October 2019

07Oct

Zimbabwe. Pensioners to get express cash

The Government is working with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and banks to ensure that pensioners access cash for their pension payouts. The country has been experiencing cash shortages that have seen members of the public literally camping at banking institutions who are failing to satisfy their clients. The hardest hit, however, are pensioners, with some now being forced to sleep on bank pavements for more than a night in anticipation of cash. Minister of Public Service, Labour ...

October 7, 2019
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07Oct

South Africa. Prescribed assets would upset the rationale for pension funds

One of the main criticisms of prescribed assets is that forcing pension funds into these investments would hurt individual savers. Besides the market distortions that prescribed assets would create, everyone understands that they would deliver below market returns. Under South Africa’s previous dalliance with prescribed assets, this impact was primarily felt by employers. This is because pension funds back then were run in a different way – they were all based on defined benefits. This meant each member did...

October 7, 2019
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07Oct

US. Impeachment And Your Retirement

Here’s why they are related The financial advice industry is known for having strong opinions. Politics is like that too. Especially these days. To be clear, this is NOT a political commentary. I direct you to a zillion other locations on the internet for that. Likewise, it seems to me that people within 10 years either side of retirement (hoping to retire within 10 years or retired within the last 10 years) are bombarded with...

October 7, 2019
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04Oct

UK. Defeat for women in state pension age challenge

Campaigners have lost a significant legal battle against the government's handling of the rise in women's state pension age. The retirement age for women rose from 60 to 65, in line with men, and will go up to 66 by 2020, and to 67 by 2028. Women born in the 1950s claim the rise is unfair because they were not given enough time to make adjustments to cope with years without a state pension. They argued the changes were...

October 4, 2019
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04Oct

France. Macron seeks to placate French over pension reforms

French President Emmanuel Macron sought to ease fears over his controversial pension reform Thursday in a debate with concerned citizens over the plan that has sparked protests by train drivers, pilots, lawyers, doctors and police. Macron’s move to modernise France’s retirement system is part of an election pledge to put the country on a solid financial footing — a mission that calls for painful changes in a country where many people have seen their spending power decline. Macron’s government...

October 4, 2019
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04Oct

Pension Funds Sink Billions Into a Whole New World of Risk

For decades Dutch pension cash flowed to the place most likely to deliver steady and safe returns: government bonds. No longer. Now the investor behind the Netherlands’ biggest pension fund is channeling retirement savings to a Belgian airport, a bicycle parking lot in Utrecht and toll roads in the U.S. and Spain. “Because of low interest rates, we have to cast our nets far and wide to search for returns,” said Thijs Knaap, senior investment strategist at APG Asset...

October 4, 2019
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04Oct

Lithuanian President Nausėda: pension raises must outpace wage growth

Can Lithuanian pensioners turn Lithuanian economy upside down? Upon hearing the threats of Lithuania’s commercial banks what will happen to the economy if the ruling farmers and greens (LFGU) move forward with the proposal to tax bank assets, which is part of Lithuania’s plan to rake in additional 100 million euro for welfare spending, and the pensions, too, it may seem inevitable. Low Lithuanian pensions The average pension in Lithuania is currently 345 euros, however around 60 percent of...

October 4, 2019
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04Oct

Why the Future of Brazil’s Economy Rides on Pensions

Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil, is closer than ever to overhauling its costly pension system. That’s been the focus of the first sustained legislative drive by President Jair Bolsonaro, his economic team and allies. Efforts to muster support for a major reform failed under previous administrations. Now, Brazil’s Senate is set to approve changes that could boost the nation’s public finances and open the door to a virtuous cycle of expansion. 1. Why is pension reform so important? Brazil’s pension...

October 4, 2019
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03Oct

Africa’s Biggest Fund Manager Seeks to Salvage Soiled Reputation

The image of Africa’s biggest fund manager has been damaged by allegations of misconduct and breaches of corporate governance and the institution must now strive to preserve what’s left of its reputation, its interim chairman Reuel Khoza said. The Public Investment Corporation, which oversees 2.13 trillion rand ($139 billion) of mainly South African government worker pensions, has been the subject of a commission of inquiry. That’s involved months of public testimony into allegations of political interference and questionable investment...

October 3, 2019
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03Oct

NBC Ghana Trust CEO calls for transparency in Pension Trustee Administration

The Chief Executive Officer of Negotiated Benefits Trust Company Limited (NBC Ghana Trust), William Asiedu Yeboah, has called for transparency in corporate and individual trustee administration following the impact of the recent banking reforms undertaken by the Bank of Ghana. Mr. Yeboah explained that “the trustees (corporate and individual) licensed are required to provide regular reports on all aspects of the fund administration and investment activities. Regular audits are required in addition to robust data management systems. Annual audits...

October 3, 2019
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