March 2018

02Mar

HK’s care system struggling to cope with aging population

As the number of elderly people rises, demand for places in public nursing facilities is soaring. When Peter Lam arrived home one morning in October after a brief breakfast outing, he realized something was wrong. He knocked on the door of his mother's room, but there was no response. He knocked again, but she still didn't answer. The 40-something graphic designer pushed the door open, only to discover that what he had dreaded was true; his 80-year-old mother had had a...

March 2, 2018
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02Mar

Nigeria. 35 Out Of 36 States Owe Workers’ Salaries, Pension – TUC

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has raised the alarm that number of states owing workers has grown to 35 as the 2019 general election closes up. Speaking after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos, TUC said only Lagos State was up to date with salary payment and other benefits, warning state government against diverting money meant for payment of workers salaries and other benefits into electioneering processes. President of TUC, Bobboi Kaigama‎ said with the exception of...

March 2, 2018
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01Mar

No Pension? You Can ‘Pensionize’ Your Savings

After years of working, many people face the challenge of converting their savings into a sustainable flow of income in retirement. Some researchers think they have a practical solution: Workers should take steps to “pensionize” their nest eggs. The transition from saving to spending was once relatively simple, at least for retirees with traditional pensions offering predictable payments. But such plans are dwindling — in 2017, only 16 percent of Fortune 500 companies offered a defined benefit plan (traditional or...

March 1, 2018
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01Mar

Nigeria. Ex-Governors’ pensions: Saraki challenges State Assemblies to emulate Kwara

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday, called on other State House of Assemblies to take a cue from Kwara state and pass their own versions of the Bill to suspend the payment of pensions to former governors and deputy governors who have held public office in the state. Saraki, in posts on his official social media pages, commended Kwara state Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ali Ahmad and the State House of Assembly for passing the bill, following...

March 1, 2018
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01Mar

UK. Pensions – auto-enrolment contributions edge upwards

We are now seven weeks from the first hike in the “minimum” requirements for auto-enrolment compliance (6 April 2018). In practical terms, for employers currently applying those statutory minimums this means that your employees will see an increase in their pension contributions from one per cent of their annual earnings between £6,032 and £46,350 (based on the 2018 figures) to three per cent. This could come as something of a shock for employees who didn’t read the fine print on...

March 1, 2018
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February 2018

28Feb

UK. Generational battle lines harden over pensions

If the personal finances of every household could be ranked, the period following the 2008 financial crisis puts the baby boomer on top. There is a counterpoint to this, say campaigners for older savers, which is the level of interest rates over the period. Surely a decade of ultra-low rates favours borrowers and most of them are young. Likewise, final salary pension schemes, dominated as they are by the older generation, have struggled to bring down their deficits as low...

February 28, 2018
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28Feb

Czech Republic. Government approves changes to pensions’ level

Old-age pensions of people over 85 will be increased by 1,000 crowns a month as of January 2019 based on an amendment to the pension law approved by the Czech cabinet on Tuesday. The bill is yet to go through the parliament. The bill brings a change to the fixed part of the pensions which is the same for everyone. It should be increased to 10 percent of the average salary from the current 9 percent. The national average pay is currently...

February 28, 2018
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28Feb

Ireland. From 2022, workers will be ‘auto enrolled’ on pension savings schemes

On a very snowy day for many parts of the country, the government has announced major changes to the pensions system in Ireland, with an automatic enrollment system one of its key features. From 2020, a new State pension system will come into place based on a “total contributions approach” where a person’s lifetime contribution will more closely match the benefit they receive. In the future, the government will aim to keep the state pension at a level of 34% of...

February 28, 2018
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27Feb

Retire at 55? In Brazil, It’s the Norm. But Can the Good Times Last?

In much of the world, workers would find it hard to imagine being able to retire at 55, earning 70 percent of their final salary for the rest of their lives. But in Brazil, that has been the norm for decades, which helps explain the abundance of silver-haired joggers along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro at 11 a.m. on a recent weekday. It also accounts for about a third of all government spending in Brazil, and contributed to a record...

February 27, 2018
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27Feb

Taiwan military veterans clash with police in pension protest

Protesters including senior military veterans pushed down a gate to Taiwan's parliament building Tuesday and clashed with police as they tried to storm in over pension cutbacks. One former colonel was in a critical condition in hospital after attempting to climb a wall and falling. The protests were sparked by government plans to reform the military pension system, part of a wider pension cutbacks programme which triggered mass protests last year. Legislators passed a pension reform bill last June, cutting...

February 27, 2018
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