May 2019

17May

Sex Workers Lobby for Pensions and Health Services in India Amid Elections

India is holding general and legislative assembly elections in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim until 19 May. Sex workers are lobbying candidates in the Indian general election asking them to support their demands for better health and welfare services in return for votes. The AINSW reportedly has 5 million members, yet sex workers have no special influence. Indian society and politics are known to be too conservative to talk about sex work openly, much...

May 17, 2019
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17May

Four Nordic Pension Plans Commit $700 Million to Renewable Energy

Three Danish pension funds and one Norwegian plan have invested $700 million in a renewable energy infrastructure fund. The four Nordic funds, $35.2 billion PensionDanmark, ATP ($125 billion), Laegernes Pension ($134 billion), and Norway’s Kommunal Landspensionkasse ($700 million), will focus their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts on mostly Asian and Latin American infrastructure projects. They are pooling their ESG investments in a new vehicle to manage the money, the Copenhagen Infrastructure New Markets Fund I portfolio. The infra-fund...

May 17, 2019
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17May

Lawmakers see momentum for bills promoting workplace retirement plans

As lawmakers work to put the finishing touches on legislation that would give employers new flexibility in their retirement plans, members of the Senate are looking ahead to new bills to further encourage workplace savings. Members of the Senate Finance Committee say they are hopeful about getting some version of the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act to the president's desk this year. If the measure became law, businesses in varied industries could band together in multi-employer plans and would...

May 17, 2019
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17May

Pension fund awards Robeco €250 million Asia-Pacific ESG mandate

PNO Media has assigned Robeco to its Asia-Pacific equity portfolio. The mandate has €250 million in assets and will leverage the expertise of both Robeco and RobecoSAM when it comes to investment decisions and ESG integration. Commenting on the launch of the mandate, Nelly Altenburg, chair of PNO Media, said that sustainability is increasingly important for the pension fund, and both asset managers are the leading players in the field. ‘And of course, the good financial results of the...

May 17, 2019
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17May

UK: Pension Scheme Investment – A New Era Of Increased Competition?

Recent intervention by the Competition and Markets Authority could lead to increased competition in the market for investment professionals who provide services to pension schemes – which should be a good thing for the employers supporting those schemes. Many occupational pension schemes use the services of investment consultants and / or fiduciary managers. Broadly, investment consultants advise pension scheme trustees on how best to invest scheme assets – and fiduciary managers make investment decisions on behalf of pension...

May 17, 2019
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16May

New ‘superfunds’ gear up to manage Britain’s deficit-ridden pensions

Britain’s company pension schemes, grappling with ageing former employees and low investment returns, may start to transfer their assets into new so-called superfunds in the coming weeks, according to people involved in the process. There are around 2 trillion pounds ($2.6 trillion) in more than 5,000 UK private defined benefit, or final salary pension schemes. Nearly two-thirds are in deficit, putting a burden on companies looking to strike merger deals or restructure debt. Although most companies have closed these...

May 16, 2019
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16May

Why Working Till Whenever Is a Risky Retirement Strategy

Cleo Parker had a simple plan before retiring: She would work well into her 60s as a marketing analyst in the automotive business. But recently, she has been searching for a Plan B. In 2006, just as she was about to turn 50, Ms. Parker’s longtime marketing job with a Detroit-area advertising agency was eliminated. For the next decade, she worked a series of short-term-contract and full-time positions — many in the volatile auto industry, which has reduced employment...

May 16, 2019
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16May

WB continues to support Vietnam Social Insurance

The Deputy Director General of the Social Insurance of Vietnam, Nguyen Dinh Khuong, has just worked with a delegation of the World Bank, led by the financial expert Alwaleed Alabatani. During the recent working session, he said that the first phase (2017-2018) of the technical assistance project on the management and investment of pension funds between the two parties has come to an end. The World Bank would continue to support Vietnam's Social Insurance in reform, improving the...

May 16, 2019
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16May

CDPQ invests in WeWork property platform

Launch of new ARK garners US$1bn. The We Company, parent of workspace provider WeWork, said on Wednesday it has created a US$2.9 billion real estate investment platform with funding from one of Canada's largest pension funds, building on ties with private equity firm the Rhone Group. The platform, called ARK, has gained US$1 billion from Canada's Ivanhoe Cambridge, the property arm of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Montreal-based company said. WeWork, founded in 2010, is now...

May 16, 2019
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15May

UK. Life expectancy declining: KPMG

Latest research from KPMG debunks the assumption that life expectancy is increasing when in fact it has contracted for the fourth consecutive year. After analysing the mortality of UK retirees on defined benefit plans, the KPMG 2019 Pensions Accounting Survey found median life expectancy has fallen by 0.2 years for current pensioners and 0.1 years for future pensioners. A current pensioner aged 65 for example, is expected to survive a further 21.9 years on average. However, a future pensioner...

May 15, 2019
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