March 2019

28Mar

US. State Pensions Plans Are In Bad Shape But Reforms Can Help

It’s no secret that state public pension systems across the country are in bad shape. A failure to make required contributions coupled with unrealistic assumptions about investment returns has left many systems severely underfunded. A new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) examines state pension systems from a variety of angles and finds that the view is always the same—looking over a cliff. Any analysis of state pension systems needs to clearly establish a baseline. The ALEC...

March 28, 2019
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28Mar

How 75,000 people can get a 20pc pension boost by waiting just two weeks

Changes to income tax take effect in two weeks – and with some smart use of pension pots you can save thousands of pounds in tax. The trick is to delay usual payments – using the flexibilities afforded by the pension freedom reforms – until 6 April. Both the personal allowance (the amount you can earn before paying any tax) and the level that higher-rate (40pc) tax kicks in are increasing for the 2019-20 tax year. That means earnings...

March 28, 2019
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28Mar

Maltese workers might need to delay retirement to maintain living standards

Malta’s low pensions might lead today’s workers to have to remain in employment past their retirement age if they are to maintain the standard of living they became accustomed to, Jobsplus CEO Clyde Caruana has said. Caruana said that, given that pensions in Malta are only 1.2 times the poverty line, meaning that pensioners are not very far from the income level delineating poverty, workers might choose to continue working even when they reach an elderly age. Comparatively, Spain,...

March 28, 2019
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28Mar

ESG Investments a Good Option for Retirement Plans

Gone are the days when socially responsible investing is defined as an investment strategy that seeks to avoid companies that profit from “sin” (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, firearms, etc.). The investment strategy has adopted a holistic focus on environmental, social and governance issues (ESG), according to a white paper by Karen Kaufman-White, investment research associate at Strategic Benefit Services. According to Kaufman-White, ESG issues can have a material impact on a company’s performance via reputational, operational, and financial risks or...

March 28, 2019
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28Mar

Chairman JK Bank Launches Pension For Employees Of Grameen Bank

Chairman & CEO, J&K Bank Parvez Ahmed today launched the pension scheme for the employees of J&K Grameen Bank during an event organized at Hotel Radisson Blu, Jammu in presence of Executive President J&K Bank R.K. Chhibber, President J&K Bank Sunil Gupta, Chairman Grameen Bank Janak Raj, General Managers Grameen Bank and a number of serving and retired employees of the J&K Grameen Bank. While congratulating the serving and retired employees of the JK Grameen Bank for being brought...

March 28, 2019
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27Mar

Brazil economy chief skips pensions hearing, parties demand changes

Brazil's pension reform process hit two speed bumps on Tuesday, as Economy Minister Paulo Guedes did not attend a first congressional hearing on the proposals and a bloc of 11 political parties demanded the removal of changes affecting retirement benefits for rural and disabled workers. Guedes's appearance at the 'CCJ' committee was seen as a highlight of pensions reform negotiations this week, amid growing concern the government is disengaged from the process. The government's chief congressional whip Joice...

March 27, 2019
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27Mar

Slower growth in ageing economies is not inevitable

FOR THE first time in history, the Earth has more people over the age of 65 than under the age of five. In another two decades the ratio will be two-to-one, according to a recent analysis by Torsten Sløk of Deutsche Bank. The trend has economists worried about everything from soaring pension costs to “secular stagnation”—the chronically weak growth that comes from having too few investment opportunities to absorb available savings. The world’s greying is inevitable. But its negative...

March 27, 2019
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27Mar

First Joint Venture gets go ahead to develop pension insurance business in China

China has given permission to a joint venture (JV) to establish a pension insurance company in the country, making it the first JV that has gained access to this sector. The JV, Heng An Standard Life, was formed in 2003 and is 50-50 owned by Scotland-headquartered Standard Life Aberdeen and Tianjin TEDA International at the end of 2018. The new entity will be the country's first foreign-funded pension insurance company, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said Wednesday...

March 27, 2019
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27Mar

UK. How will new ‘collective’ pensions work? Royal Mail to pioneer a scheme that shares risks – but slashes income if things go wrong

The Government has approved a new type of 'collective' pension scheme, where workers share investment risks in the hope of gaining more certainty over payouts in retirement. Pensions won't be guaranteed - retirees could see their income rise or fall from year to year - which makes them insecure compared with traditional final salary pensions. But schemes will be designed to give stronger protections than modern defined contribution pensions, where individual workers bear all investment risks when building pensions...

March 27, 2019
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27Mar

EIOPA determines principles for transparent, timely and clear information provision on pensions

​In the context of the implementation of the IORP II Directive, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today a second "Report on Other Information to be provided to Prospective and Current Members: Guidance and Principles based on Current Practices". This report complements EIOPA's first report "Implementation of IORP II: Report on the Pension Benefit Statement: guidance and principles based on current practices", published on 13 November 2018. It analyses national practices existing prior to the implementation...

March 27, 2019
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