December 2018

20Dec

US. MetLife settles Massachusetts case over unpaid pensions

MetLife Inc will pay a US$1 million fine to resolve claims that it made misleading statements to investors in failing to pay pension benefits to thousands of retirees it improperly treated as "presumed dead." Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin announced the settlement on Wednesday. The deal resolves an administrative case that Galvin's office filed against MetLife in June. As part of the settlement, Galvin's office said that MetLife will provide payments, with interest, to hundreds of Massachusetts...

December 20, 2018
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19Dec

UK. Can The Government Really Help Self-Employed Workers With Their Pensions?

In 2012, the UK Government launched a minimum contribution pension scheme for employed workers, meaning that a proportion of their monthly salary would be automatically withdrawn and saved for them to access at retirement age. The scheme was well-received, with 10 million workers being automatically opted in and only 9% of those enrolled choosing to opt-out. However, this automatic enrolment didn’t account for the self-employed, who make up an estimated 15% of the UK workforce. According to Guy Opperman, Minister for...

December 19, 2018
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19Dec

No-deal Brexit: New government guidance won’t reassure pensioners in France

The UK government released more "no-deal" Brexit guidance on Tuesday aimed at reassuring those citizens living in the France who receive pensions and benefits but the information is unlikely to ease their worries. The British government announced on Tuesday that it would implement its no-deal Brexit contingency plans in full, which will include putting 3,500 troops on standby and reserving ferry space for supplies. With Theresa May's Brexit deal seemingly doomed the government has decided to ramp up its no-deal planning,...

December 19, 2018
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19Dec

US. The states where pensions are safe and where they’re in trouble

Kentucky’s public pension, which was at risk of benefit cuts, may be saved Kentucky has one of the worst public pension plans in the country, but it’s just been saved from getting even worse. The state’s Supreme Court ruled against a reform law that would have cut benefits for public employees, including teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, social workers and government workers. Under the law, workers hired between 2003 and 2008 would have to pay 1% of their salaries for retiree health...

December 19, 2018
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19Dec

How China got a head start in fintech, and why the West won’t catch up

Payment apps like Alipay and WeChat transformed daily life in China. The West won’t see a similar payments revolution—and that might even be a good thing. In 2013 I moved from Paris to Beijing to study China’s financial system. I stayed for two years and became fluent enough to translate economics books from Mandarin into English and give talks on monetary policy in Mandarin. But I never really felt I fit in until I visited again and Alipay finally approved me...

December 19, 2018
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18Dec

Rwanda launches Africa’s first universal digital pension scheme for the mass market

On Friday the 14th December 2018, His Excellency, Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda launched the Long Term Savings Scheme named Ejo Heza (Kinyarwanda meaning for “Brighter Future”) during the 16th National Umushyikirano Council (the National Dialogue). The launch was attended by over 2,000 participants that included members of the Cabinet and Parliament, representatives of the Rwandan community abroad, local government, Civil Society Organizations, media and the diplomatic community. The Ejo Heza Scheme offers opportunity and incentives...

December 18, 2018
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18Dec

UK. Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell forced to pay £124,000 for failing to provide information about pension scheme

BHS went into administration in April 2016 leaving a pension deficit worth £571m, following Sir Phillip Green’s sale of the business to Mr Chappell the previous year. Sir Philip Green ordered to pay £363m into BHS pension scheme The Pensions Regulator (TPR) says it requested vital information about the sale of the business and its pension scheme from the former bankrupt three times. The ruling follows an appeal from Mr Chappell against his original conviction in January. BHS owner fined by pensions regulator Judge...

December 18, 2018
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18Dec

Opinion. Other people’s money: ESG investing and the conflicts of the consultant class

We should not play political games with other people’s money. That gamesmanship is the very essence of ESG investing, with all of the self-dealing and other perversities that politicized investment choices engender. Unintended consequences are a longstanding effect of public policies, an eternal truth seemingly invisible to one generation after another of policymakers eager to improve upon the economic arrangements emerging from market competition and individual choices. Witness, for example, a regulation implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...

December 18, 2018
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18Dec

US. Tax-Efficient Retirement Withdrawal Strategies

Earlier this year Fidelity reported that the number of 401K millionaires hit an all time high of 168,000 and the number of IRA millionaires hit 156,000. Now that the 76 million Baby Boomers are starting to retire and reach the age of Required Minimum Distributions - planning for tax efficiently drawing down their savings is becoming a bigger concern. Additionally many people believe we may be in a once in a generation window of low taxes , and that...

December 18, 2018
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17Dec

Emergency Brexit plan being drafted for Irish residents receiving British pension payments

Emergency legislation is being drafted to ensure people living in Ireland who receive a British state pension are not impacted by the UK crashing out of the European Union. Senior civil servants are also drafting legislation which would ensure British-based pensioners who receive the Irish state pension do not lose out in a no-deal Brexit scenario. More than 135,000 people living in Ireland receive the British state pension. Pension payments are just one area of legislation identified during a root-and-branch trawl...

December 17, 2018
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