December 2018

05Dec

Brazil. Bolsonaro begins political contacts to address pensions scheme with piecemeal reforms

Right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday he plans to tackle the overhaul of Brazil's fiscally burdensome pension system with piecemeal reforms that can pass Congress, starting with an increase in the minimum age of retirement. He said reforms should start with the public social security system and advance gradually to make sure they pass Congress. ”The idea is to start with the (minimum) age, attack the privileges and take it forward,“ Bolsonaro said at a news conference, warning that...

December 5, 2018
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05Dec

Kenya. Review of pensions law underway: Yatani

There is need to review the pensions law to ensure what retirees are paid reflects prevailing cost of living, Labour and Social Protection CS Ukur Yatani has said. "In pursuit of your association's objectives, working in close collaboration with your representatives, my ministry has developed a memorandum that will be submitted to the Cabinet soon for consideration and necessary action,” said Mr Yatani during the annual general meeting of Kenya Association of Retired Officers (KARO). The memorandum highlights, among others,...

December 5, 2018
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05Dec

Why the World Needs to Rethink Retirement

The golden years look very different depending on where in the world you are, and, increasingly, which generation you are in. Aging populations and decreasing birthrates are spurring countries across the globe to reassess how retirement works — and what needs to change in order to extend the benefits available today to future retirees. Many are not optimistic. Nearly half of those surveyed in a recent report by the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement say future generations would be...

December 5, 2018
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04Dec

Pension regimes struggle to gain trust of workers, says OECD

People remain slow to trust pension promises, a new OECD report has found. Low investment returns on pension savings, less stable employment structures, low economic growth and the fact that people are living longer have all eroded belief that pensions “will deliver on their promises once workers reach retirement age”, the OECD Pensions Outlook 2018 reports. Poor pension coverage among some workers has also contributed to this scepticism. “People are also concerned about whether the institutions managing their retirement savings in funded...

December 4, 2018
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04Dec

Canada pension fund investment into US detention firm larger than reported

CPPIB holds $6.1m in investments in Geo Group, a firm that runs US detention facilities under Trump’s immigration crackdown A controversial investment by one of Canada’s biggest pension funds in a company which operates private prisons in the United States is larger than initially thought, recent securities filings have revealed. The Guardian and Documented reported last month that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) – which manages $366.6bn in pension funds on behalf of some 20 million Canadian retirees –...

December 4, 2018
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04Dec

Bermuda. Athene Announces Significant Pension Risk Transfer Transaction with Bristol-Myers Squibb

Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) (NYSE: ATH, a leading retirement services company, announced today a first-of-its-kind pension plan termination transaction with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) covering more than 24,000 active employee participants, retirees, beneficiaries, and former Bristol-Myers Squibb employees who have not yet commenced their benefits. Under the agreement, Athene’s wholly-owned Iowa-domiciled life insurance subsidiary, Athene Annuity and Life Company (“AAIA”), agreed in advance to provide an annuity contract covering all obligations of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s U.S. Retirement Income Plan (the...

December 4, 2018
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03Dec

UK. Pensions dashboards to enable more informed retirement planning

Proposals to give millions of people their pension facts and figures at their fingertips have been unveiled by the government. Pioneering proposals to give millions of people their pension facts and figures at their fingertips have been unveiled by the government today (3 December). New free, user-friendly ‘pensions dashboards’ would allow people to access their information from most pension schemes in one place online for the first time. Pensions dashboards – an idea welcomed by consumer groups and pension providers - would: ...

December 3, 2018
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03Dec

India. Why pension funds are a good bet for investors

They are regulated by India's Pension Fund & Regulatory Development Authority Q: Investment in pension funds is becoming quite popular. As I am returning to India for good this year, I want to know how safe and secure these funds are and whether they are properly regulated? A: Pension funds are regulated by the Pension Fund & Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA). This authority exercises control over pension fund managers (PFM). The PFMs are permitted to invest only in corporate bonds which...

December 3, 2018
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03Dec

A Regulation Revolution In Financial Services

If your professional interests take you to the crossroads of financial services, regulation, compliance, and digital - especially data analytics and machine learning - which altogether is known as regtech, you are in the right place. You are part of statistically small and very geek-oriented professional community, but you know this, and though you might choose not to admit this to strangers at this year's festive parties for fear of causing great pain by boredom, you are in good...

December 3, 2018
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November 2018

09Nov

East Africa to harmonize pension regimes to promote labor mobility

East African Community (EAC) member states plan to harmonize their pension regimes in order to promote labor mobility, officials said on Thursday. Nzomo Mutuku, chief executive officer of Kenya's Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), told Xinhua in Nairobi that currently the six member states of the EAC have different taxation levels for the pensions industry and therefore workers could lose benefits if they move from one partner state to another. "All the partner states are committed to have the same pension standards...

November 9, 2018
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