October 2019

Ireland. Plans to auto-enrol workers in pension schemes announced

The Government is to introduce a system of pension auto-enrolment on a phased basis from 2022. Read also Irish pensions need urgent reform, industry specialist says The details have been published by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Under the system, a worker will be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme when they start a job. Read also UK. Watchdog hails success of auto-enrolment pensions It will apply to all employees aged between 23 and 60 earning more than €20,000 a year...

Serbia to increase public sector wages, pensions this year and next

The Serbian government is ready to raise wages in the public sector this year and pensions in 2019, on the back of favourable fiscal revenues and in line with a non-financial arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Tuesday. Read also France. Macron vows to push pension reform ‘to the end’ despite strikes The government of the Balkan country this month moved from a small surplus to a deficit of 0.5% of GDP, to allow for...

Can migrants, robots and retirees help to combat the demographic crisis in an ageing Japan?

Turning 100 is no longer a novelty in Japan. Itsuko Inoue recently celebrated her 100th birthday, joining the ranks of Japan’s 71,000 centenarians. A native of Tokyo, Inoue survived both the earthquake of 1923 and the Second World War before going on to have five daughters. She will soon receive a certificate from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which is responsible for congratulating the new centenarians who grow in number every year. Read also What Is The...

How Pinochet’s economic model led to the current crisis engulfing Chile

After 12 days of mass demonstrations, rioting and human rights violations, the government of President Sebastián Piñera must now find a way out of the crisis that has engulfed Chile. Analysts have correctly interpreted the wave of protests as a reflection of discontent with the material, political and social inequalities engendered by the economic model imposed by the country’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet. That model deregulated markets and privatised social security systems, and was widely emulated by other countries...

UK. The worst pensions firms for transfers that take up to 62 days to release cash

Meanwhile, the quickest time is offered by Aviva at just 12 days, according to research. Consolidator service PensionBee analysed almost 52,000 transfers by customers who joined the firm since 2016, with the sample size for each provider ranging from 141 to 7,914 cases. It found that apart from Mercer, the slowest pension providers were Now Pensions, taking an average of 61 days, while Capita took 45, Willis Towers Watson took 42, and Smart Pension took 36. Overall, the average...

US senator plans Bill to block Federal Pensions investing in China

Senator Marco Rubio plans legislation to block U.S. government pensions from investing in Chinese stocks after the board overseeing the funds put off a decision that would add exposure to China. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board on Monday addressed concerns that switching the benchmark for its $50 billion TSP I Fund to mirror an index with Chinese assets would undermine U.S. economic and national security. A decision was delayed for at least two weeks, according to Kim Weaver,...

Chinese government uses facial recognition app to pay out pensions

A facial recognition app, Laolai.com, is being used by China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, to ascertain pension payouts and avoid fraud. Read also US senator plans Bill to block Federal Pensions investing in China The Laolai mobile app is designed to enable elderly citizens to prove their identity in order to receive social security benefits. Some 250 million retirees now use the app, which was developed into an online platform for a wide range of services for...

Canada. Morneau Shepell releases the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers’ Pooled Funds

Morneau Shepell (TSX: MSI) has released the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers' Pooled Funds for the third quarter of 2019. According to the report, in the third quarter of 2019, diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 1.5 per cent before management fees. Since the beginning of the year, the return has been 12.8 per cent. "In general, markets posted positive returns in the third quarter, despite higher volatility. The FTSE Canada Universe Bond...

What Is The Future Of Aging Populations?

Across much of the world, life expectancy is on the rise, and while this represents a tremendous achievement in science and healthcare, it also presents a significant challenge for societies as populations not only age, but for whom older people represent an ever growing proportion of society. I've written previously about the challenges of an aging society, with people such as London Business School's Lynda Gratton and Airbnb's Chip Conley among the foremost thinkers on the topic. An aging...

Interview with Alejandro Werner on the Latest Economic Developments in Latin America

To boost the economic recovery and create more jobs, the region will need to rely on domestic drivers of growth, like consumption and investment. In a wide-ranging interview with Alejandro Werner, the head of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, we discussed the report’s findings, the recent social unrest in the region, as well as the latest developments in Argentina and Ecuador. The Regional Economic Outlook last year looked at the evolution of inequality and poverty in the region....