August 2019

22Aug

UK.Comparing pensions is more complicated than it might seem

RUTH Wishart’s article (Principle on which we base the state pension is flawed, August 20) is itself seriously flawed. Ruth says “the whole principle on which we base the state pension is flawed at base camp by utilising a statutory cut-off point. Life expectancy varies by more than 10 years just between different districts in Scotland’s major cities”. Whilst true, this is but one of the of many factors that influence how many years (if any) an individual can...

August 22, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
22Aug

Participants’ Posture on ESG Investing Not Showing in Retirement Plans

The 2019 Survey of Plan Sponsors and Retirement Savers from American Century Investments found 90% of defined contribution (DC) retirement plan sponsors who offered or are considering offering environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments believe their participants would be interested. However, only 37% of participants actually expressed some interest in ESG options. Diane Gallagher, vice president, retirement value add, American Century Investments, in Kansas City, Missouri, notes that those individuals would be interested if the ESG investment’s performance was...

August 22, 2019
News, Slider
Read more...
21Aug

Japan’s Pension Fund Warns of Global Investing Losses

Global markets have become so synchronized that money managers risk losing on every front, according to Hiromichi Mizuno, chief investment officer of the world’s largest pension fund. Japan’s $1.5 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund lost money in equities, fixed-income and currency positions in the last three months of 2018, Mizuno pointed out on Tuesday in Sacramento, California. Read also World’s Biggest Pension Fund Adds $2.4 Billion “Conventional wisdom of portfolio diversification is when we lose money in equity we make...

August 21, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
21Aug

UK. Pension age hike plan called ‘chilling and immoral’ by Baroness Ros Altmann

Tory Iain Duncan Smith's proposal to hike the pension age to 75 has been branded "chilling and immoral" - by a Tory former pensions minister. Ros Altmann said retraining people older than 50 to find jobs should be a greater priority than the plan, dreamed up by Mr Duncan Smith's Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank. The CSJ said the state pension age should rise to 70 by 2028, and then to 75 by 2035. Read also...

August 21, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
21Aug

Statistics indicate more Kenyans now willing to save

According to industry figures, there has been enormous appetite for a pension which has seen the industry total pension funds under guaranteed arrangement grow from Ksh. 163 billion to 183.7 billion a growth rate of 12.7% despite the heavy withdrawals during the same period which was as a result of mergers & acquisition and closure of big stores like Nakumatt in 2018. It is projected that pension under this class will grow to 300 billion shillings by 2020...

August 21, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
21Aug

A New Approach To Financing Retirement

‘Whatever you do, don’t try to sell us an annuity.’ When 60-something couples visit a financial adviser’s office for help with retirement planning, these are often the first words they say after sitting down. Most of what they’ve read about annuities has been eye-glazing or frightening. But don’t write off annuities yet. Owning annuities can pay off in the long run—especially if you’re married and in decent health, don’t have a gilt-edged pension, and aren’t sure that your savings...

August 21, 2019
News, Slider
Read more...
21Aug

Indian regulator clears Canadian pension fund stake in Delhivery

An Indian government regulator cleared the way for the investment arm of Canada’s public pension fund to acquire up to 8 percent of the logistics firm Delhivery. The Competition Commission of India announced the decision in a tweet on August 20. The deal, reportedly worth about $150 million, gives the e-commerce fulfillment company the backing of one of the world’s largest private equity investors, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). CPPIB will purchase shares from existing investors, according...

August 21, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
21Aug

UK. Ruth Wishart: Principle on which we base the state pension is flawed

By Ruth Wishart YOU remember good old Iain. Chap who used to be leader of the Conservative Party till they found out he was pretty useless at it, so they got rid of him. The bloke who was put in charge of benefit reform and took years to come up with that model of equity and clarity: Universal Credit. Which turned out to create more anomalies than it was set up to solve. So they got rid of him....

August 21, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
20Aug

South Africa. Prescribed assets: What government could do with your retirement savings

The ANC’s economic policy head said the party is investigating using prescribed assets to avoid an IMF bailout. Prescribed assets will force SA asset managers and pension funds to invest in the country’s bonds and state-owned-enterprises. The last time South Africa had prescribed assets, the apartheid regime forced retirement funds to invest half of all savings in government bonds. ANC economic policy head Enoch Godongwana made headlines over the weekend when he said the party is investigating the use...

August 20, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
20Aug

Israeli household income plummets after retirement

The average income of Israeli households plummets by more than one-third upon retirement, a new study has revealed, leaving pensioners with lower incomes than retirees across almost all developed European countries. According to a new study carried out by Dr. Aviad Tor-Sinai and Prof. Avia Spivak at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Pensions, Insurance and Financial Literacy Center, income after retirement among Israeli pensioners stands at 65.9% of their pre-retirement income The dramatic decline by age 67, just two...

August 20, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...