May 2020

UK. Govt told to scrap pensions triple lock to reduce virus debt

The pensions triple lock could be scrapped in the near future as the government looks to recoup the hundreds of billions of pounds it has spent on Covid-19 support. According to a Treasury document dated May 5, seen by the Telegraph, chancellor Rishi Sunak has been advised to break one of the Conservatives’ manifesto pledges and scrap the pension triple lock on state pension rises. Under current rules, the state pension is increased by the triple lock which is...

Tesla’s Newest Board Member Talks About Changing The World Through Japan’s $1.5 Trillion Pension Fund

By putting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) at the heart of the world’s largest pension fund’s investments, Hiromichi Mizuno (known as Hiro) not only rocked the world of traditional pension finance but also had a profound impact on the cause of socially responsible investing. During his tenure as the Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Japan’s $1.5 trillion Global Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), Mizuno reached the conclusion that the fund had become so big that it essentially...

US. Trump Pressures Federal Pension to Halt Planned Chinese Stock Purchases

The Trump administration is pressing an independent board charged with overseeing billions in federal retirement dollars to freeze plans to invest in Chinese companies that Washington suspects of abusing human rights or threatening U.S. security. At issue is whether administrators of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a retirement savings fund for federal employees and members of the military, should allow its $40 billion international fund (I-Fund) to track an index that includes some China-based stocks of companies under scrutiny...

COVID-19 Economy: Why Nigeria must develop digital economy, increase national savings

Foreign Investment Network (FIN) has listed a number of economic strategies Nigeria and other African countries could adopt, to avert the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. FIN is a United Kingdom-based company driving foreign direct investment, FDI for Africa and other developing economies. Read also Tesla’s Newest Board Member Talks About Changing The World Through Japan’s $1.5 Trillion Pension Fund The group, in a video conference programme it organised, themed: COVID-19 and The Economic Threat: How Africa can overcome...

UK. Women in lower-grade jobs hit by pension change ‘at greater risk of depression’

Women in lower-grade occupations forced to work up to six years longer because of changes to the state pension age are a third more likely to suffer debilitating, potentially permanent, depression, research has found. The changes to the state pension age (SPA) have also resulted in a widening gap in health between women from different occupations, according to a paper by academics at King’s College London. “Our research is important because we know that worsening mental health will lead...

Some insights from the ‘United Kingdom 2020: Workplace Pensions Consumer Study’

The "Workplace Pensions Consumer Research Report 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. 55% of all consumers have a workplace pension Over half of all consumers have a workplace pension and among consumers with workplace pensions, most (51%) have a defined contribution (DC) pension with just over four-in-ten owning a final/career average pension. 85% of adults with a workplace pension have a pension with their current employer, with 15% having legacy pensions from previous employers. This report is...

Millennials step into caregiving roles for aging parents

Millennial women already caring for aging parents or planning to do so are much more stressed about the caregiving responsibility than men, a new poll reveals. CaringAdvisor found 1 in 2 Millennials planning to care for aging parents say they want to do it. However, guilt was the biggest motivator, with about two-thirds admitting they’d feel guilty if they didn’t care for parents themselves. Women were more than two times as likely as men to be “extremely stressed” about...

Stock market wipes out Kenyan pensioners’ $350m in just three months

Kenyan retirees lost over Ksh35 billion ($350 million) to falling stock prices and soaring inflation as the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the country’s economy in the past three months. Read also Australia. COVID-19 has killed 12% superannuation A survey conducted by Zamara Consulting Actuaries covering 415 pension schemes with a total of Ksh852.4 billion ($8.52 billion) in assets under management shows that the returns on pensioners’ investments in the three months to March 31 dropped, prompting a shift from...

Covid-19 impact: Global pension funds pause India investment

Top global pension funds have suspended India investment plans until they come to grips with the damage Covid-19 does to global and local economies, and their portfolios stabilise amid extreme market volatility and uncertainty. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Australian Super and Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), among others, had slated billions of dollars in India directly, via private equity (PE) or other funds, but have either put plans on...

DB Funded Status Estimates Are Mixed in April

Firms that track defined benefit (DB) plan funded status reported a range of estimates for April—from a decrease of 0.1% to an increase of 4%, depending on the group of plans being tracked. The highest increase reported was 4% (to an 80% aggregate funding level), estimated by Mercer for pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies. The firm says this was the result of an increase in equity markets, which offset a decrease in discount rates. As of April...