October 2019

01Oct

Social Security Education a Must-Have for Retirement Plan Participants

General education is helpful, but getting personal will help employees establish a plan for income in retirement. According to the Social Security Administration’s website, Social Security will replace about 40% of an employee’s pre-retirement income after retirement. It explains that this will be lower for people in the upper income brackets and higher for people with low incomes. “You’ll need to supplement your benefits with a pension, savings or investments,” the website says. However, even the Social Security Administration notes...

October 1, 2019
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01Oct

UK government writes to British expats but pension freeze risk remains

The UK government is writing to more than 363,000 British expats who retired and now live in the EU to reassure them that their state pensions will still increase in the event of a no-deal Brexit. However, that guarantee is only valid for three years. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is sending out letters outlining that even in the event of a no deal Brexit, pensions for those in the EU will be uprated for a further 3 years...

October 1, 2019
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September 2019

30Sep

UK. State pension could rise by 4% next year – giving elderly £351 extra a year

If you reached state pension age before April 6 in 2016, you'll be receiving the old state pension, which means your payments would rise from £129.20 to £134.35 per week - or an extra £267.28 per year, insurer Aegon says. The state pension is currently protected by the so-called triple lock, which ensures it rises by at least the same rate as the cost of living. It means that the state pension increases either by 2.5 per cent a...

September 30, 2019
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30Sep

Australia. A simpler system would be super

In the past year, reports by the Productivity Commission and the banking and financial services royal commission have prompted intense and commendable consideration about the direction of Australia’s retirement and savings policies. Superannuation should not be as cruelly complex as it is. While the system’s basic concept is elegant – providing workers with a compulsory employer-paid super contribution equivalent to at least 9.5 per cent of salary – the confounding rules, layers of costs, tax benefits and snags are...

September 30, 2019
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30Sep

Japan’s public pension fund to hike investment in foreign bonds

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund plans to expand its investment in foreign bonds. The move has been prompted by increased difficulty in managing funds in Japanese government bonds due to the Bank of Japan's negative interest rate policy. The expected increase in foreign-bond buying by one of the world's largest institutional investors may impact the foreign exchange market. The GPIF wants to change its asset management plan so that it can treat foreign bonds as domestic bonds if they...

September 30, 2019
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27Sep

Japan. Investors Await Naming of CIO at World’s Largest Pension Fund

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund will likely announce next week whether its chief investment officer will continue to manage the monolith’s $1.48 trillion in assets. Hiromichi Mizuno, whose term will end on Sept. 30, captained sweeping changes to the investment strategy of the world’s largest pension fund over the past five years. He became the GPIF’s first CIO in January 2015, overseeing the fund’s shift to stocks from domestic debt, while advocating assets that incorporate environmental, social and governance...

September 27, 2019
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27Sep

Australia. Super and pension budget measures in firing line of retirement review

The next increase in compulsory superannuation and a string of budget savings measures that have crimped retirees' incomes will be investigated in the first comprehensive review of the nation's retirement income system in 30 years. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Friday released the terms of reference for the inquiry, which will cover the age pension, voluntary savings including the family home, aged-care funding, franking credits and the role of the powerful $2.9 trillion superannuation industry. The wide-ranging review would examine...

September 27, 2019
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27Sep

Danish Pension Funds Sign $52 Billion Green Pledge

Denmark’s private pension fund industry is banding together in a pledge to invest more than 350 billion Danish kroner ($51.7 billion) in green assets by 2030. The goal is to help reduce the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by 70%. The investments will be in energy infrastructure and other green activities such as green shares, green bonds, and investments in energy efficient construction. According to Insurance & Pension Denmark (IPD), the country’s pension trade association, the Danish pension industry...

September 27, 2019
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26Sep

Fear of Retirement Poverty Drives Japanese to Private Pensions

Japanese households are rushing to private retirement products after a government report fueled fears that the national pension system won’t be enough to support them during old age. SBI Securities Co. and Monex Group Inc. have seen applications for defined contribution pension plans surge since the report was released in early June. The document, published on the Financial Services Agency’s website, sparked angst after showing that a couple in their sixties may need as much as 20 million yen...

September 26, 2019
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26Sep

UK Expat pensioners advised to protect healthcare rights prior to Brexit

Over 3 years after the referendum the NHS anticipates problems in the 6 months following Brexit With the political scene in London appearing to be entering further turmoil following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was unlawful, there have at last been furtherrecommendations this week from Her Majesty’s Government regarding how expats in Spain and the rest of the EU, particularly pensioners, should prepare to protect their healthcare rights in the event of a no-deal...

September 26, 2019
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