January 2019

UK. PensionBee chooses Onfido to deliver frictionless KYC compliance

Leading identity verification provider Onfido today announces that it has partnered with PensionBee. Onfido’s machine learning-based identity verification technology allows PensionBee to streamline KYC processes, reducing manual overheads and bringing new users onboard. PensionBee helps users take control of their finances by consolidating all their old pension pots into one PensionBee plan. Government estimates place the value of unconsolidated pensions at £750bn in the next 3 years as pension-holders disengage with overly complex plans and processes. PensionBee aims to...

Mexico. AMLO Plan to Unleash Pension Fund Investing Has Critics Worried

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s plan to let Mexico’s giant pension funds invest in more diverse assets, including private equity funds, is sparking concern that the populist president will steer the funds toward his own pet infrastructure projects. "The worry is that this could be a way to finance projects of interest of the government, for which it lacks fiscal funds, but that are economically controversial," said Gustavo Rangel, the chief Latin America economist at ING Financial Markets LLC in...

Australia. Veterans accuse Federal Government of ‘ripping off’ thousands from retirement benefits

A Federal Coalition backbencher is lobbying the Government to investigate how much money he believes it owes some older Australian military veterans. Veterans, including some who served in Korea, Malaya and Vietnam, signed up for compulsory superannuation called the Defence Force Retirement Benefits (DFRDB) scheme between 1948 and 1972. The Defence Force Welfare Organisation (DFWO) estimated there are 2,305 pensioners still covered by this scheme. It calculated there are 52,000 pensioners who are members of the scheme that operated...

Chinese city seeks young blood: how ageing Nanjing lures new talent

“Nanjing has for the first time entered the phase of an ‘aged-society’, and the city’s burden of looking after both the young and the old is getting greater,” Zhao Jun, deputy director of the local statistics bureau, said last year. The burden of social support and caregiving will face “steep growth” until 2050, he warned. Hence Nanjing’s desire to boost its population of educated under-40s such as Tan. It is not alone: last year, more than 20 Chinese cities...

UK. Pension funds to up investment in smaller firms, consultant says

Jump in interest reverses a long-term trend where big investors gravitated towards the world’s largest companies Pension funds’ appetite for high-risk, high-return investments in smaller companies has surged in the past year, according to one consultancy — offering a piece of good news for beleaguered stock-pickers. The jump in interest reverses a long-term trend, according to bfinance, the investment consultancy. Big investors have gravitated towards portfolios of the world’s largest companies, often held through index trackers Read more @fn...

Serbian pensioners risk poverty less than many in EU

Pensioners are at risk of poverty in Europe, according to Eurostat data, while the number of those living on edge of poverty is growing. According to EU's statistical agency's analysis covering 2017, pensioners at risk of poverty in the European Union was estimated to be 14.2 percent, slightly above the figure of 13.8 percent in 2016. The rate has been rising gradually since 2013, when it was 12.6 percent, the organization has announced. Outside the EU, candidate country Serbia...

UK. FCA outlines investment rules for retirement funds

New rules aim to encourage savers not to leave their pots languishing in low-return cash funds Companies managing money in the UK’s £384bn market for post-retirement funds will face strict new rules governing their investments, regulators confirmed on January 28. The rules, which follow on from plans first announced in June last year, are aimed at consumers who pass retirement and leave all their savings in cash. The Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial watchdog, is worried about consumers...

Malta pensions sector welcomes tighter rules

The industry has sided with the regulator in Malta regarding the significant changes to the Maltese pension regulations which will have a major impact on how advisers operate in the jurisdiction. Malta Association of Retirement Scheme Practitioners (MARSP) said the new framework issued at the end of 2018 governing personal pension schemes in Malta would make the sector more resilient. "MARSP has consulted closely with the Maltese Regulator for many months on these changes and welcomes its...

PenCom Grants Licence To Nigerian University Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO)

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) yesterday approved the issuance of a license to Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited (NUPEMCO) to carry out the business of a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA). The Commission in a statement made available to DAILY INDEPENDENT by Peter Aghahowa, Head Corporate Communication, said: “This approval is consequent upon a detailed evaluation of NUPEMCO’s compliance with the requirements, terms, and conditions stipulated by the Commission. Read more @Independent

PFRDA to audit pension funds on corporate governance

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is planning to audit the pension funds/sponsors, who manage pension assets worth over Rs 2.8 lakh crore for 2.48 crore subscribers. The pension fund managers (PFMs), appointed to manage the retirement savings of subscribers under the NPS, will be audited on seven parameters, including reporting & disclosures, investments, corporate governance and senior management. As per Regulation 26 of the PFRDA (Pension Funds) Regulation 2015, PFRDA may undertake directly or through its authorised...