December 2019

06Dec

UK. Digital Bank Revolut Partners With Smart Pension to Offer Business Pensions Functionalities

Digital bank Revolut announced on Thursday it has teamed up with authorized by the pensions regulator, Smart Pension, to launch its new business pension offering. Users will now be able to set up their business accounts and pension auto-enrolment within minutes through this collaboration. “When you sign up for a Revolut for Business account before April 30th 2020, your employees receive a preferential rate on their pension fees. Workplace pensions and automatic enrolment are compulsory for businesses across the UK, and the introduction...

December 6, 2019
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06Dec

Social sustainability is the future

By Yolande Barnes I talked about writing up the conference we held on the next 100 years of real estate. To my surprise, the “mum, you’re so boring/embarrassing” teenage eye roll didn’t happen. I asked: “What do you think I should write?” I got the response: “Why don’t you write about how young people have to pay huge rents and can’t afford to get on the housing ladder?” Although this was something I had written about before, she had brought a...

December 6, 2019
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05Dec

Strike paralyses France as unions protest pension overhaul

A nationwide strike brought much of France to a standstill on Thursday as tens of thousands hit the streets to protest a pension overhaul by President Emmanuel Macron, which unions say will force millions of people to work longer or face curtailed benefits. Read also A Look at France’s Heated Debate Over Pensions Trains, metros and buses, as well as some flights, were cancelled while most schools were closed or only assuring daycare services, forcing many parents to find alternatives...

December 5, 2019
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05Dec

Nigeria: Court Orders Govt to Recover Pensions Paid to Ex-Governors Who Serve As Ministers, Senators

The Federal High Court in Lagos in a landmark judgment has ordered the federal government to "recover pensions collected by former governors now serving as ministers and members of the National Assembly, and directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN to challenge the legality of states' pension laws permitting former governors and other ex-public officials to collect such pensions." A certified true copy of the judgment delivered last week was obtained...

December 5, 2019
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05Dec

Chile approves lower-range pension hike amid protests

The Chilean Senate has unanimously passed a bill to gradually increase the lowest pensions in the country by up to 50 per cent amid anti-government protests. The bill had earlier been passed in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday, and after its passage in the Senate on Wednesday, it was now ready to be enacted as a law, reports Efe news. Read also Canadian Pensions Acquire Stake in Mexican Construction Firm The initiative was a part of the social...

December 5, 2019
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05Dec

Lessons fromm M-Pesa for Africa’s new VC-rich fintech startups

In African fintech, the fourth quarter of 2019 brought big money to new entrants. Chinese investors put $220 million into OPay and PalmPay — two fledgling startups with plans to scale in Nigeria and the broader continent. Several sources told me the big bucks had created anxiety for more than few payments ventures in Nigeria with similar strategies and smaller coffers. They may not need to fret just yet, however: lessons from Africa’s most successful mobile-money case study, M-Pesa,...

December 5, 2019
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05Dec

Changing Risks in Retirement

It is important to understand from the very outset how changing risks are primarily what separate retirement income planning from traditional wealth management. Retirees have less capacity for risk, as they become more vulnerable to a reduced standard of living when risks manifest. Those entering retirement are crossing the threshold into an entirely foreign way of living. Reduced earnings capacity Retirees face reduced flexibility to earn income in the labor markets as a way to cushion their...

December 5, 2019
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04Dec

GPIF takes a stance against ‘short sellers’, Elon Musk cheers the move

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world's largest pension fund, has suspended stock lending to traders who bet that shares will go down in price, calling the practice inconsistent with its responsibilities as a long-term investor. Read also ESG investing to move faster in Asia The move, announced by the GPIF on Tuesday, is a blow for so-called "short sellers", who rely on borrowing stocks to bet against companies and who are facing renewed moves in a number...

December 4, 2019
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04Dec

UK. FTSE 350 pension deficit falls as election nears

The accounting deficit of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has fallen for the UK’s 350 largest listed companies as the country prepares to go to the polls on December 12.At the end of October, the deficit stood at £41 billion (€48.1 billion). By the end of November, it had dropped to £38 billion, according to Mercer’s pension risk survey. Charles Cowling, partner at Mercer, said: “The political turmoil in the UK is likely to last beyond the general election, causing...

December 4, 2019
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04Dec

Saving Nigerian pensioners from untold hardships

In Nigeria of today, working in the civil service is quite interesting, but that only lasts for the 35 years of active working. Once that lapses, the next phase comes with huge sufferings for most people. Pensioners are the least on priorities, from state to the federal government. It’s a series of untold hardships, right from the point of retiring. Getting the gratuity and regular pensions have always been complex. And the unfortunate thing is that, this trend has...

December 4, 2019
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