August 2019

Workplace Pensions In Germany: What You Need To Know

In Germany, paying contributions to the statutory (state) social security pension is compulsory for most employees and their employers. In addition many companies, in particular large and international enterprises, choose to offer employer-financed (second tier) workplace pension schemes to help attract and retain staff. Workplace pension arrangements may be set up using one of five different pension vehicles. Details of each type of vehicle are set out in this note. Since 2002, employers must enable their staff to make employee contributions to...

Turkish army pension fund set to buy British Steel

Ataer Holding would then be given several weeks to try to buy British Steel - the owner of the Scunthorpe works - out of insolvency. British Steel was put into compulsory liquidation in May, when the Official Receiver was appointed. Ataer owns nearly 50% of Erdemir, Turkey's biggest steel producer. It is the investment vehicle of the Turkish Armed Forces Assistance Fund (known as Oyak), the pension fund for the country's armed forces. Some 5,000 jobs were put at...

US. MIT Accused Of Costing Workers Millions In Cozy Deal With Financial Giant Fidelity

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the nation's most prestigious universities, stands accused of hurting workers in the company's retirement plan by engaging in an improper relationship with the financial firm Fidelity. A lawsuit headed to trial in September alleges that MIT ignored the advice of its own consultants and allowed Fidelity to pack the university's retirement plan with high-fee investment funds that ended up costing employees tens of millions of dollars. In return, the lawsuit said, MIT...

Canada. CPPIB earned 1.1 per cent in most recent quarter, CPP Fund now tops $400 billion

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says it earned a return of 1.1 per cent, net of its costs in its most recent quarter. Chief executive Mark Machin says the investments achieved solid net income in local-dollar terms, but the Canadian dollar strengthened in June and dampened the returns. The result for the quarter ended June 30 came as its net assets grew to $400.6 billion, up from $392.0 billion at the end of the previous quarter. The increase...

Could Buying Bitcoin Solve the Global Pension Crisis?

The Rundown Pension Funds Investing in BTC Could Achieve Annual Returns of over 19% Millennials Are Buying Bitcoin To Save for Retirement Amid fears of a world recession, the pension time bomb is ticking louder. Financial experts warn that the coming pension crisis is of such a magnitude that it will eventually affect everyone. Now, some are looking into Bitcoin as a potential savior of pension plans. PENSION FUNDS INVESTING IN BTC COULD ACHIEVE ANNUAL RETURNS OF OVER 19%...

European Commission Requests the EIOPA Advise on PEPP Regulation Delegated Acts

On August 5, the Council of the EU published a cover note, which attaches a call for advice from the European Commission to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) (dated July 31) on possible delegated acts concerning the Regulation on a Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP Regulation) ((EU) 2019/1238). The Commission requests advice relating to: The criteria and factors to determine when there is a significant PEPP saver protection concern under Article 64(9). The specification of additional...

UK Pension and Welfare Agency Is Looking Into Blockchain For Future Implementation

On August 9th in a blog post, the deputy director of digital payments and banking systems at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) made a statement that the DWP was looking for ways to revamp its payment systems in order to make them better adapted to the current economic situation in the country. Richard LAYCOCK said that implementing the blockchain would bring great benefit to the speed, efficiency, and cost of conducting millions of transactions every single day...

US. The SECURE Act could mean big changes for advisers

While it's not surprising that the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act is tangled in a political decision-making web, it's reassuring that the conversation about helping Americans save for retirement is still on the docket. After all, this would be the most significant retirement legislation since the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which among other reasons, is why financial advisers must consider the potential challenges and opportunities once the law is passed. (Fingers crossed for this...

Compound Interest And The Road To Retirement: How To Fund Your Future

Roughly 75% of Americans over the age of 40 are failing to keep up with saving for retirement, and close to one-third report that they have no retirement savings at all. With the future of Social Security somewhat unclear, preparing for retirement today is essentia to funding your future. Oddly enough, in my experience, I find that many individuals approaching retirement have not considered how they will generate income once their paycheck goes away. Sure, you may receive $20,000-$40,000...

World’s first vegan ETF launches next month

Vegans will soon have an investment product that reflects their values, with the first vegan ETF set to launch on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) next month. The US Vegan Climate Exchange Traded ETF will debut on the NYSE on Sept. 10. The fund, which has been developed by Beyond Investing LLC, will track the US Vegan Climate Index, which the firm launched in June 2018. The index starts with the S&P 500 universe and then excludes firms...