January 2019

24Jan

UK. Stay at home parents risk losing thousands from their state pension if they don’t register for Child Benefit

The Government’s information about state pensions clearly isn’t up to scratch. It needs to put this right urgently When new parents are thinking about their household finances, many will consider claiming Child Benefit. Many will not, however, think about National Insurance credits. Yet registering for Child Benefit builds up entitlement to the state pension for parents of children under 12 who don’t build up National Insurance contributions for another reason, such as through work. Put simply, a stay-at-home parent...

January 24, 2019
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24Jan

Retirement? Boomers aren’t ready yet

This generation isn’t just staying in the workforce — some who left are coming back Retirement isn’t for everybody — or at least not every baby boomer. The generation closest to retirement isn’t ready to leave the workforce, according to an Express Employment Professional poll of 1,500 U.S. workers between 54 and 72 years old, conducted by Harris Poll. Some have decided to extend their careers, others are dipping their toes into retirement by shifting to part-time work and...

January 24, 2019
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24Jan

UK’s world-famous Beefeaters on strike over pensions

Workers at the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace — including some of London's famed Beefeaters — are on strike in a dispute over pensions. The historic attractions, among London's most popular, remained open Tuesday despite the work slowdown, which is the second in the last two months. The dispute is between workers and Historic Royal Palaces, which operates a number of prominent sites in Britain. Union officials say a recent settlement offer was not good enough. The...

January 24, 2019
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23Jan

ILO report on the future of work calls for people-centered approach

As unprecedented changes in the world of work due to artificial intelligence (AI), automation and robotics reshape industries and jobs, a new report has recommended a human-centred strategy to cushion the impact of the new order. The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) global commission on the future of work, which is co-chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, says the pro-people agenda will be based on investing in people’s capabilities, lifelong learning, institutions of learning,...

January 23, 2019
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23Jan

South African state pension fund suspends officials over technology deal

South Africa’s state pension fund said on Tuesday that it had suspended two officials for flouting governance rules over an investment in local technology firm Ayo Technology Solutions. The PIC is the biggest investor in Africa’s most industrialised economy, holding a large volume of bonds issued by state-owned firms and equity stakes in some blue-chip companies. The suspensions come as a state inquiry into governance at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages 2 trillion rand ($144 billion) in...

January 23, 2019
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23Jan

Canadian pension fund takes stake in Alliant

Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board is investing in Alliant Insurance Services Inc. and the U.S. brokerage’s majority shareholder Stone Point Capital LLC is upping its stake in the firm, Alliant announced Tuesday. Following the transaction, Greenwich, Connecticut-based Stone Point will remain Alliant’s largest institutional shareholder while the company’s management and producers will continue to own “the majority of the firm,” Newport Beach, California-based Alliant said in a statement. Stone Point became Alliant’s largest institutional shareholder in 2015. Alliant...

January 23, 2019
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22Jan

South Africa opens inquiry into improper use of government pension funds

A commission of inquiry into South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has just opened. The inquiry has a remit to look into allegations of mismanagement and corruption going back to 2015. The PIC is Africa's biggest asset manager. The PIC manages the bulk of pensions of South African civil servants on behalf of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund. Its investments are worth two trillion rands, about 126 billion euros. The scale of its investment makes the PIC the largest...

January 22, 2019
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22Jan

Canada’s vast pension fund is sticking with China even as political tensions mount

Investment strategies involving China are coming under scrutiny amid political and security-related conflicts between Beijing and major Western economies, as well as a predicted growth slowdown for the world's second-largest economy. But Canada's massive pension fund, among the world's top 10 in terms of size, is sticking to plans to expand its holdings there. Mark Machin, president and chief executive of Canada's Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), sees the country's potential to diversify his portfolio as outweighing any shorter-term...

January 22, 2019
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22Jan

Ageing Hong Kong should aim to keep its elderly healthy and in a job, rather than eligible for welfare

With improved medical science and a rising standard of living, most countries have seen a steady increase in life expectancy. Someone born in Hong Kong today, for example, could expect to live about 12 years longer than their counterpart did in 1960 and will have much better access to welfare support as well as healthcare provisions. At present, 17 per cent of the population in Hong Kong is aged 65 or above, with more than 1.2 million people in...

January 22, 2019
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21Jan

Micro-pensions can boost security for India’s elderly poor

Only 4 per cent households were covered under widow pension, 2 per cent retirement pension and 1.5 per cent under disability pension. India is home to one-fifth of the world’s population which includes a third of the world’s poor and one-eighth of the world’s elderly. Most of them spend their whole lives as informal workers and have no retirement security other than the hope that their children will care for them in their old age. This arrangement worked well...

January 21, 2019
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