June 2018

15Jun

US. More than 1 million workers, retirees at risk of losing pensions, businesses tell Congress

The pension crisis that threatens the retirement savings of 1.5 million Americans also poses the risk of driving the U.S. economy into a tailspin, a panel of witnesses told a congressional panel. Witnesses from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and businesses, including UPS, told the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multi-employer Pension Plans that should the estimated 150 to 200 multi-employer pension plans that are in danger become insolvent, the companies that paid into those plans would be...

June 15, 2018
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14Jun

US. These 7 states are most at risk from rising health-care costs

High and growing health-care costs are a problem for everyone — but especially so for state and local governments. And states with lower credit ratings are especially susceptible because they have less financial flexibility, according to a new report from credit ratings and research firm Fitch Ratings. Those states include California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, all of which are rated AA- and below by Fitch. (California, Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania is rated AA-, while Connecticut is rated...

June 14, 2018
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14Jun

Spain’s new government agrees to raise pensions in line with inflation

Spain’s government has reached a preliminary deal to raise retirement pensions in line with inflation, suggesting its new Socialist leaders may take a less restrictive approach to spending after years of austerity under their predecessors. The multi-party commission that controls social spending had agreed to the raise, though full details were still to be decided, the Socialist party said in a tweet late on Tuesday. “Now the right must allow that all pensions rise with inflation, also in times of crisis,”...

June 14, 2018
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14Jun

Russia proposes raising pension age, first hike in almost 90 years

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday proposed raising the pension age to 65 for men and 63 for women, the first hike for the country in almost nine decades. A legacy of the USSR, Russia's retirement age -- set at 55 for women and 60 for men since the early 1930s -- is currently among the lowest in the world. "We propose a relatively long transition period -- beginning in 2019 we propose incremental increases to reach retirement for men...

June 14, 2018
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12Jun

Kenya launched its first universal social pension

Starting this week, more than half a million older women and men in Kenya are receiving their first ever pensions. Under the new Government-funded Inua Jamii 70 and Above universal social pension, launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday 2 June, all Kenyans over 70 will receive 2,000 shillings (just under US$20) per month. This scheme is an important step towards ensuring all Kenyans, regardless of circumstance, have access to a reliable income in older age. It is also now the...

June 12, 2018
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12Jun

UK. Most top workplace pension providers risk supporting chemical warfare

That is according to a new report from investment watchdog ShareAction, which reveals that millions of pension savers could be inadvertently supporting conflicts across the world. For their default funds, Aviva, The People’s Pension, Royal London, Scottish Widows, Aegon, and Standard Life all fail to screen out firms producing toxic components of harmful weapons. The research also shows that Aegon has no exclusion policy for controversial weapons in any of its funds, allowing investments in anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs. Read More: The...

June 12, 2018
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12Jun

Canada pension fund preps for green bond issue

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) intends to issue its inaugural green bond and thus become the first pension fund to do so, it announced on Monday. The company did not disclose the size of the offering but pointed out it had announced plans over the past year to spend over CAD 3 billion (USD 2.3bn/EUR 1.95bn) on renewable energy assets. The proceeds from the issue will go towards investments in wind and solar projects, sustainable water and wastewater management...

June 12, 2018
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11Jun

US. Should We Continue To Count On Employers For Retirement Provision?

Yes, this is a question. It's not even a rhetorical question. It's something that I ask myself, and I invite readers to think about. We take the so-called "three-legged stool" a bit for granted, don't we? Employers historically provided pension benefits for their employees, in a time and a place when it made sense for them to do so, when they relied on those pensions to scoot aging employees out the door at a traditional normal or even early retirement...

June 11, 2018
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11Jun

Nigeria. Micro pension will create next phase of growth — Stanbic IBTC Pension boss

How will the proposed micro pension impact growth of the pension industry?  The proposed micro pension scheme is one initiative with great potential capable of landing the industry into its next phase of growth. Regardless of the inherent challenges, the micro pension scheme has the capability to deepen asset accumulation in Nigeria considering that 70 percent of Nigeria's working population operates in the informal sector. Read More: Vanguard Nigeria

June 11, 2018
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11Jun

The World’s Biggest Pension Fund Struggles With Sustainability

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund has nearly $1.5 trillion in assets and a legion of external asset managers running its portfolio. The GPIF sees itself as a “super-long-term investor” with the goal of a century or more of sustainable investment and outflows. Managing money for that long is a matter of stewardship, not just picking assets — and in the past few years, the GPIF has included environmental, social and governance factors as part of its stewardship responsibilities. For the...

June 11, 2018
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