December 2019

17Dec

UK. Pressure from the regulator has mounted in 2019

Financial advisers have faced shifting regulatory sands over the past 12 months, with the Financial Conduct Authority training its focus on a number of core areas. From boosting consumer protection, to placing greater responsibility on individual senior staff, we will look at the major regulatory themes of 2019 impacting the financial advice industry. SMCR Over the past year we have seen companies working hard to ensure they are fully prepared for the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, which has...

December 17, 2019
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16Dec

UK. Top civil servants given ‘lavish’ £1m pensions

The UK’s permanent secretaries, 23 individuals who head up UK government departments, had an average defined benefit pension worth £1.1m in 2018/19, according to research from the TaxPayers' Alliance. The figures, released by the think tank today (December 16), showed the average pension upon retirement of these officials will be £57,717 per annum - 94 per cent more than the average gross UK salary in 2018 (£29,817). The data was taken from the 2018/19 annual reports of UK government...

December 16, 2019
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16Dec

French business activity stable in Dec despite pension strike – PMI

French business grew at a steady pace in December despite a nationwide strike against pension reform, although activity in the manufacturing sector came unexpectedly close to stagnating, a survey showed on Monday. Data compiler IHS Markit said that its preliminary monthly purchasing managers index fell marginally to 52.0 from 52.1 in November, in line with economists' expectations in a Reuters poll. Though a three-month low, the result was comfortably above the 50-point level demarcating expansions in activity from contractions....

December 16, 2019
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16Dec

The aging workforce: Older workers are growing in number. And that offers opportunities.

For more than a decade, labor academics and human resource executives have been preparing for the "next" generation — from the millennials, now the largest working population, to the newest members of the workforce, Generation Z. But older Americans are increasingly working later into life. While roughly 10,000 baby boomers a day will reach retirement age between 2011 and 2029, only about 5,900 a day are retiring. Fred Hubacker, 75, continues to work a full schedule as executive director...

December 16, 2019
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16Dec

Cryptocurrency is At The Center of Multi-Million Dollar Investment Security and Commodities Fraud

The Criminal Division of the IRS arrested Swedish businessman Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson, for allegedly operating a fraudulent pension plan using cryptocurrency. Karlsson allegedly used fake websites “registered to a fictitious person” to advertise shares of a “Pre-Funded Reversed Pension Plan” (PFRPP). The criminal complaint states that Karlsson allegedly invited potential investors to buy shares of this plan at $98 per share. In exchange, Karlsson promised to eventually return 1.15 kilograms of gold per share to the shareholder as return...

December 16, 2019
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13Dec

UK. How Boris Johnson’s election win will affect your pension

The Conservatives’ decisive election victory should give the next UK government a better chance of passing new laws to tackle difficult domestic issues. Many pressing issues have been put on the backburner since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016. Not only has Brexit dominated much parliamentary debate—which may continue—but also weak or non-existent majorities have made passing any legislation harder. One issue the Conservatives could move to address is pension reform, which featured little in the campaign but could...

December 13, 2019
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13Dec

French union mounts pressure on gov’t with “no Christmas break” strike

The General Confederation of Labor (CGT), France's largest union in the public sector, planned rolling strikes in transport sector during Christmas holidays, mounting pressure on the government to reconsider a pension reform, a union official announced on Thursday. "No Christmas break unless the government comes to its senses," Laurent Brun, head of CGT's railway branch, told France info radio. "The strike continues until we are assured that the current system is maintained and negotiations are underway to improve it," he added. Brun...

December 13, 2019
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13Dec

Economist: The system is ‘flawed’ when most Americans have little or no retirement savings

It’s no secret that Americans are falling short when it comes to saving enough for retirement. But as a new report shows, many are disastrously unprepared — and that may point to flaws in the system. Progressive think tank the Economic Policy Institute found that Americans 56 to 61 had a median balance of $21,000 in their 401(k) accounts in 2016, which is the most up-to-date data on file. That total reflects almost 30 years of savings. Younger generations do not fare much...

December 13, 2019
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13Dec

Managing Pension Risk With Amazon Managed Blockchain

Everyone is familiar with insurance, whether it's for a home, an automobile, or healthcare. The concept is simple: Individuals or entities pool their money to protect the group against risks. Fewer, however, are familiar with the concept of reinsurance, but it's equally important for the smooth functioning of our financial markets and the protection of insured entities and individuals around the world. Reinsurance is what the name implies: insurance on insurance. Insurers or other entities providing insurance-like solutions take...

December 13, 2019
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12Dec

French Prime Minister Unveils Pension Plan As Strike Continues To Paralyze Paris

Strikes and protests have clogged the streets of Paris and elsewhere in France since last Thursday. Now there's a turning point: the government has unveiled its plan to reform the French retirement system. The plan calls for a shift from 42 distinct pension plans according to job and region into one universal scheme. The new system will be based on points, on the principle of giving each pensioner the same rights for each euro they pay into it. Those...

December 12, 2019
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