February 2020

20Feb

UK. Pension schemes to share scams intelligence online

The Pension Scams Industry Group is working with anti-fraud organisation Cifas to launch a network of open-source information on suspicious companies and pension arrangements, which specialists say could be an important step in bringing scams under control. The project will allow network members to post concerns about companies and advisers they believe may be acting inappropriately or fraudulently, collecting details on arrangements including names, telephone numbers and addresses. Not-for-profit Cifas has already completed similar work in the banking sector,...

February 20, 2020
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20Feb

India. ETMoney now lets users invest in NPS through its app

ETMoney has introduced an option to invest in National Pension Scheme (NPS) to help customers save on taxes and increase flow to the PFRDA controlled pension corpus.Through the feature, the fintech platform expects to double the NPS users across the country, a company spokesperson said. “India has one of the youngest working populations in the world. In a decade or two from now, we will possibly have a rising number of retirees from private sector companies,” said Santosh Navlani,...

February 20, 2020
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20Feb

Australia. Jobs drought for older workers increases risk of ‘pension poverty’

Older Australians are missing out on job opportunities and seeing their hopes for a secure and dignified retirement evaporate, Labor leader Anthony Albanese said. “Today, over 170,000 Australians aged between 55 and 64 are on unemployment benefits just when they should be building their nest egg,” Mr Albanese told the Queensland Media Club on Wednesday. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show that the number of older Australians out of work has increased over the past five years, despite...

February 20, 2020
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19Feb

Athens Gridlocked as Transport Workers Strike Over Pension Bill

Traffic in parts of the Greek capital came to a standstill on Tuesday as Greek transport workers joined a 24-hour public sector strike over pension reforms. Buses, trolleys, trams and metro transportation will be out of operation for the day. Also Read Greece. Pension hikes to come in June Workers from the Athens suburban railway Proastiakos and intercity trains announced late on Monday that they will also participate in the strikes. Public hospitals will operate on skeleton staffs, as the...

February 19, 2020
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19Feb

How Japan and Singapore are reinventing old age

A new demographic dividend – the “longevity dividend” – is emerging as populations age; Singapore, one of the most rapidly ageing populations in the world, and Japan, where around 25% of the population is older than 65, are already responding to this demographic shift and benefit from it; From innovative retirement income and care programmes, Japan and Singapore's governments are already seeing positive results. Also Read Mongolian commercial banks resume providing loans to pensioners Demographic change has favoured economic...

February 19, 2020
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19Feb

A call to let pensioners work in Australia

The Retirement Income Review should consider a simpler and more flexible system which allows pensioners to work without being punished, according to National Seniors Australia, the peak consumer organisation representing older Australians. National Seniors has suggested this reform be examined as part of its submission to the Review. Chief Advocate Ian Henschke says the Review’s Panel should look at other pension and retirement income systems and import ways to make the Australian system simpler and more flexible. “There are...

February 19, 2020
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19Feb

South Africa. DA MP calls on Ramaphosa to break away from ANC

DA MP Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to part with factions in the ANC that were opposed to policy and structural reform, and to instead assemble a progressive coalition to govern South Africa. Hill-Lewis, in the parliamentary debate on Ramaphosa's state of the nation address (SONA), said the president had made so many unwise concessions in his bid to keep the ruling party united behind him that he seemed like a leader in retreat. Hence, he...

February 19, 2020
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18Feb

French MPs begin debating controversial pensions bill

The battle over the French government's pension reforms moved from the street to parliament on Monday, with the opposition vowing to torpedo an overhaul that sparked weeks of strikes and protests. Leftist unions are up in arms over President Emmanuel Macron's bid to fuse France's 42 different retirement schemes into a single points-based system. Also Read A low birth rate and a rapidly ageing population: Europe’s demographic crisis explained Public transport workers walked off the job for a month...

February 18, 2020
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18Feb

Greece. Pension hikes to come in June

The new bill by the Labor Ministry that was tabled on Monday in Parliament creates a new landscape for pensions and social security contributions. The interventions promoted have led to a strong reaction by many unions, which have decided to call a 24-hour strike for Tuesday. Among the many changes it includes, in line with the recent decisions by the Council of State, are increases in the replacement rates for workers with more than 30 years of insured labor,...

February 18, 2020
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18Feb

UK. Legal & General completes first pension risk transfer deal for housing

Legal & General (L&G) has invested £100m of long term debt financing in its affordable housing business – opening the door for UK pension money to back the provision of such homes. Secured against the income stream of a UK-wide portfolio of operational affordable housing, this represents its first deal to generate attractive matching-adjustment, compliant direct investments from affordable housing for its growing annuity portfolio. A further £175m of development finance is being provided by a consortium of external investors...

February 18, 2020
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