August 2020

24Aug

UK. Why we’re largely a nation of ‘no clues’ on pensions

Alarm bells are ringing again after further dark news about pension saving in the UK. A lack of planning, a lack of knowledge, and just not getting around to thinking about pensions means that even those who are saving into a workplace or personal pension are still doing so passively. We save according to the legal minimums required, rather than asking ourselves the crucial question: how much will I need, and how much must I save right now,...

August 24, 2020
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24Aug

Australia. Challenger launches floating rate annuity

Challenger is launching a guaranteed floating rate lifetime annuity, with payments linked to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cash rate. The new annuity would provide investors with guaranteed payments that moved with the RBA cash rate, allowing them to not miss out when the rate rises again. Angela Murphy, chief executive of distribution, product and marketing at Challenger, said the option maintained substantial estate and withdrawal benefits, and could improve Age Pension eligibility and outcomes. “This is a...

August 24, 2020
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21Aug

US. Sustainability Matters: Overwhelming Opposition to Proposed Regulation Limiting the Use of ESG in Retirement Plans

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would limit the use of investments that consider environmental, social, and corporate governance factors in worker retirement plans subject to ERISA, including 401(k) plans. Read also US. DOL Issues New Rules On Retirement Plan Income Disclosures The proposed rule questions the financial materiality of ESG issues and assumes that ESG-focused investment strategies and funds are primarily focused on providing “nonpecuniary” benefits, often at the expense of “pecuniary” benefits, otherwise known...

August 21, 2020
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21Aug

Australia. Govt now says Centrelink pensions might not go up, but won’t go backwards

Pensioners won’t get the automatic boost they are used to in September because inflation has fallen. Read also Australia. PM flags pension could rise even though cost of living has fallen Scott Morrison has instead opened the door to offering them a top-up payment in the October budget. Read also Pension Giant Says Radical Post-Covid Changes to Hit Investments But his finance minister, Mathias Cormann, does not appear enthusiastic about the potential sweetener. “Indexation arrangements are there to take account of...

August 21, 2020
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21Aug

Make Pension Savings Mandatory For Jamaicans, Actuary Suggests

Chief actuary at Actman International Limited, St Elmo Whyte, says the Government should make pension contributions compulsory for Jamaicans as security in their retirement. Contributions to the national pension scheme is compulsory for employed persons, but compliance is below par, while private employers are not required to set up schemes for their workers. The actuary said at the Sterling Asset Management virtual investor forum, in which he was a panellist this week, that there must be a way to...

August 21, 2020
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21Aug

UK. How COVID-19 will affect women’s pensions in the long term

It is clear that the pandemic is more than just a health crisis, but an economic one too. Since the lockdown was introduced in March, millions of people have been furloughed or made redundant. And not only is the financial fallout of coronavirus affecting women more severely than men, it will continue to impact their savings for years to come. Prior to the virus, women only saved a third of the amount that men do by the time they...

August 21, 2020
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21Aug

Volkswagen Mexico agrees 5.5% hike in worker pay and benefits

Volkswagen’s Mexico unit has agreed an increase in worker pay and benefits of 5.46 percent, the local union for the German automaker said on Tuesday, after the company froze worker salaries in Germany this year due to the coronavirus crisis. Read also US. 27% of Savers Have Decreased or Stopped Retirement Plan Contributions Due to the Coronavirus Manuel Aburto, spokesman for the Independent Union of Automotive Industry Workers, said the deal for a new 2020-21 collective contract comprised a salary...

August 21, 2020
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20Aug

Pension Giant Says Radical Post-Covid Changes to Hit Investments

Canada’s largest pension fund says some of the “radical changes” in consumer behaviors enforced during the pandemic lockdown are here to stay. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s thought leadership lab sees permanent changes to consumer behavior as a result of the global pandemic. The era after Covid-19 will be defined by wider adoption of e-commerce among older consumers, as well as by long-term impacts on health-care and privacy policy, all of which will impact investment portfolios, it says....

August 20, 2020
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20Aug

US. 27% of Savers Have Decreased or Stopped Retirement Plan Contributions Due to the Coronavirus

The coronavirus crisis has had a profound economic impact, and while some people have managed to coast through the past five months financially unscathed, others are truly struggling to make ends meet. It's not surprising, then, to learn that 27% of Americans have either stopped funding their retirement savings or have decreased their IRA or 401(k) contributions due to the pandemic, according to a new FinanceBuzz survey. If you've lost your job or taken a hit to your income in...

August 20, 2020
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20Aug

A step closer to retirement reform in South Africa

By Jerry Botha, managing partner, and Jean Du Toit, head of tax technical at Tax Consulting South Africa As announced in the Budget Speech, any South African leaving in future will be subject to a much stricter process from 1 March 2021 onwards. But there was also a surprise 3-year lockup announcement for anyone with a South African pension fund, seeking to leave South Africa. This appears a sign of things to come for private pensions in South Africa....

August 20, 2020
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