April 2020

01Apr

British Gov’t Delays Levy Hike On Pension Schemes

Pensions schemes will not have to face a planned 10% hike on their general levies due to the financial stress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the U.K. government has said. The government said Friday that it will hold off on the planned 10% increase on the General Levy on Occupational and Personal Pension schemes, which was scheduled to take effect on April 1. Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion Guy Opperman said the government wants to support businesses through...

April 1, 2020
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01Apr

Kenya’s retirement benefits eroded by coronavirus

Pension managers in Kenya project depressed growth of retirees’ funds due to the coronavirus pandemic that has negatively impacted the financial markets. About 17.5 per cent of retirees’ money was invested in quoted securities at the Nairobi Securities Exchange as at December 2019. This amounted to $2.1 billion, up from $1.8 billion in 2018. In its 2019 industry report, the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) said: “The growth in the retirement benefits sector is projected to drop in the...

April 1, 2020
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01Apr

United Arab Emirates. Coronavirus: Private companies can postpone pension payments over next three months

The Abu Dhabi Pension Fund on Tuesday announced that private sector companies in the emirate can apply to postpone paying pensions over the next three months. The decision, which was passed by the group’s board of directors, is open to 1,154 private entities that are registered to the fund, with those companies able to submit their application for postponed payments electronically through the fund’s online portal. According to the fund, 8,765 citizens are also registered with the fund. “The...

April 1, 2020
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01Apr

India. Migrant Workers Need Social Protection To Overcome COVID-19 Lockdown Trauma: Health Ministry

The Health Ministry today called for providing a social protection to migrant workers, saying they are prone to social, psychological and emotional trauma in lockdown situations. Immediate concerns faced by such migrant workers relate to food, shelter, healthcare, fear of getting infected or spreading the infection, loss of wages, concerns about the family, anxiety and fear. "Sometimes, they also face harassment and negative reactions of the local community. All this calls for strong social protection," the ministry said in...

April 1, 2020
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March 2020

31Mar

Canadian pension scheme CDPQ to help coronavirus-hit firms with C$4 billion fund

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), one of Canada's biggest state pension investors, said on Monday it would create a C$4 billion fund to support companies in Québec adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Read also Financial market volatility brings Canadian pension health to lowest level in more than three years The fund would be used to address liquidity needs of companies, whether or not in CDPQ's portfolio, that meet certain criteria, including being profitable before the crisis,...

March 31, 2020
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31Mar

Swedish pension giant splits investment efforts and names new leaders

Swedish pension giant AP7 has restructured its investment team to split it into three new units, the Stockholm-based group has announced. A spokesperson for the institutional investor, which has $50bn (SEK 525bn) in assets under management, confirmed to Citywire Selector that its investment capabilities are now split as follows: risk management and asset allocation; alternative investments; and, fixed income and forex segments. According to AP7’s chief investment officer, Ingrid Albinsson, the split was implemented to strengthen the capabilities of...

March 31, 2020
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31Mar

Coronavirus lockdowns and social-distancing fuel surge in use of fintech apps

The coronavirus pandemic has fueled a 72% surge in the use of fintech apps in Europe in the past week as consumers adjust to social distancing, self-isolation and lockdowns, according to new research by deVere Group. “The world has changed in the last few weeks. The measures we’re now all taking to help the fight back against coronavirus are affecting the way we interact, live, work, and take care of our finances,” James Green, group divisional manager for the...

March 31, 2020
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31Mar

UK. Regulator permits three-month pension transfer freeze

The Pension Regulator had given defined benefit transfers a three month hiatus while also allowing employers to halt contributions in response to the Covid-19 crisis. The regulator published guidance on Friday (March 27) allowing DB schemes to delay member requests to transfer out of the scheme by up to three months. This is to give trustees more time to calculate cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) as due to falling markets caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is now more...

March 31, 2020
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30Mar

Japan. World’s largest pension fund growing greener

Japan’s massive Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has been a keen proponent of investing in sustainable assets. In 2019, it committed to investing a sizeable tranche of its US$1.6 trillion assets under management into green and socially responsible investments. And by making asset managers accountable with this strategy, the GPIF is strongly pushing the boundaries of sustainability investing, not only in Japan, but in the global asset management industry as well. In its latest move towards...

March 30, 2020
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30Mar

South Africa. Use pension funds for coronavirus relief efforts – unions

South Africa’s biggest labor-union federation and a key political ally of president Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing the government to tap state institutions for a stimulus plan to combat the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. The Congress of South African Trade Unions, which represents about 1.8 million workers ranging from miners to teachers, wants state companies such as the Public Investment Corp, which oversees government pensions, to provide relief to hard-hit industries including hospitality, manufacturing and mining. It’s also seeking...

March 30, 2020
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