December 2018

10Dec

US. 401(k) plans are 40 years old. To celebrate, here’s a look at how they could be better

It's clear that 401(k) plans have been huge successes in the 40 years since they were authorized, amassing more than $5 trillion in assets and becoming investment mainstays for millions of Americans through workplace-benefit programs. But 401(k) plans and similar defined-contribution programs haven't worked out well for everyone, and criticisms linger. As the 401(k) concept marks the 40th birthday from its creation in the Revenue Act of 1978, here's a look at some of the shortcomings: These programs aren't pensions Perhaps the...

December 10, 2018
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07Dec

Why Retirement Is Broken And Needs To Be Reinvented

Retirement is the #1 financial worry with 65% of Americans worried about it and a majority thinking about it 4 times per week. The core problem is uncertainty - people have no idea how much they need, because we have created a system around building assets instead of income. We spend our lives saving up a big pile of money in an effort to secure our future against a bewildering set of future risks including market returns, inflation, healthcare and...

December 7, 2018
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07Dec

Brits living in the EU risk having their pensions frozen

Britons living in the EU, who qualify for a state pensions uprate, could lose the guarantee after disorderly Brexit. The British government has today outlined the ways how it intends to protect rights of its citizens living in the EU in the case of “no-deal Brexit.” As one of the protections, the Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay pledged to keep uprating state pensions of UK nationals living in the EU – but only if the EU reciprocates. If the EU as a bloc...

December 7, 2018
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07Dec

Canadian taxpayers subsidize government pensions to the tune of $22 billion a year

Government employees don’t pay the full cost of their defined-benefit pensions. Taxpayers provide a $22 billion annual subsidy by assuming undisclosed investment risks for which they are not compensated, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. “The issue is not whether government employees should have defined-benefit pensions, but rather how much they should pay for these pensions,” said Philip Cross, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of Risk and Reward...

December 7, 2018
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07Dec

UK. Devilish details of where pension transfers went wrong

The failure of senior management at advice firms to identify the risks associated with defined benefit transfers, was named as one of the reasons behind widespread problems in the field. The Financial Conduct Authority published the findings of its recent investigation of pension transfer advice today (December 6), saying less than 50 per cent of the advice it had reviewed was deemed suitable. The regulator had looked at 18 firms, which had given advice to 48,248 clients on their defined benefit...

December 7, 2018
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06Dec

UK. Pension scam enquiries up 462%

Visits to the FCA’s Scam Smart website have increased 462 per cent in less than two months following its joint scam awareness campaign with The Pensions Regulator. The Scam Smart site – which allows people to compare pension fund options and find information on potential scams – previously had an average 562 page views daily. This rose to an average of 3,145 a day in the 55 days immediately following the summer campaign, the regulators have said. The regulators’ campaign is calling...

December 6, 2018
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06Dec

Nigeria: Military alerts public on scam on retirees

Nigeria’s Military Pension Board (MPB) has alerted retirees and families of deceased personnel of the circulation of “fake and malicious” messages by impostors to defraud them of their hard earned income.The Public Relations Officer, Flt.-Lt. Obasi Okoroafor, said the board has advised them to promptly report such fraudsters to the nearest military unit. Okoroafor said the MPB was dismayed by the circulation of the fraudulent messages by mischievous elements claiming to be its agents. “The dubious messages request for money from...

December 6, 2018
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06Dec

US. Pensions Are a Hot Recruiting Tool in Health Care: Cerulli

Many hospitals' DB plans are not as well-funded as other corporate pensions, Cerulli reports. Even as most organizations have moved away from defined benefit plans in favor of defined contribution plans, not so health and hospital systems. Instead, according to research from Cerulli Associates, some within the health care industry that are having a rough time attracting and hanging onto talent are looking to leverage pensions as a recruitment tool. “While corporations are generally moving toward defined contribution plan offerings, health and...

December 6, 2018
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06Dec

UK pension funds may have to clear, post-Brexit

Delays to Emir review raise fears that UK schemes may lose exemption Large UK pension funds may have to start clearing derivatives trades with European counterparties in the event of a no-deal Brexit, lawyers warn. The funds are currently exempt from clearing thanks to a carve-out from the European Market Infrastructure Regulation. But once Britain leaves the European Union, UK funds will be considered “third-country” entities – unless regulators strike a deal on equivalence. “From the point of view of a bank...

December 6, 2018
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05Dec

UK. BT loses appeal to change method of pensions calculation

BT has lost a legal bid to make changes to its pension scheme that unions claim would have transferred an estimated £2bn of wealth from scheme members to shareholders. The court of appeal dismissed the company’s request to change the way it calculates increases to pensions – a move that would have affected more than 80,000 members of the scheme. These members each typically stood to lose an estimated £24,000 in future pension benefits if the appeal had been upheld, according...

December 5, 2018
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