July 2018

10Jul

Greece. Government exploring ways to suspend pension cuts

The government is hoping that surpluses at the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) will allow the non-implementation of pre-legislated pension cuts on January 1 next year. With the latest forecasts suggesting that the EFKA surplus could reach 1.3 billion euros by the end of the year, Labor Minister Effie Achtsioglou told Skai TV on Monday she did not rule out that the measure may be suspended, saying that the government will examine the issue after August 20, when Greece leaves...

July 10, 2018
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09Jul

US. Social Security will survive, but will it be enough?

Many Americans have a curious attitude toward Social Security, presuming the program one day will disappear or get significantly scaled back, but not doing much to prepare for it by saving and investing more. The skepticism about Social Security's future shows up in one consumer poll after the other. For example, just 45 percent of current workers say they are very or somewhat confident that Social Security will continue to provide retirement benefits of roughly equal value to benefits currently...

July 9, 2018
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09Jul

Bahrain to host regional pensions conference

Supreme Council for Health (SCH)’s President Lt-General Dr. Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Chairman of Al Hikma Retirees Society, today received a delegation from Takaud Savings & Pensions headed by the company’s chairman Samer Khanachet who delivered invitation to him to attend the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Pensions Conference 2018. The conference is slated to be held on October 31 under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Lt-General Dr. Shaikh Mohammed expressed his gratitude...

July 9, 2018
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09Jul

Japan’s pension fund posts best returns in three years

The world’s biggest pension fund posted its best annual gain in three years despite a loss during the final quarter of its business calendar. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund returned 6.9 per cent, or 10.1 trillion yen ($91 billion), in the year ended March 31, with assets totaling 156.4 trillion yen, it said in Tokyo. Domestic stocks were the fund’s best performing investment, adding 5.5 trillion yen, followed by a 3.5 trillion yen increase in overseas shares. Domestic bonds gained...

July 9, 2018
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06Jul

Australia. Solvency Of Pension Funds At Risk From Prolonged Low Interest Rates, Say Central Banks

The solvency of private pension funds and insurers would be at risk from continued prolonged low interest rates, the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) said in a report released today. Banks would suffer too, but to a lesser degree, predicted CGFS, a consortium of central banks. The report warned “low-for-long” interest rates could shrink the profitability and strength of financial firms. Read More: Forbes

July 6, 2018
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06Jul

Latin America Seen Poised for Rally as Political Dust Settles

The political clouds are clearing, and one of Latin America’s biggest asset managers likes what he sees. "Now that the round of elections in the region have finished, demand and confidence are increasing, and we’re expecting a stronger second half that will help us to reach a 7 percent return," Ignacio Calle, chief executive officer of Medellin, Colombia-based Sura Asset Management SA, said in an interview at his office. Read More: Bloomberg

July 6, 2018
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06Jul

Ghana. Government To Pass National Aging Bill

Mr Thaddeus Arkum Aasoglenang, Nandom District Chief Executive (DCE) has hinted that government has initiated processes for the passage of the National Aging Bill. According to him, a National Aging Council is also to be established soon by the government. Mr Aasoglenang gave the hint in a statement issued and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the Senior Citizens Day Celebration in Nandom. The statement explained that the rational for this bold step by the government was to mainstream...

July 6, 2018
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06Jul

30 million are ‘in the dark’ over pensions savings

This equates to 30.4 million working age people across the UK who risk not being able to afford the lifestyle they want in later lfe. The findings were made in the PLSA's Hitting the Target report ­ which aims to help people achieve better retirement incomes. It calls for the introduction of retirement income targets showing the lifestyle someone could afford on different levels of income. The PLSA has commissioned researchers to develop these. Seven in 10 (70 percent) people think retirement income targets would encourage them to save more, increasing to more than three­quarters of (78 percent) millennials aged 18 to 34, the PLSA found. Read More: Express

July 6, 2018
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05Jul

Italy pensions chief criticizes government over migrants, planned reforms

Italy needs more migrant workers to help pay for the nation’s growing army of pensioners, the head of state pensions agency INPS said on Tuesday, openly criticizing the government’s anti-immigration agenda. Tito Boeri also warned that government plans to reform the pensions system would be much more costly than coalition parties were predicting, saying demographic trends meant that even the existing system was unsustainable. Italy’s new interior minister, right-wing leader Matteo Salvini, who has promised a severe crackdown on illegal immigration...

July 5, 2018
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05Jul

UK. Tiny pension pots putting £1bn at risk

Ministers have been accused of ignoring a proliferation of tiny, inefficient pension pots that could drain £1 billion a year from retirement incomes. The cost of administering millions of trivially small pension pots will rise exponentially because a new pot is created every time someone moves job, Hargreaves Lansdown, the wealth manager, said yesterday. With the typical employee expected to change jobs 11 times in the course of a career, they can expect to have 11 pots. Couples might have to...

July 5, 2018
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