within a number...

September 4, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
03Sep

Pensions Need a ‘Safety Valve,’ Says JPMorgan

Pensions entered the Covid-19 pandemic significantly exposed to corporate credit risk, relying on a traditional investment strategy that may be heading for failure, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset management group. They’ve been hedging the volatility of their pension liabilities by taking on “a very concentrated exposure to corporate credit,” Jared Gross, the head of institutional portfolio strategy at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said in a phone interview. Largely holding corporate bonds at risk of being downgraded...

September 3, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
03Sep

Expert Warns UK Pensions Could Face Massive Dashboard Compliance Costs, Work

Contrary to government claims, UK pension plans might have to pay millions of pounds to prepare data for the pensions dashboard, according to Steve Webb, a former UK pensions minister who is now a partner at investment consultant Lane Clark & Peacock. In an attempt to simplify the complexities of pensions savings for citizens, the UK government and the country’s pensions industry are launching a pensions dashboard. The dashboard is a digital interface that will allow people to view...

September 3, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...