June 2018

25Jun

Egypt raises military pensions amid austerity measures

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has raised pensions for military personnel and salaries for civil servants by 15% amid a wave of price hikes linked to austerity measures. The raises, published late on Saturday in the official gazette, will take effect on July 1. Sisi, a retired general, has raised military pensions several times in recent years. In recent days the government has raised the price of fuel, drinking water and electricity as part of a reform program tied to a three-year,...

June 25, 2018
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25Jun

UK. EC2 Master fined £15,000 for not collecting or investing nearly £900,000 of pension contributions

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has fined master trust pension scheme trustee EC2 Master, which holds assets for the Autoenrolment.co.uk master trust, £15,000 for failing to collect and invest £888,651.94 worth of pension contributions from 2,115 members. TPR found in its determination notice, published on Friday 22 June 2018, that EC2 Master did not ensure that the Autoenrolment.co.uk master trust scheme, which is run by Smart Pension, had a proper reporting system in place to comply with statutory requirements. This meant that...

June 25, 2018
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25Jun

Nigeria. PenCom allows pension contributors to pick investment options

Beginning from July, workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme will be allowed to go to their Pension Fund Administrators to choose how they want the money in their Retirement Savings Accounts to be invested so as to gain higher interest based on the new multi-fund structure, NIKE POPOOLA writes Following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act, 2014, the National Pension Commission amended the investment regulation in April 2017, largely to incorporate the new provisions in the law as well...

June 25, 2018
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22Jun

Ghana. Workers Advised To Invest In Tier-3 Pension

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NBC Ghana Trust, William Asiedu Yeboah, has charged Ghanaian employees to invest in Ghana’s Tier 3 pension scheme to secure their future. “The surest way to a happy old age is to save towards retirement, so workers, both in the formal and informal sectors, must invest in the Tier-3 pension scheme, Mr Yeboah added. In an interview recently in Accra, the CEO stated that the introduction of the two new pension tiers – Tiers 2 and...

June 22, 2018
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22Jun

European adviser body head calls for pension reform

The European Federation of Financial Advisers and Intermediaries (FECIF) has called for European state-members to reform social welfare and warns about the need for European citizens to build private pension savings to insure an adequate income after retirement. FECIF says the crisis has provided an opportunity to review the efficiency and goals of pension systems at both national and EU level and stimulating private pension provision would help consolidate national budgets. “The adequacy of pensions is now centre stage for governments...

June 22, 2018
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22Jun

Taiwan passes bill to cut veterans’ pensions that sparked violent protests

Taiwan’s military veterans will see their pensions cut as soon as next month after parliament passed a controversial bill that had sparked violent demonstrations. Wednesday’s vote marks a victory for President Tsai Ing-wen, whose attempts to make sweeping pension cutbacks since she came to power two years ago have faced intense opposition. Senior veterans will see their monthly stipend cut by more than 20 per cent over the next decade, after a smaller initial drop, according to official estimates. Read More: South China...

June 22, 2018
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21Jun

Brazil’s Central Bank Plans Blockchain Data Exchange for Regulators

Brazil could soon have a new blockchain platform to ensure the authenticity of information exchanged between the country's financial authorities. Brazil's central bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), announced Tuesday that it has built the platform in order to allow secure data sharing between itself and other domestic financial regulators, such as the country's Superintendency of Private Insurance (SUSEP), the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) and National Superintendency of Complementary Pensions (PREVIC). In its release, BCB credits blockchain technology for...

June 21, 2018
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21Jun

US. Fintech Firm BidMoni Launches FiduciaryShield, a Retirement Plan Platform That Assists Plan Sponsors to Meet their Fiduciary Duties and Reduce Plan Costs

With America’s U.S. retirement savings deficit in the trillions of dollars and growing, BidMoni has announced the launch of FiduciaryShield, the first platform that allows retirement plans to quickly and easily solicit bids from dozens of the country’s top retirement plan providers. FiduciaryShield analyzes proposals so plan sponsors and financial advisors can determine the best plan, document the entire process to stay compliant, and automatically monitor plans on a ongoing basis. FiduciaryShield was designed by retirement plan experts Stephen Daigle...

June 21, 2018
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21Jun

Pensions: Council agrees its stance on pan-European pension product

The Council has agreed its negotiating stance on a proposal that would make it easier for people to put money aside for their old age. On 19 June 2018, EU ambassadors asked the presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the proposed 'pan-European pension product' (PEPP), a new class of personal pension scheme, as soon as the Parliament is ready to negotiate. The draft regulation is aimed at providing greater choice for people who wish to save for their...

June 21, 2018
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20Jun

What explains the widening gap in retirement ages?

Today, male college graduates retire about three years later than high school graduates. While the story is more complicated for women, because of the dramatic change in their labor-force participation rates over the latter half of the 20th century, the pattern is similar. A recent study by my colleague Matt Rutledge identifies three factors that have encouraged later retirement — better health, changing labor markets, and Social Security incentives — and shows how these developments have primarily impacted those with...

June 20, 2018
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