September 2017

15Sep

South Africa’s pension fund chief says allegations he misused funds are spurious

The head of South Africa’s state-owned pension fund dismissed as spurious allegations made by a newspaper on Friday that he had misused funds and improperly raised salaries for some executives. Daniel Matjila has been chief executive officer of Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages nearly 2 trillion rand ($152.30 billion) of civil servants’ pensions, since 2014. He told Reuters he would meet board members later on Friday to discuss the allegations made by newspaper Business Day. “These are spurious allegations,”...

September 15, 2017
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15Sep

Greece. Private sector shouldering the burden, industrialists say

The union of Greek industrialists (SEV) has painted a dire picture of the state of the Greek pension system, saying basically that it is running on empty, and that the country’s beleaguered private sector has taken on a disproportionate share of the burden to support pensioners and the public sector. Given Greece’s low birth rates and rising life expectancy, the pension system is set to come under immense pressure in the coming decades. In its weekly report published on Thursday, SEV...

September 15, 2017
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14Sep

Canada. Québec’s largest pension fund turns to carbon budgets to address climate risks

Investment managers at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec have a new tool to help them account for the increased financial risks posed by climate change: Carbon budgets. These “budgets” allow managers to allocate a specific amount of carbon-dioxide emissions that might result from an investment decision, effectively setting limits on the carbon footprint of a manager’s portfolio. Within the carbon budget, “you have to make choices as to where you invest and how you invest because what we...

September 14, 2017
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14Sep

UK’s pension investment advisers to face full competition probe

Britain’s competition regulator has launched an investigation into investment consultants following concerns about conflicts of interest in an industry advising on the management of over 1.6 trillion pounds ($2 trillion) of pension and other funds. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday it has referred its concerns to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full investigation, the first time it has referred a case to the CMA as part of a broader effort to improve value for money and...

September 14, 2017
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14Sep

Polls show Swiss pension reform hangs in the balance

According to a survey by 20 Minutes publisher Tamedia, the reform will be narrowly rejected, with only 48 percent in favour of the plan and 49 percent against it. Three percent said they had not decided. However a second survey by research institute gfs.bern showed the reverse, with 51 percent in favour of the reforms, a slight decrease from the 53 percent who expressed support for the plan during the institute’s first survey in August. The vote takes place on...

September 14, 2017
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14Sep

US. Wiles: Why you shouldn’t tap into your retirement plan after disasters

In the wake of a disaster like Hurricanes Harvey or Irma, a job loss or other financial trauma, it's natural to look to 401(k)-style retirement plans or Individual Retirement Accounts for help. Retirement plans are among the largest sources of fairly liquid, non-housing money available to millions of Americans. They are tempting sources of ready cash. The Internal Revenue Service recently acknowledged as much, reminding Harvey victims with 401(k) accounts that they could tap these plans in a pinch. In fact, the IRS is relaxing certain retirement rules, making it easier...

September 14, 2017
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13Sep

US. IRS Allows Easier Access to Retirement Plan Funds for Hurricane Irma Victims

We previously posted regarding the retirement plan relief provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for victims of Hurricane Harvey pursuant to Announcement 2017-11. The IRS extended the same relief to victims of Hurricane Irma in Announcement 2017-13. The relief relaxes the rules that normally apply to restrict a plan participant’s access to qualified retirement plan funds. The relief is available to a plan participant who, on Sept. 4, 2017, had a principal residence or work location (or whose...

September 13, 2017
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13Sep

Zimbabwe. Rhodesian pensioners in SA ‘turn destitute’ as Mugabe govt ‘scraps payouts’

Zimbabwean pensioners who served under the Rhodesian government before relocating to South Africa have reportedly turned destitute after President Robert Mugabe's government "scrapped their payouts without explanation". According to NewsDay, an organisation set up to keep track of the affected pensioners and their welfare, Flame Lily Foundation, said its 300 members aged between 78 and 101 had been "dumped" by the Zimbabwean government. The pensioners were said to have relocated to South Africa at independence in 1980. "We established a project to...

September 13, 2017
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13Sep

UK. Judge attacks Department for Work and Pensions for failing to tackle benefits cheats

A judge has attacked the Department for Work and Pensions for failing to tackle benefits cheats and said he thinks they should be forced to pay back money sooner. Judge Nicholas Dean QC said long delays made it harder to send fraudsters to prison as prosecutions take several years to reach court. The wait means offenders are able to dispose of money and assets which could be seized by the Government and used to make up for the fraudulent payments,...

September 13, 2017
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13Sep

South Africa. Sweating pensions in the post-retirement phase

Only 6% of South Africans (about 3.4 million) are over the age of 65. On the other hand, in the United States 15% (46 million) are over the age of 65 and in the UK, 18% of the population (nearly 12 million) are over 65. Our political focus is quite rightly focussed on the needs of the youth. In developed countries relentlessly aging populations have forced governments to change the political agenda away from an exclusive focus on youth to...

September 13, 2017
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