August 2019

Japan. Continue reforming pension system for its stable long-term management

To pass the public pension system to future generations in a stable manner, further reforms are vital. The latest results can be considered to have demonstrated anew such a need. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has released a report examining the fiscal conditions of the public pension system. These are the results of provisional calculations, made every five years, of the pension benefit levels that people will be able to receive in the future, under scenarios that presume various...

How freelancers need to get saving for their pension

If you are self employed, freelancing or running a small business it is vitally important that you save well and early for retirement. Ed Molyneux of accountants FreeAgent explains how freelancers need to get saving for their pension. For many freelancers, especially those in the earlier stages of their career, pensions probably won’t be front of mind but how freelancers need to get saving for their pension needs addressing. Retirement often feels a long way away and putting...

Hybrid robo looking to offer financial wellness to retirement plan sponsors

Financial advisers promote services like "comprehensive financial planning" and "financial wellness" to differentiate themselves from digital advice startups and justify their fees, but now at least one robo-adviser is looking to do the same. BrightPlan, a Silicon Valley financial technology firm, has a new digital product providing financial wellness to retirement plan participants. BrightPlan Coach personalizes a financial plan for each employee and provides ongoing guidance on spending, financial goals, investing, debt management, estate planning and insurance. BrightPlan Coach will also recommend funds...

UK. New report lays down challenges for policymakers on increasingly ageing population

The UK must prepare for the “daunting but not insurmountable” challenge of ageing. · - Global academic thought leaders urge UK policymakers to act on the “daunting but not insurmountable” challenge of ageing · - New report from Scott and Bloom for ILC argues that UK policymakers must go further to help the UK prepare for ageing · ...

Berlin-based mobile savings platform Raisin to acquire pension fintech Fairr

Raisin, the Germany-based savings and investment platform, said it acquired Fairr, a fintech also located there that specializes in pensions and retirement savings. Raisin officials said the acquisition will help its 200,000 customers gain access to fixed-term, overnight and ETF accounts, as well as specialized pension plans. Read also How Fintech Can Make Banking More Inclusive – and Empowering The German pension market is estimated to be more than $13.3 trillion (12 trillion euro) and Raisin said the...

Australia Pensions Take More FX Risk for Returns as Rates Plunge

Australian pension funds are taking on more foreign-currency risk, allowing them to be more responsive to global market conditions as they strive to preserve returns in a low interest-rate environment, according to a National Australia Bank Ltd. survey. Superannuation funds are hedging less of their international equity exposure than they were two years ago, the 2019 NAB Superannuation FX Survey found. The so-called hedge ratio applied to international equities has fallen to 29% from 39% in 2017 and 50%...

Third of UK’s top companies to cut executive pensions – investor body

Nearly a third of the companies in Britain’s FTSE 100 index of blue chip firms have agreed to cut pension payments for executives, the Investment Association said on Wednesday, amid increasing scrutiny of the gap between bosses’ and ordinary workers’ pensions in Britain. In February, the Investment Association, which represents big asset managers, said a company would be “red-topped” if it did not explicitly state that any new executive director would have pension contributions set in line with the...

How Fintech Can Make Banking More Inclusive – and Empowering

In this era of Big Data, it seems like financial services companies know everything there is to know about our lives as consumers – where we live, what we do for a living, how much we make, how much we have saved, what we buy and what we might want to purchase in the future. Read also Berlin-based mobile savings platform Raisin to acquire pension fintech Fairr But the reality is there are huge segments of the population in the...

Senators Demand U.S. Pension Fund Reject China Investment

Two senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are calling on administrators of the federal government’s main retirement savings fund to reverse a decision that they say would shift billions in investments into Chinese companies supporting that nation’s military and espionage efforts. Read also US. Blame The Fed For The Coming Pension Fund Crisis Senators Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, sent a letter Monday to Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Chairman Michael...

UK. Public sector to launch ‘mass legal battle’ over pension reforms

Mass legal claims on behalf of teachers and doctors alleging that changes to their pensions in 2015 were discriminatory are being launched against the government. After successfully winning a similar pension case on behalf of judges, the London law firm Leigh Day is preparing employment tribunal cases for public sector workers. The British Medical Association is also coordinating action with doctors over pension reforms that they claim could inflict huge financial losses on individuals by the time they retire....