October 2017

16Oct

UK. One in five FTSE 100 pension funds at risk of failure in a recession

One in five FTSE 100 ­defined benefit pension schemes would be at risk of failure if Britain entered ­another economic downturn, research reveals. In a “stressed” scenario – such as a recession – the combined pension deficits of the blue-chip index would jump by £100bn, equivalent to four years of pre-tax profits, according to a study by consultants Cardano and Lincoln Pensions. In such a scenario a fifth of FTSE 100 firms would face pension risks worth 30pc or more...

October 16, 2017
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16Oct

Pensions extended to workers in Thailand

Cambodian migrants in Thailand are to earn pension benefits as they work abroad, Labour Minister Ith Samheng has announced. Meeting workers in Thailand yesterday, Mr Samheng said the government was discussing ways to make sure that migrants get equal access to pensions when they returned home. He said that all private sector employees would be eligible to the same pension benefits as civil servants from 2019. The Ministry of Labour is now in talks with the Thai government over how to...

October 16, 2017
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16Oct

Canadian Pension Plan to invest up to US$500 million on data centres

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is investing up to US$350 million in data centres with Singapore’s Alpha Data Centre Fund (ADCF), with the option to invest another $150 million. CPPIB, the investment manager of Canada’s biggest pension plan, is teaming up with Singapore-based Alpha Investment Partners and data centre operator Keppel Data Centre Holdings (Keppel Data Centre) – both part of the city state’s Keppel Group – in the deal. The ADCF was launched in July 2016 by Alpha...

October 16, 2017
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16Oct

Australia. Robo-advisers to expand into retirement advice

ASAP chief executive Jim Hennington said he expects the scope of advice that’s provided by automated advice providers to SMSFs will further expand over the next year. “At the moment, [it’s] very much focused on the transactions that accountants tend to get deeply involved with such as establishing an SMSF, purchasing property and LRBAs, and setting up SMSF pensions,” said Mr Hennington. He expects that automated advice will soon expand beyond this, however, into services such as retirement advice. “Over time automated...

October 16, 2017
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16Oct

UK. Monarch collapse leaves yet another pension fund up in the air

Pensions are the tail wagging the economic dog – sometimes in the strangest ways. Take the high-profile collapse at Monarch Airlines. It’s a sorry story of corporate raiders facing accusations of asset-stripping one of the country’s largest holiday airline businesses and leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab. The once strong, if slightly dated, brand was taken over by private equity financiers to try to make it into another Ryanair. When that failed, it appears the owners could still walk away...

October 16, 2017
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13Oct

IMF Sees Fiscal Gap for Greece, Pension Cuts Might Come Sooner

The International Monetary Fund foresees a fiscal gap of 2.3 billion euros in the 2018 budget, which might mean that the pension cuts scheduled for January 1st, 2019 will be implemented earlier. Greek finance ministry sources downplay the IMF forecast claiming that all previous predictions by the Fund, have been overly pessimistic. However, the IMF forecast might delay the third review of the bailout program, which has to be completed by the end of the year. This generates uncertainty among...

October 13, 2017
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13Oct

Nigeria. Pension fund assets rise by N862bn

The latest report on the Nigerian pension fund administration, which was released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Pension Commission, indicated that the country’s pension fund assets increased by N862bn to N6.164tn as of December 31, 2016. According to the report, the N6.164tn pension fund assets represent six per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, as the figure indicates an increase of N862bn when compared to the N5.302tn recorded in 2015. It stated that a...

October 13, 2017
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13Oct

Trump health-care order could violate retirement plan law

President Donald Trump's plan to make it easier for small businesses to band together and buy stripped-down health insurance plans could violate a federal law governing employee benefit plans and will almost certainly be challenged in court, legal experts said. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at letting small businesses join nationwide associations for the purpose of buying large-group health plans that are not subject to coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Industry experts said...

October 13, 2017
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12Oct

UK chancellor: ‘Alive to the risk’ of post-Brexit insurance ‘uncertainties’

UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has said the government was “alive to the risk” that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union “could in some cases create legal uncertainties as to the status of existing cross-border insurance, pension and other financial services contracts sold under passporting arrangements”. The chancellor’s comments were contained in a letter dated 20 September, which was in response to an earlier written query on the part of Treasury select committee chairperson Nicky Morgan, and which became public...

October 12, 2017
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12Oct

Why ‘nudging’ works: People need a push when it comes to retirement savings

Studies show that we are living longer and retiring later, but too many of us are not adequately preparing for retirement. People who do not save for retirement often do not have access to an employer-run retirement program, do not understand how much money they will need to save, or lack the financial knowledge to make the best investment decisions. For many, working longer seems to be the new retirement strategy. There are many reasons why individuals do not always act...

October 12, 2017
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