December 2019

19Dec

African Development Bank to Fund Morocco’s Social Protection Program

The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved funding of $204 million to improve social protection in Morocco, on Wednesday, December 18. The main objective of the program is to broaden social protection in Morocco to include people with disabilities, children, and vulnerable women, the AfDB said in a press release. The program also aims to promote a regional approach to developing more integrated and inclusive social policies. Meanwhile, the fund will enable the creation of 144 units specialized in...

December 19, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
19Dec

US. Retirees elected to Legislature in November can draw pension, thanks to IRS phone call

Most people do not welcome a phone call from the Internal Revenue Service, but a recent call means that Mississippi’s retired public employees can serve in the Legislature and draw their pension. The Public Employees Retirement System Board, based on the IRS phone call, voted unanimously Tuesday to change its long-standing regulation that prevented retired public employees from drawing their pension while serving in the Legislature. Early last year the PERS Board had voted to change the regulation by...

December 19, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
19Dec

ISLA forms Council for Sustainable Finance

The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) has formed a Council for Sustainable Finance (ICSF), amid wide-spread market debate around the compatibility of asset managers’ lending programmes and the growing trend of socially-conscious financing. The council will be chaired by Radek Stech, who is also council chair and founder of the Sustainable Finance, the Law, Stakeholders (SFLS) network at Exeter Law School. It will sit for the first time in Q1 2020 and will operate for a five-year term. ISLA...

December 19, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
18Dec

Pension Schemes in EU Show Big Shortfalls in Stress Test

A stress test of pension schemes across the European Union wiped out 270 billion euros ($298 billion) or almost a quarter of investments at funds that took part, the EU's insurance and pensions watchdog said on Tuesday. Many of the schemes were also not considering the impact of environmental, climate and social risks on their investment decisions, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) said in a statement. Investments by the tested schemes in shares also showed a...

December 18, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
18Dec

French government names new pensions boss

The French government has appointed Laurent Pietraszewski to replace former high commissioner on pensions, Jean-Paul Delevoye, who resigned on Monday following a conflict of interest scandal. Pietraszewski, a member of parliament from France’s Nord (North) department and spokesman for the ruling Republic on the Move group in the National Assembly, was named secretary of state to the ministry of social security and health, in charge of pensions, according to a decree published early Wednesday by the government. The new...

December 18, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
18Dec

UK. Guy Opperman re-appointed as pensions minister

Number 10 and the Department for Work and Pensions have confirmed Guy Opperman has been re-appointed as pensions minister. The MP for Hexham was re-elected with an increased majority of 25,152 in last week’s election. He was first appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state at the DWP on 14 June 2017. He previously served as a government whip (lord commissioner of HM Treasury) from 17 July 2016 to June 2017. In his role as pensions minister, Opperman has urged pension...

December 18, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
18Dec

How can Israel create an economy fit for an aging population?

The “twin threats” of societal aging and workplace automation pose major challenges to both Israel and economies the world over. An aging population caused by trends of rising life expectancy – predicted to increase to 84.4 years among Israelis by 2040 – and declining birth rates are leading to what has been described as a pensions time bomb, requiring the dedication of unprecedented resources to supporting the retired and elderly. In addition, tasks associated with older workers are also...

December 18, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
17Dec

Macron’s ‘Mister Pensions’ resigns amid transparency scandal as strikes continue

As massive strikes over pension reform in France continue for a 12th day – with unions livid, for one, that workers under the revamp would have to work until age 64 to retire without penalty – one key player is already out of a job: The father of the reform, Jean-Paul Delevoye, stepped down Monday under the glare of a transparency scandal. Delevoye, the High Commissioner for Pensions, handed in his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, who accepted...

December 17, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
17Dec

South Africa Government Pension Returns 2.6% in Fiscal 2019

South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) returned 2.6% during the fiscal year ended March 31, down from 8.5% in 2018, but beating its benchmark of 2.3%. That brought its asset value to R1.82 trillion ($122.9 billion), an increase of R17 billion compared to the previous year. The fund attributed the outperformance of its benchmark to improved resource commodity prices, which it said favored the fund’s tactical overweight position in resources relative to the benchmark. The basic...

December 17, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
17Dec

Estonia: use robust growth to improve income equality and well-being

Estonia’s economy is performing well, and public finances are in excellent shape, yet growth is softening and spending pressures from infrastructure needs and an ageing population are mounting. Efforts should now focus on improving income equality and well-being, greening growth and accelerating the country’s digital transformation, according to a new OECD report. The latest OECD Economic Survey of Estonia notes Estonia’s expertise in information technology and its global head start in digitalising government services. Estonia now needs to accelerate...

December 17, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...