December 2017

20Dec

Argentina leader defends pension reform approved in Congress

Argentina's president defended a pension reform bill approved by Congress Tuesday that has prompted violent protests and a general strike, saying it seeks only to benefit retirees. The measure passed in the lower house by a 127-117 vote after more than 12 hours of debate, much of which came as demonstrators clashed with police outside the chamber. The legislation, which had already cleared the Senate, would change the formula by which pension benefits are calculated, basing them largely on inflation instead...

December 20, 2017
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20Dec

The Pension Protection Fund aims to protect pensions – not management

By Nils Pratley It looks terrible for the Pension Protection Fund (PPF): the pensions lifeboat fund is planning to vote against a restructuring of the UK arm of Toys R Us, an action that could mean 3,200 people lose their jobs. On the company’s proposal, only 800 employees would depart and the others would resume the fight against Amazon’s invasion of the toy market. The PPF, however, is not to blame for this mess. Its hands are tied. The PPF’s jobis...

December 20, 2017
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20Dec

Toys R Us future in UK plunged into doubt over pension scheme

The retailer was told to put £9m into its struggling pension fund by the PPF in order for it to support the toy retailer's restructuring plan. Failure to agree a deal could put all its 3,200 staff at risk of redundancy. The PPF's Malcolm Weir said it believed it was "reasonable" to seek guarantees on the pension scheme's future. "Since the company lodged the CVA [company voluntary agreement] proposals we have spent significant time and effort, with the help of PwC,...

December 20, 2017
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20Dec

Ireland. Public service pension liability now stands at €114.5bn

The State’s bill for its 298,000 serving public servants, and a further 155,000 who have already retired, now stands at €114.5 billion. The figure, contained in the Department of Public Expenditure’s latest actuarial review of its pension liability in respect of public service workers, represents the value at the end of 2015 of all expected future payments to current and former staff. The figure has jumped 17 per cent from €98 billion in just three years since the last actuarial study...

December 20, 2017
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19Dec

Argentina Congress passes pension reform after protests, clashes

Argentina’s Congress passed a reform to the pension system early on Tuesday, after days of demonstrations by the bill’s opponents and violent clashes between protesters and police gripped the South American country. The reform, which is crucial to President Mauricio Macri’s efforts to slash the fiscal deficit and attract investment, changes the formula used to calculate benefits by linking them to consumer prices at a time of lower inflation expectations.It passed the lower chamber of deputies after an all-night debate...

December 19, 2017
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19Dec

Brazil tries to avert credit downgrade as pension reform doubts grow

Brazil’s Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles will speak to major credit rating agencies on Thursday as the government scrambles to avoid a sovereign debt downgrade due to growing doubts that its proposed pension reform can rein in surging public debt. A vote on the unpopular bill to overhaul the social security system, seen as vital to closing the fiscal deficit, has been delayed to 2018 after failing to muster support in Congress. Lawmakers have warned that handling the hot-button issue ahead...

December 19, 2017
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19Dec

How South Africa’s Steinhoff, owner of Freedom Furniture, cratered in two days

It looked like Steinhoff International Holdings had reached escape velocity from South Africa's deepening economic gloom: A furniture retailer emulating Ikea's model and global ambitions, built by men with their own compelling rags-to-riches stories. Then the debt-fuelled rocket stalled and came crashing down. From her office overlooking Cape Town's waterfront, Sygnia Investment Management chief executive Magda Wierzycka watched on her computer screen on December 6 as Steinhoff's shares began a two-day plunge that cut the price by 80 per cent and lopped some €10 billion ($15.3 billion) from its market value. Read...

December 19, 2017
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18Dec

Japanese pension fund to shoulder costs of Bank of Japan’s negative rate

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, has decided to shoulder the costs charged on its deposits under the central bank’s negative rate policy, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. GPIF entrusts its deposits to a trust bank arm of Mitsubishi Financial Group (8306.T), which had been wearing the cost of a 0.1 percent charge the BOJ imposes on a portion of excess reserves parked with the central bank. The Nikkei newspaper reported earlier that...

December 18, 2017
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18Dec

You should work for longer to get a higher pension – OECD

Workers who stay in employment beyond 66 would defer the full pension but claim higher payments when they finally do retire under a scheme outlined by the OECD. The international think tank warns the Irish pensions system is too "basic" and should offer more flexible payments. These would offer lower payments for those who keep working beyond 66, with the reward that they would receive higher benefits once they are fully retired. 'Pensions at a Glance 2017' said more reforms are needed...

December 18, 2017
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15Dec

Argentina Congress suspends pension reform vote due to protests

Argentina’s lower house on Thursday suspended a vote on President Mauricio Macri’s pension reform plan, after the debate became a shouting match and protesters and police clashed violently outside Congress. The bill, which passed the Senate last month, is crucial for Macri’s efforts to cut the fiscal deficit but has drawn criticism from opposition politicians and labor unions, who say it will hurt retirees and welfare recipients. Before Thursday’s scheduled vote, the country’s top union called a general strike for the...

December 15, 2017
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