September 2017

29Sep

UN’s $61 Billion Pension Fund Starts Search for New Management

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants to overhaul management of the global body’s $61 billion pension fund after three years of underperforming returns and contentious delays in paying retirees. The UN Joint Staff Pension Fund is seeking candidates with “more than 20 years of proven progressively responsible experience” to replace Carolyn Boykin, the former chief investment officer of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, who took the UN post three years ago, according to an internal job posting seen...

September 29, 2017
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28Sep

UK. Millions may lose promised pension payout

Three million savers in defined benefit pension schemes only have a 50/50 chance of receiving the payouts they were promised, a study has concluded. Some employers were under pressure to meet their pension obligations, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) said. High-profile cases such as the BHS collapse have highlighted concerns over the future of workplace pensions. The PLSA said one solution could be the pooling of resources into "superfunds". This would allow companies to pay a fee to transfer...

September 28, 2017
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28Sep

South Africa’s $143b pension fund safe from state abuse, says minister

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on Wednesday assured South Africans that funds in the hands of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) are safe, contrary to allegations that his office is considering tapping into US$143 billion of state pension funds to finance failing state-owned firms.”I want to assure all South Africans, and every pension holder that their pensions are safe and there is absolutely no attempt to dig into their pensions for reasons that are unscrupulous,” Gigaba said. The minister’s assurance was...

September 28, 2017
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28Sep

UK. Consultants back ESG initiative for pension schemes

The UK pensions regulator’s guidance that pension schemes take into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors where they are financially material received a boost from investment consultants. Twelve investment consultant firms have agreed to ensure clients are made aware of The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) guidance. The firms are Allenbridge, Aon Hewitt, Barnett Waddingham, bfinance, Cardano, Hymans Robertson, JLT Employee Benefits, Lane Clark & Peacock LLP, Mercer, Quantum Advisory, Redington and Willis Towers Watson. In a joint statement they said:“We believe...

September 28, 2017
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27Sep

Soaring EU pensions could add £10bn to Brexit bill, accounts reveal

Britain is under pressure to add £10 billion to its Brexit bill to cover the soaring pensions of retired EU civil servants, new accounts have revealed. European Union figures published this week show that the cost of pensions liabilities rose by 5.4 per cent last year to a total of £59bn (€67bn). The overall budget liabilities the UK is expected to pay a share of -  as part of the financial settlement - has also risen from €226bn to €234bn. Earlier this week...

September 27, 2017
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27Sep

US. 6 ways retirement benefits will change in the next decade

In the coming decade, retirement benefits for the average American will change. Simple math dictates it: More than 9,000 Americans reach the retirement age of 65 every day, and they will need more money in retirement because people are living longer, healthier lives. One number sums up the nature of the challenge facing the aging Americans and our government in Washington. According to the Urban Institute, in 2010, there were 0.25 adults age 65 and older for every adult aged...

September 27, 2017
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26Sep

CPPIB allocates $1 billion for Indian public market investments

Not all foreign funds are balking at Indian equities -spooked by rich valuations, slow corporate earnings or at the growing prospects of interest rate hikes in the US. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the most active Canadian investor in India, has just reaffirmed its commitment, by allocating a dedicated $1-billion corpus, exclusively for public market investments, said multiple sources aware. As one of the 10 largest retirement funds in the world, the initial thesis of CPPIB has been to...

September 26, 2017
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26Sep

Nigeria. The Senate and the risky politics of pension

There is an ongoing debate on reforming pensions, yet again, in Nigeria. Since 2004, Nigeria has largely adopted the contributory pension scheme. But as years go by, this system has continued to be gradually chipped away. One of the currently debated bills, which is making its way into an Act, seeks to amend the 2014 Pension Reform Act to exclude the following members from the contributory pension scheme: the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the...

September 26, 2017
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26Sep

Anxiety, depression can diminish retirement savings

Psychological distress can take a toll on more than just health. It can also significantly damage nest eggs, according to a new study by a Cornell financial economist and her co-author. Mental health problems can have a large negative effect on retirement savings, the study found. Three factors make the research even more meaningful, the authors say: People increasingly are living longer, dealing with more psychological distress, and shouldering the burden of saving for retirement without the help of employers. The...

September 26, 2017
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25Sep

Swiss voters reject raising women’s retirement age

Swiss voters rejected raising women’s retirement age to 65 in a referendum on Sunday on shoring up the wealthy nation’s pension system as a wave of Baby Boomers stops working. Authorities pushing the first serious reform of the pension system in two decades had warned that old-age benefits were increasingly at risk as life expectancy rises and interest rates remain exceptionally low, cutting investment yields. But it fell by a margin of 53-47 percent, sending the government back to the...

September 25, 2017
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