October 2019

14Oct

US. Only half of Gen Xers have a retirement account, and that’s a catastrophe in the making

Millennials may bear the brunt of bad press, but Gen X is arguably in worse financial shape. Insider recently teamed up with Morning Consult to survey 2,096 Americans about their financial health, debt, and earnings for its new series, "The State of Our Money." Of the total respondents, 566 were Gen X, defined as ages 39 to 54 this year. According to the survey, exactly half of Gen Xers don't have a retirement savings account. That's only slightly less...

October 14, 2019
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11Oct

Low fees, payouts starve Uganda pensions industry

Latest data compiled by Uganda’s pension industry regulator has revealed shifts in market share rankings posted by local fund managers, underlying revenue risks and skewed opportunities enjoyed by big banks against small peers in terms of access to fat, short term deposits supplied by pension schemes. Read also Zimbabwe. Pensioners to get express cash The data shows Sanlam Investments Uganda Ltd recorded the highest share of pension scheme assets under management between April and June 2019, amounting to Ush822.4 billion...

October 11, 2019
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11Oct

Colombian unions call national strike against Duque’s attacks on pensions and workplace rights

Colombian trade unions joined students on a national demonstration today and announced a general strike against right-wing President Ivan Duque’s neoliberal labour and pension reforms. The Unitary Central of Workers of Colombia (CUT) said a second day of action was planned for October 17, with further strikes set to take place on November 21. It is calling for peace in the country, with Mr Duque’s administration responsible for a major increase in killings of former members of the Revolutionary...

October 11, 2019
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11Oct

UK. Pensions tax relief set to cost government almost £40bn

Pensions tax relief will cost the government almost £40bn this year, up more than £2bn on the previous year, illustrating the growing cost of subsidising retirement saving. According to new statistics from HMRC, tax relief on employee pension saving is set to rise to £21.2bn while the tax giveaway on employer contributions to occupational pension schemes hit more than £18bn. The increasing cost of providing pensions tax relief follows a surge in the number of employees paying into company...

October 11, 2019
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11Oct

GE’s Not Alone: 25 Companies That Owe $1 Trillion In Pensions

General Electric is getting out of the pension business — and is just the latest company to do so. But such efforts by S&P 500 companies only go so far. They're still on the hook for hundreds of billions in pension obligations. Twenty-five S&P 500 companies, including International Business Machines (IBM), GE (GE) and General Motors (GM), collectively face $1 trillion in pension benefit obligations, according to an Investor's Business Daily analysis of projections from S&P Global Market Intelligence....

October 11, 2019
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10Oct

Ireland. New setback feared for auto-enrol pension plan

Fresh doubts have emerged about the commitment of the Government to introduce a pension scheme for almost one million private sector workers. Six out of 10 private sector workers have no private or occupational pension. The Government has committed to have an auto-enrolment pension system in place from 2022 for these workers. But no money was allocated in Budget 2020 to set up a key piece of infrastructure to deliver auto-enrolment. Plans for an auto-enrolment pension scheme have been...

October 10, 2019
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10Oct

Sustainable Green Finance May Be The Next Big Thing

Green finance, in its simplicity, are investments flowing into sustainable projects and initiatives that encourage a more environment-friendly and socially-conscious economy. There have been significant advancements in sustainable investments in the last decades that every asset class has evolved to include financial products and investment strategies that incorporate sustainability factors. Green finance leads us to the emerging markets as well, where funding gaps for sustainability developments are wider. This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my...

October 10, 2019
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10Oct

UK. Penfold launches digital pensions aimed at the self-employed

Penfold, a digital pension scheme built specifically for freelancers and runner-up at AltFi’s Fintech Pitch Off Competition at the AltFi London Summit 2019, launched today. The startup is focused on helping self-employed workers start a pension in just a few minutes, and then works around educating and supporting customers who might not have additional employer-supported pension schemes. “We’re aiming to make pensions not just easier, but more attractive for self-employed people to start planning for later in life,” says...

October 10, 2019
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09Oct

US. White House Focuses on China Stock Limits in Retirement Fund

The Trump administration is moving ahead with discussions around possible restrictions on portfolio flows into China, with a particular focus on investments made by U.S. government retirement funds, people familiar with the internal deliberations said. Read also US. GE is freezing its pension plan for 20,000 US workers The efforts are advancing even after American officials pushed back strongly against a Bloomberg News report late last month that a range of such limits was under review. Trump officials last...

October 9, 2019
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09Oct

South Africa. The impact of ethical investment by pension funds

The core functions of a pension fund are to provide its beneficiaries with good enough returns for them to live on – and a good enough world to retire into. It makes little sense to simply strive to generate financial returns for pensioners, if the investments that provide those returns are reckless, bad for the planet or perpetuate social inequality and inequity. It is thus common sense that responsible investing – which all investing should actually be – must...

October 9, 2019
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