October 2018

23Oct

Here’s how well retirement income systems in Asia Pacific fare

As ageing populations continue to pose a challenge to governments worldwide, policymakers are struggling to balance delivering adequate financial security for their retirees while keeping it sustainable for the economy. Measuring 34 pension systems worldwide, the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index shows that the Netherlands and Denmark (with scores of 80.3 and 80.2 respectively) both offer A-Grade world class retirement income systems, topping the index globally. In Asia Pacific, top performing countries are Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand, scoring 72.6, 70.4,...

October 23, 2018
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23Oct

Montenegro. Struggle for Pensions United Trade Unions

Montenegrins will retire next year with 61 years of age and 40 years of service, while the age limit for retirement is halted for 66 years for a man and 64 for a woman, and for the average pension one-quarter of the lowest rates, unconnected years is excluded. These are the results of the talks between the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and trade unions, which at the beginning were determined not to give in to their demands, but...

October 23, 2018
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22Oct

Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2018 released. Danish pension system among world’s best

Denmark rated second on Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2018 When it comes to enjoying the golden years of retirement, few citizens of the world have it better than the Danes. According to the new Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2018 (here in English), Denmark is second in the world when it comes to pension systems and received an A Grade for a score of 80.2 (out of 100). The only other country to obtain an A Grade was the Netherlands, which...

October 22, 2018
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22Oct

Croatians protest over government plan to raise retirement age

Several thousand people protested in Croatia's capital on Saturday over government plans to raise the retirement age to 67 and cut pensions for those who retire early. This week the government asked parliament to pass legislation lifting the retirement age of 65 from 2033 onwards, defending the reform as a step in efforts to make the pension system sustainable. The bill also includes a proposal to cut the pensions of people who stop working before reaching retirement age by about four...

October 22, 2018
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22Oct

Aging Japan rice farmers struggle

Grain falling out of favor with young consumers A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favor with younger, Westernized consumers, in a shift that has left ageing farmers struggling for survival. Rice consumption has nearly halved over the past 50 years, and as the older generation of farmers and consumers dies out, some fear the industry will be unable to hold its own in a competitive global market. Kazuo Ogura,...

October 22, 2018
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19Oct

US. California Public Employees Vote Against Pension-Fund Activism

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System this month said no thank you to pension-fund activism. Government workers unseated Priya Mathur, the sitting Calpers president. She was defeated by Jason Perez, a police-union official who criticized Ms. Mathur’s focus on environmental, social and governance investing, or ESG. Mr. Perez emphasizes the agency’s fiduciary duty to maximize investor returns. Calpers represents almost two million California public employees, retirees and families. Yet it mostly makes headlines for its activism, such as divestiture from...

October 19, 2018
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19Oct

Canada. ‘Some baloney’ in assertion Canada’s pension fund has highest ethical standards

OTTAWA -- "We expect the CPPIB, like other Crown corporations, to live up to the highest standards of ethics and behaviour and that is, in fact, exactly what it is doing." -- Finance Minister Bill Morneau during question period Monday in the House of Commons. The New Democrats challenged Morneau this week to weigh in on new ethical questions surrounding the investment portfolio of the arms-length Canada Pension Plan Investment Board -- which manages hundreds of billions of dollars worth...

October 19, 2018
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19Oct

South Africa. Pensions of more than 80‚000 security guards at risk

The Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF) is fighting 315 court battles against employers who are failing to comply with rules‚ putting the pensions of more than 80‚000 security guards at risk. The fund has more than 242‚600 registered members‚ of whom over 2‚500 are not complying with the rules. As a last resort‚ these companies are handed over to the fund’s attorneys who either resolve the matter by agreement or through litigation. The fund says non-compliance by employers is...

October 19, 2018
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19Oct

US. Loans could drain U.S. retirement plans by $2.5 trillion

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Americans could dig a $2.5 trillion hole in the country’s retirement system as they fail to pay back loans taken from workplace retirement plans over the next 10 years, according to a new study from Deloitte Consulting. The problem is called “leakage” - borrowing from a 401(k) plan without repaying the money or paying it back so slowly that it disrupts growth. About 40 percent of people borrow from workplace plans. Most repay their loans within five years...

October 19, 2018
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18Oct

South Africa’s Ramaphosa orders inquiry at $142 billion state pension fund

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday appointed a judicial inquiry into the 2 trillion rand ($142 billion) state pension fund, a government gazette said, following corruption allegations. The PIC is Africa’s biggest pension fund and the biggest investor in South Africa’s economy holding a large volume of bonds issued by government and state-owned firms. The gazette notice said it will investigate “persistent and continued negative reports about alleged improprieties regarding investments” by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages assets...

October 18, 2018
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