March 2020

20Mar

Dutch pension funds receive billions as additional collateral

Dutch pension funds received billions of euros as additional collateral on swap contracts last week in the wake of rapidly declining interest rates. Liability-driven investment managers at Achmea Investment Management and NN Investment Partners, which deal with swaps used by pension funds for hedging their interest risk, said that checking whether banks and central clearing houses could fulfill their obligations required a lot of attention. Last week, the 30-year swap rate – schemes’ main criterion for discounting liabilities –...

March 20, 2020
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20Mar

Australia. Veteran pensions set to increase

Veteran pension payments will increase in March in line with the biannual indexation process. Pension recipients including veterans, their partners, war widows and widowers across Australia will see the increase from 20 March 2020. Due to the calculation of pension rates on a daily basis, the first pension indexed on payday 26 March 2020 will comprise a component of both the old and new rates. The new pension rates will be fully effective from pension payday 9 April 2020....

March 20, 2020
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19Mar

Finnish unions, employers agree crisis proposals over coronavirus

Finnish trade unions and employers on Wednesday agreed measures to support the labour market and promote temporary changes in legislation to shore up the weakening economy, they said in a joint statement. “The troubles of companies are here and now. Businesses need ways to cope with the corona crisis,” said Jyri Hakamies, the head of industry federation EK. The package - which needs to be approved by the centre-left government - includes measures such as shortening the duration of...

March 19, 2020
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19Mar

UK. Coronavirus scams: greater risk of being a victim of pension fraud

Pension savers face a greater risk of being targeted by fraudsters, research from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pension Scams (APPG) has revealed. The government has advised more people to stay at home amid the coronavirus crisis, which could increase their chances of being contacted via phone or online. Investment markets plunging over recent weeks may also make people more susceptible to pension scams as they attempt to recover losses from their retirement savings. The figures show...

March 19, 2020
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19Mar

Nigeria: Backlog of Unpaid Pensions, One of My Worst Pains ― Ortom

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has apologized to retirees and workers of the state over the inability of successive governments to find lasting solution to the nagging backlog of unpaid pensions in the state. The Governor who tendered the apology in Makurdi while flagging off Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, for the state workforce, said the huge pension liabilities he inherited was one of the unpleasant realities his administration had been battling with. He said "the pension problem was...

March 19, 2020
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19Mar

UK. Future renting pensioners could struggle in retirement

By Sophie Smith An increase in renting could see future pensioners struggle to achieve an adequate standard of living, as the number of pensioners renting looks set to double by 2046, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has warned. The PPI published its research paper, To Buy or not to Buy: the Changing Landscape of Housing in Retirement, in conjunction with Scottish Widows, exploring the implications of the changing housing market on future retirement needs. Based on current trends, the report...

March 19, 2020
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18Mar

BlackRock Converts Money Market Portfolio to Environmental Fund

BlackRock is converting its BlackRock Money Market Portfolio to the BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund (WeLEAF), which the firm says is the first environmentally aware money market product dedicated for the US wealth market. Read also LGIM to launch its first fossil fuel-free pension fund after pressure “Client interest in our LEAF series has revealed tremendous demand for sustainable liquidity management,” Thomas Callahan, BlackRock’s head of global cash management, said in statement. “WeLEAF was designed to answer...

March 18, 2020
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18Mar

European regulator calls on insurers for business continuity amidst virus battle

With WHO warning that Europe is the new 'epicentre' of COVID-19 given its surging number of cases and related deaths, insurers there are likely to face progressively more difficult conditions navigating challenging market conditions and in maintaining operations, according to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). Read also COVID19 checklist for pension schemes The independent European Union financial regulatory institution said it is monitoring the COVID-19 situation very closely in close communication and cooperation with the other European...

March 18, 2020
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18Mar

How are Canadian pension plans responding to coronavirus?

Across the country, public pension plans are releasing statements to assure members that their defined benefit pensions are secure and that they’re taking measures to protect the health and safety of their own staff. The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan said it regularly tests operations and will continue to make pension payments. “We are well prepared and feel confident your pensions will be paid on time,” it wrote in a statement. “Although our response times to...

March 18, 2020
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18Mar

UK. History repeats itself with pension reforms

By John Roberts Most aspects of our daily lives are affected by the whims and ambitions of politicians. This has been the case for pension provision right back to the early 20th century and beyond. For the financial services industry and the population as a whole, the effects of political decisions are coming home to roost for the second time in a generation. As part of the self-reliance philosophy – distaste for state provision and the population’s reliance on...

March 18, 2020
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