April 2019

UK. British pension fund USSL to buy telecom co KCOM for 504 mln pounds

British pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd (USSL) said its Humber Bidco unit would buy telecommunication company KCOM for 504 million pounds ($651.42 million), sending KCOM shares soaring more than 30 percent. Humber Bidco would pay 97 pence per KCOM share in cash, a premium of almost 34 percent. KCOM's directors intend to urge shareholders to vote in favour of the deal which they called "fair and reasonable", USSL said. KCOM shares surged nearly 34 percent - its biggest...

China says will guarantee pensions amid warnings of funds drying up

China will “fully guarantee” future pension payments, a government official told reporters, amid warnings from government researchers that funds could run out by 2035. China’s social security system is under increasing strain as a result of a rapidly ageing population and a shrinking workforce. The China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a government think tank, said in a report this month that the country’s pension funds could become insolvent by 2035, with a rapidly dwindling workforce unable to support...

US Corporate Pension Funding Ratio Rises to 87.1% in 2018

The funded ratio of the 100 largest US corporate pension plans rose to 87.1% in 2018 from 85.8% at the end of 2017, despite investment losses of 2.8%—the worst asset performance since 2008, according to consulting firm Milliman. “This was the first time in our study’s history that we had a negative asset return and yet corporate pension funding improved,” Zorast Wadia, co-author of Milliman’s Pension Funding Study (PFS), said in a release. The investment losses reduced plan assets...

Brazil. Government Declares Studies that Support Social Security Reform Confidential

The Minister of the Economy decreed that studies and technical data supporting a constitutional change to Social Security remain confidential as the matter progresses through the government. Thus, ordinary citizens who will be affected directly by changes in pensions and retirement funds, will not have access to arguments, statistics, and economic and social data that support the significant change. The decision to deny the publication of documents is partly in response to a Law of Access to Information...

Nigeria. ‘PenCom’ll not pay to fraudsters’

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) said it has put stringent measures in place to prevent payment of pension to fraudsters. Its Acting Director-General, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar who gave the assurance in an interview with The Nation said the administration and payments of retirement benefits under the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004, as repealed by PRA 2014, 2014 is fool proof. She said the Commission also checks to confirm that information submitted to it are correct before granting approval for...

Dutch Pension Funds Rebound from December’s Santa Claus Blues

After a rough 2018, Dutch pension funds are finding redemption in the markets. Civil service plan ABP ($484 billion) and health care retirement fund PFZW ($243.6 billion) felt the sting of a cold, winter gust that knocked assets around. The two plans suffered losses (-2.3% and -0.4%, respectively) in 2018, sinking their funding ratios a bit. Amid this year’s cold, wintry gusts, first quarter assets showed signs of recovery. ABP returned 8.2% and PFZW gained 8.5% in the period...

It is in investors’ best interest to support the low-carbon transition

Institutional investors of all stripes — from those responsible for paying pensions or endowment grants to those providing wealth management products — collectively manage trillions of dollars globally. They each have varying objectives and portfolio allocations and function within different regulatory requirements and contexts. However, they are typically true long-term investors, allocating across the global economy to deliver returns to members, beneficiaries and stakeholders over multiple years or decades. Recently, evidence has grown to demonstrate substantial climate-related financial implications...

The Case Against Early Retirement

Most people look forward to retirement, a reward for decades of hard work. But like many other pleasures, it may be bad for your health. It may even kill you. How can that be? How can working longer be good for your health? After all, many people dream of—and plan for—retiring early. Strenuous, stressful work can wear people down and damage their health. On the other hand, retirees can relax and reinvigorate themselves. They have time to follow their...

Brazil. Commission Resumes Opinion Review on Pension Reform on Tuesday

The Commission for the Constitution and Justice (CCJ) of the Chamber of Deputies will resume this Tuesday (April 23rd) the examination of the rapporteur’s opinion, Delegate Marcelo Freitas (PSL-MG), on pension reform. Pressed by parties of the ruling base, the parliamentarian may present a complementation. “What we are trying to work on is the construction of a consensus that allows us to discuss a final text that serves the interests of Brazilian society without dismissing the text proposed by...

Canada. Pension protection should be federal priority

With a budget light on details, federal government has an opportunity to protect pensioners Pension protection for Canadians is long overdue. When a company becomes insolvent and its pension is underfunded, pensioners are powerless to intervene and secure their pensions. Sears, Nortel and other corporate pensioners experienced sharp reductions in their annual pension income after those companies failed. In March of this year, Imperial Tobacco filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Yet another group of...