June 2019

04Jun

UK. Minister’s ‘pension for homes’ idea sparks government row

James Brokenshire said people who had saved into occupational pensions should be free to spend the proceeds when they wished on their first home. He said using it on a deposit could be a "genuine route" to home ownership. But it is understood the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has complained to No 10 about the proposal. A departmental source said it could not support the idea "because the evidence shows it will be risky and does not...

June 4, 2019
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03Jun

UK. Plea over Scottish Parliament’s fossil fuel pensions

Holyrood politicians are campaigning for their pensions to come from "ethical investments" rather than fossil fuel companies. The MSP pension fund currently invests at least £1m in oil, gas and coal companies, according to Friends and Earth Scotland. Now a cross-party group of MSPs have spoken out on the issue ahead of a meeting of their pension fund trustees. A parliament spokesman said they were reviewing their investment strategy. The move comes after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared a...

June 3, 2019
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03Jun

South Africa. Key Union Tells Eskom’s Top Bondholder to Sell Its Holdings

The labor union whose members contribute most to the funds overseen by South Africa’s state pension manager wants the institution to stop investing in the debt of Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., potentially increasing funding pressure on the heavily indebted utility. The 240,000-strong Public Servants Association said by buying Eskom’s bonds the Public Investment Corp. is exposing pensioners to excessive risk as the state-owned power company is not selling enough electricity to cover its costs and has had to be...

June 3, 2019
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03Jun

Pension fund AustralianSuper to open NY office, hire in London in offshore push

AustralianSuper, the country’s largest pension fund, plans to open an office in New York next year and expand its operations in London as part of a strategy to invest in and directly manage more offshore assets, Chief Executive Officer Ian Silk said. The fund, projected to reach A$300 billion ($207.72 billion) in assets in five years, is forecast to increase its allocation to overseas investments from about half to about 60% by 2024, Silk said at a business lunch...

June 3, 2019
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May 2019

31May

Benin. Extending pension coverage to informal sector workers in Africa at the heart of a workshop in Cotonou

The Human Capital Strengthening Insurance Project Coordination Unit (Arch), in collaboration with the World Bank, has been organizing a workshop since Wednesday, May 29, 2019 on "Extending Pension Coverage to Informal Sector Workers in Africa". ". The meeting will be attended by government officials from pension institutions, ministries and supervisory agencies from fifteen countries as well as representatives of regional regulatory organizations in West Africa. It aims to promote an open discussion on extending pension coverage...

May 31, 2019
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31May

UK. ‘Ageing time bomb’ needs new funding model Somerset council says

The Panorama documentary showed how authorities were struggling to fund elderly care amid an ageing population and increasing demand on services. David Fothergill said: "The time bomb is ticking and it's getting louder." The government said it wanted "everyone to have access to the care they need". The Department of Health and Social Care added it had "provided local authorities with access to up to £3.6 billion more dedicated funding for adult social care this year and up to...

May 31, 2019
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31May

EU. Work-life balance initiatives can help to boost women’s employment and close the gender pay gap – EIGE

Work-life balance initiatives can help to boost women’s employment and close the gender pay gap, but only if both women and men have support from their employers. This is what European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) director Virginia Langbakk said on what transpired from the publication of a report by the same institute on Wednesday. The gender pay gap reveals the different realities that women and men face n their professional and personal lives. Currently, women across the EU...

May 31, 2019
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31May

America’s Largest Musicians’ Union Announces Pension Cuts

Trustees of the American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) announced the evening of May 24 that they will apply to the U.S. Treasury for a reduction in member benefits, due to the AFM-EPF's "critical and declining" status – meaning the fund is projected to run out of money in 20 years. The AFM represents 80,000 professionals in the United States and Canada who play in symphony orchestras and opera houses, on Broadway, in film and television,...

May 31, 2019
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30May

Kenya. Headcount reveals 40,000 ghost pensioners on payroll

Taxpayers have been paying billions of shillings to ghost pensioners after a headcount revealed that about 40,000 retired civil servants are dead and remain on the state payroll. The Pensions Department said Wednesday the two-month census that started in February did not capture about 50,000 pensioners, adding that it has confirmed that 40,000 of them are dead. The State had been paying relatives and dependants of dead people retirement benefits, helped by the growing use of ATM cards and...

May 30, 2019
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30May

Poverty risk could increase for German pensioners if pension level continues to fall: study

The poverty risk rate for people aged 65 and over would rise by up to 20 percent if the German pension level continued to fall and the framework conditions did not change, according to a study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) published on Wednesday. The DIW study showed that under current laws, the German pension level is expected to fall continuously to around 43 percent in 2045 from 48 percent today. Since the early 2000s, Germany's...

May 30, 2019
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