Speaking on national television, Mr Ortega renewed calls for the private sector to engage in talks. But business leaders say they will only negotiate when the government stops "repression against the protests". At least 25 people have reportedly been killed since pensioners and students first took to the streets. Read More: BBC News
Taiwan legislators brawled in parliament on Friday over proposed reductions to military veterans’ pensions – part of wider cutbacks that have triggered mass protests. The clashes came as a draft bill proposed by the cabinet earlier this month was deliberated in parliament for the first time, following a protest by military retirees in February. But that demonstration ended in tragedy as a former colonel fell while climbing up a wall, and later died in hospital. Read More: Inquirer
Puerto Rico’s federal oversight board on Thursday approved a fiscal turnaround plan that includes pension cuts and labor reforms that Governor Ricardo Rossello has vowed to defy, portending the latest potential court battle over the bankrupt U.S. territory’s future. At a hearing in San Juan, broadcast via the internet, the seven-member board voted 6-1 to certify a plan that forecasts $6.7 billion in debt payment ability for Puerto Rico through 2023. Board member Ana Matosantos was the lone dissenter. Tasked with...
The deaths came after protests by both opponents and supporters of a new law, which increases employer and employee contributions while reducing the overall amount of pensions by five percent, rocked the capital for a second day. A 33-year-old policeman was shot dead, according to police, as well as a young male protester, whom officials said was pro-reform but members of the opposition said was against. According to opposition demonstrators, a male student was also killed. Read More: France 24
Private pensions have grown from strength to strength over the last five years and, in some ways, are outpacing take-home pay as can be seen in the Five-year Private Pensions Review for South Africa, released by BankservAfrica and Economists.co.za. “The BankservAfrica Private Pensions Index (BPPI) is the first time-series on private pensions as paid into bank accounts in the world. The system currently accounts for 900 000 people receiving private pensions of which BankservAfrica captures 680 000 or 75%,” says...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Norway’s pension fund to invest in new sectors in India citing the complementarity of the economies of the two countries. Modi, during a bilateral meeting with Norwegian Premier Erna Solberg here, underlined the Indian openness to foreign investment and also invited Norwegian companies to invest in India, a Norwegian government statement said. Modi encouraged the Norwegian State Pension Fund Global to consider investing in new sectors in India, it said. Read More: Deccan Herald
WORKERS dreaming of retirement in the sun could lose out on tens of thousands of pounds worth of state pension if they pick the wrong country, campaigners say. As many as 550,000 Britons living overseas are existing on "frozen pensions", with some receiving only £50 a week instead of a full state entitlement currently worth £165. Despite paying national insurance all their lives, their state pension could be frozen at the rate when they move - meaning they face a decline...
Although scheme trustees are not explicitly required by law to consider climate change risk, it is becoming increasingly apparent that climate change issues may materially prejudice investment returns. Trustees should therefore be prepared to manage climate change risk through their investment strategy, strategic asset allocation, investment manager selection process and stewardship activities according to the report, by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, and the University of Leeds. The report aims to clarify how trustees can, and should, consider...
Ministers in the German federal state of Hesse have relaunched a drive for the introduction of auto-enrolment to boost private pension saving. A resolution to support their idea was brought to the upper chamber of parliament, the Bundesrat, at the end of March. It was promptly assigned to various of the upper chamber’s committees, which have postponed debating the proposal. IPE understands this is normal procedure. Under the Hessian ministers’ proposal, employees would be automatically signed up for a private pension...
The demographic shift the world is going through presents a major trend that's worth investing in, according to one expert. "Aging is, with no doubt, one of the strongest, one of the least cyclical, one of the most permanent trends in the market," Vafa Ahmadi, head of thematic equity management at Amundi's CPR Asset Management, told CNBC's Dan Murphy. Given those factors, investing around the aging population makes "good sense," Ahmadi said at the Credit Suisse Global Megatrends Conference in Singapore. Read...
