March 2020

02Mar

New Zealand. Reverse mortgages boom as pensioners opt to put retirement on the house

Low interest rates and high house prices are prompting more retirees to take out a reverse mortgage against their homes. Reverse mortgages - primarily offered in New Zealand by Heartland Bank - allow people to borrow a sum of money against their houses. They do not have to make any repayments until the house is sold. But interest accrues and compounds while the loan is not being repaid, so the amount that finally falls due can be a lot...

March 2, 2020
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February 2020

28Feb

Greek parliament approves pension bill

Greece’s parliament on Thursday approved a pension bill that introduces more flexibility for the self-employed over contributions and incentives to stay working longer on a promise of higher pensions. The new framework, that also creates a digital social security registry, was approved by a majority of lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament. Read also Greece. Parliament opens debate on new social security bill The conservative government says workers and employers stand to benefit from the reforms, which are intended to safeguard the system's...

February 28, 2020
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28Feb

UK. Pensions take hit as FTSE loses £152billion in four days due to coronavirus

PENSION savings took a battering yesterday after billions of pounds were wiped off the stock market in the wake of the growing coronavirus outbreak. The London Stock Exchange dropped to a new 13-month low as the spread of Covid-19 hit markets around the world and traders warned that it could lead to “anaemic global growth”.  The FTSE 100 blue-chip index has lost £152billion in the past four days – a fall of 8.2 percent so far this week, shedding £62billion yesterday. It...

February 28, 2020
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28Feb

Nigeria. Investing pension funds: Worries, prospects by stakeholders

Just before the federal government decided to step down borrowing from the dormant pension fund, reactions ranging from worries to expectations continued to trail the plan by government to utilise N2 trillion of the current N10 trillion available pension fund in developing infrastructure through the creation of products that Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) would be attracted to invest in. The government’s plan is aimed at improving infrastructure such as railway, road, electricity, among others, while also creating areas of opportunities...

February 28, 2020
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27Feb

Coronavirus, Global Aging & How Future Contagions May Affect Life In Retirement

The Novel Coronavirus is spreading. So is fear. Despite our alleged rational, technologically-advanced, and informed era – fear changes everything. Unfortunately, the fear factor around the current and future global contagions is likely to grow exponentially and is likely to disproportionately affect the lives and wellbeing of older people. News of the Coronavirus has spread far ahead of the contagion itself. Nearly every news source has headlined the virus. As of this writing, nearly 800 million hits can...

February 27, 2020
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27Feb

France shows slow progress of pension reform in parliament, raising concerns of Macron imposing it by decree

Discussions in France's National Assembly on the pension reform bill are continuing this Wednesday amid tensions delaying the progress of debates, marked by the opposition's rejection of the bill. Since February 17, the government initiative to establish a universal points-based system is on the daily agenda of the National Assembly. The mechanism used in the sessions by France Insoumise members and communists has been to introduce over 30,000 amendments in order to obstruct the bill, which is one of...

February 27, 2020
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27Feb

JP Morgan Chase Commits $200 Billion to Sustainability Financing

JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that it’s committing $200 billion in financing this year to expand its sustainability goals, which include imposing restrictions on lending to coal mining companies and ending direct funding of Arctic drilling projects. The bank said it will no longer lend to capital markets or give advisory services to companies that get a majority of their revenues from coal extraction. By 2024, the bank said it will phase out its remaining credit exposure to those businesses....

February 27, 2020
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27Feb

3 Signs Fintech Is Entering the Mainstream

Over the past several years, financial technology -- or fintech, for short -- started a revolution of sorts in what some consider a stodgy industry. Online-only banks with no branches, digital payment systems, and person-to-person (P2P) payment apps are just a few of the ways that technology is changing the way consumers handled their money. That hasn't gone unnoticed by some of the biggest names in the financial services industry, and rather than reinvent the wheel, some are spending...

February 27, 2020
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27Feb

The Netherlands: Pensions funds will change risk-free rate – Rabobank

The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf reported this morning that all parties involved in the pension reform discussion agreed on changing the risk-free rate term structure for Dutch pension funds. The pension agreement has been redefined and only one new pension contract remains. Bas van Zanden, Senior Pension Analyst at Rabobank, expects a decrease in demand for hedging by Dutch pension funds. Key quotes “The pension contract will split up all pension funds into an: Accrual phase – Every...

February 27, 2020
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26Feb

Greece. Parliament opens debate on new social security bill

Greek lawmakers started debating on Tuesday evening a social security bill, which Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis describing it as a "watershed" law that will affect current and future generations. Earlier, the minister tabled an accompanying actuarial report which he said "proves the [draft] law's viability until 2070." "The law has come to restore injustices of the past and to align with constitutional order and restore SYRIZA's Katrougalos law, which contravenes the constitution," Vroutsis said, adding that during the...

February 26, 2020
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