August 2017

15Aug

UK. Pension rights after a TUPE transfer

The legislation governing transfers of employment originally attempted to exclude pension rights from the scope of a transfer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). Regulation 10 of TUPE states that the general employment protection provided on a TUPE transfer does not apply to “so much of a contract of employment or a collective agreement as relates to an occupational pension scheme”. The regulation states that rights that do not relate to “old age, invalidity...

August 15, 2017
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15Aug

This person asked the internet if it was necessary to save so much for retirement — the response was surprising

When VintageBurtMacklin, as the Reddit user goes by, asked why everyone is advised to “save so much for retirement” — and if it is really the right move — the commenters of the personal finance thread of the online discussion site responded in full force. Apparently, they have been paying attention to the news of the looming retirement crisis affecting the country. VintageBurtMacklin shared his scenario: he took a new job after welcoming a new baby, and analyzed his budget, keeping...

August 15, 2017
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15Aug

UK. Home Industry Life Lloyds Bank… Lloyds Bank may expand into pensions and wealth management

UK high street bank Lloyds, which owns Scottish Widows, may be about to announce a major push into pension and investment products as part of a three-year growth plan. The Financial Times reported over the weekend that the bank was looking to capitalise on its position as Britain’s only integrated high street bancassurer, which allows it to provide wealth and retirement services to its retail customer base. Mario Mazzocchi, a pensions and investment director at Lloyds’ Scottish Widows business, told the...

August 15, 2017
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15Aug

Danish Government raises retirement age as benefits system continues to prosper

Africa Infrastructure Fund I focus on investments in infrastructure, especially in the area of transportation and energy, in Africa. The fund will facilitate investments to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in Africa and at the same time deliver an attractive return to its investors. The fund will be open for Danish as well as international investors for the next 12 months. It has a targeted lifetime of 10 years and has an initial target of 10 to 15 investments...

August 15, 2017
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15Aug

Taiwan. Presidential Office: There will be no place for protests against unfair-pension reform at Taipei Universiade

The Office of the President, ROC (Taiwan) said on Sunday that there will be no place for people who intend to express their political views by causing disturbances at Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade. According to media reports, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will be attending the Taipei Universiade opening ceremony on August 19. However, rumors have spread that several groups opposing the government's policy to reform the country's unfair pension system are planning to stage protests outside the venue of the opening...

August 15, 2017
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14Aug

UK. Eye on the fees: State pension funds are getting better management

It’s a start. Keep going. That was the message that state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale and state Treasurer Joe Torsella last week gave to the State Employees’ Retirement System, which operates the pension fund for retired state workers. While SERS’ efforts to spend less money on managers has borne fruit — it shelled out $167 million last year, compared to $345 million in 2007 — Mr. DePasquale issued an audit urging the system to cut some more. Mr. Torsella issued a...

August 14, 2017
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14Aug

HSBC fund arm eyes mainland China pension market, new Silk Road projects

HSBC Global Asset Management is planning to expand into more Asian markets with a focus on pension fund management and infrastructure investments arising from Beijing’s new Silk Road projects, according to the regional head of the company. “We would like to expand into new markets in Asia where we have achieve double digit year-on-year growth in terms of assets under distribution over the last three years,” said Pedro Bastos, chief executive of Hong Kong and regional head of Asia-Pacific, HSBC...

August 14, 2017
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14Aug

UK. Poverty risk in old age from pension ignorance

People are putting themselves at risk of poverty in old age by failing to properly calculate their pensions, a state watchdog has warned. Ger Deering, the pensions ombudsman, has expressed concern that many workers are finding themselves with inadequate provisions because they do not put enough time and effort into understanding their retirement packages. “In our experience many scheme members are not familiar enough with the terms applying under their pension scheme or the basis of computing benefits,” Mr Deering...

August 14, 2017
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11Aug

UK pension risk transfer to re/insurers to reach £700 billion by 2032

Demand for bulk annuity buy-ins is expected to quadruple over the next 15 years as £700 billion worth of defined benefit pension scheme liabilities are expected to be passed to insurers by 2032, according to a Hymans Robertson report. Around one-third of current defined benefit (DB) pension risk schemes are expected to reach self-sufficiency over the next 15 years as UK firms increasingly look to offload this risk, the report found. James Mullins, Head of risk transfer buy-out solutions at Hymans...

August 11, 2017
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11Aug

Canada. Union takes over aerospace plant in Milton, Ont., to protest pension shortfalls

The union representing workers at an aerospace plant in Milton, Ont., says its members have occupied the facility and stopped production in protest of pension cuts. Scott McIlmoyle, president of Unifor Local 112, says they entered the Northstar Aerospace west of Toronto at about 4 a.m. Thursday. He says the shutdown is in response to Northstar refusing to fund a 24 per cent shortfall in workers’ pensions at the plant. The union says the company has announced the relocation of the Milton...

August 11, 2017
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