January 2019

07Jan

Norway’s Massive Pension Fund Loses $3 Billion+ on its Apple Investment

The giant Norwegian “Oil Fund,” or Government Pension Fund Global, has over $1 trillion in assets and one of its largest single investments is in tech-behemoth Apple. The fund is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world and consists of two wealth funds operated by the Norwegian government, the first was formed in 1967.The part known as the Oil Fund was established nearly three decades ago to invest surplus revenue from Norwegian oil and petroleum. It’s not a...

January 7, 2019
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07Jan

UK. Pensions data is stuck in the ‘dark ages’, says former pensions minister Ros Altmann

The pensions industry is “light years behind where it should be” in the way it handles data, endangering the success of modernisation drives such as the government’s pensions dashboard project, according to a former pensions minister.Many small firms still handle employee data manually from spreadsheets, and half of customer auto-enrolment data uploaded by these companies to pension scheme providers’ systems subsequently contains errors, according to research.Conservative peer and former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann said the high error...

January 7, 2019
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03Jan

Funded status of largest U.S. corporate pension plans slipped in 2018, Willis Towers Watson analysis finds

Fourth quarter decline in stock market derailed improved funding trend for year The funded status of the nation's largest corporate pension plans slipped at the end of 2018 as a sharp decline in the stock market during the fourth quarter offset what looked to be a second consecutive year of improved funding, according to an analysis by Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WLTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. Willis Towers Watson examined pension plan data for 389...

January 3, 2019
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03Jan

France. Can weakened Macron push through reforms in 2019?

This time last year French president Emmanual Macron was riding high. By July the ride was over. After a hellish few months, there are doubts that he will be now be able to push through his proposed reforms for 2019. Macron's big thing was his determination not to back down in the face of opposition - until he did. His decision to find 10 billion euros to try to placate the Yellow Vests might not have neutered them and...

January 3, 2019
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03Jan

Pensions Among the Victims of Stocks’ Worst Year Since 2008

The average U.S. corporate pension plan lost 4.7 percent last year after stocks tanked in the fourth quarter, according to Willis Towers Watson. Steep year-end declines in U.S. stocks left America’s largest public companies deeper in the hole for their pension obligations, according to analysis by consulting firm Willis Towers Watson. Pension funding levels for Fortune 1000 companies dipped to an estimated 84 percent after a volatile fourth quarter culminated in sharp losses in December. The Standard & Poor's...

January 3, 2019
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03Jan

US. Lawsuit filed claims Transamerica Corporation is misusing retirement funds

A lawsuit between Transamerica Corporation and Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP filed on December 28, alleges the company violated its duties under ERISA and abused employees' trust by mismanaging their retirement funds. The lawsuit claims the company invested employee retirement savings into funds that consistently underperform in their investment benchmarks and similar funds. Documents allege Transamerica has cost its employees millions of dollars in retirement savings that were a part of the Transamerica 401(k) Plan. Plaintiffs Jeremy Karg, Matthew R....

January 3, 2019
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02Jan

New Survey Finds Americans’ Spending Habits Are Ruining Their Retirement

Americans Spend More Than $5,000 a Year on Non-Necessities The survey asked respondents how much they spent annually on the following six categories: Eating out and food deliveryCoffeeAlcoholRide-sharing services and taxisClothing and accessoriesEvents (e.g. concerts, sports) On average, respondents spent $5,339 annually on all of those expenditures combined. The biggest source of nonessential spending is eating out, takeout and food delivery. Respondents said they spent an average of $2,167 a year on food that they didn’t prepare at home....

January 2, 2019
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02Jan

‘We have to adapt where we can’ – the struggles of coping with an ageing population

With a 31pc increase in people aged over 65 in 15 years, organisations and individuals are working hard to handle what many see as a crisis - the ageing population. Norfolk County Council spends on average £1m a day on adult social care in Norfolk, with around 14,000 people using its services day to day. More still are looked after by family and friends. The county has an older population than most in the UK, which is predicted to...

January 2, 2019
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02Jan

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board begins managing additional CPP contribution amounts affecting millions of future beneficiaries

Starting this week, (CPPIB) will receive and invest additional Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contribution amounts, helping to safeguard increased retirement income for current CPP contributors and future generations. Federal and provincial governments decided in 2016 to expand the CPP to provide enhanced future benefits for workers who contribute, creating a stronger foundation for retirement. As the investment manager of the CPP Fund, CPPIB is responsible for prudently investing the additional contribution amounts arising from the enhancement to the CPP....

January 2, 2019
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December 2018

21Dec

Korea Proposes Pension Reform

The world’s third-largest pension fund is in jeopardy of being depleted by 2057. The South Korean government has unveiled proposals to help reform the country’s pension system, as an aging population combined with record-low birth rates threatens to deplete South Korea’s $578.7 billion National Pension Fund by 2057. The country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare announced four proposals to maintain a balance between reinforcing recipients’ benefits and securing the fund’s stability, according to the Korea Herald. “The national pension...

December 21, 2018
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