October 2021

International Day of Older Persons is October 1

On Dec. 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly designed Oct. 1 as the International Day of Older Persons. There have been earlier initiatives, such as the Vienna International Plan of Action on Aging, which was adopted in 1982 by the World Assembly on Aging and later that year by the UN General Assembly. In 1991, the United Nations Principles for Older Persons was adopted, followed by the Second World Assembly on Aging adopting the Madrid International Plan of...

These are the key differences between 401(k) and Roth IRA retirement plans

This story is part of CNBC Make It’s One-Minute Money Hacks series, which provides easy, straightforward tips and tricks to help you understand your finances and take control of your money. If you’re thinking about starting to save for retirement, chances are good that you are looking at both Roth IRA and 401(k) plans. Both offer tax benefits and can help you grow your wealth over time, but there are several key differences between the two. The biggest one? When...

Pension funds acquire forestry asset

Two European pension funds are set to purchase a 62% share in a timber producer in New Zealand. APG Asset Management on behalf of its Dutch pension fund client ABP, and the UK's Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have entered an agreement to purchase Sinotrans New Zealand's shareholding in Wenita Forest Products. Wenita is the largest timber producer in Otago, New Zealand and spans almost 30,000 hectares of sustainably managed forests. It is recognised as one of the premier softwood plantation assets...

Number of pension age Germans projected to increase 22 pct by 2035: Destatis

The number of people of retirement age in Germany will rise by 22 percent by 2035, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. The number of people aged 67 or over in the country will go up to 20 million, a 22 percent increase from 2020, the first medium-term population projection conducted by Destatis showed. The head of the Federal Employment Agency, Detlef Scheele, was quoted in the media as saying in August that Germany needed 400,000 new workers per...

Ghana. NPRA targets to rope in 11 million workers into pension schemes

Mr Alhassan Yakubu Fuseini, the Tamale Zonal Manager of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), says the Authority plans to rope in 11 million workers in the formal sector onto pension schemes. He said as the NPRA works to achieve its target, it would also ensure that coverage for the informal sector was increased from the current three per cent to 40 per cent by 2026. “In order to meet this goal, it will be critical for the pension sector actors...

Uber to Begin Rolling Out Pensions to 70,000 UK Drivers

More than seven months after the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers are not self-employed and thus are entitled to a retirement savings plan, the ride-sharing firm said it will begin offering pensions to its 70,000 drivers working in the country. The move will cost the ride-sharing firm millions of pounds in missed pension payments that stretch back as far as 2107. The company had previously deemed its drivers independent self-employed contractors, part of an ongoing struggle in...

September 2021

Should regulators take the lead on ESG in pensions?

The extent to which financial regulators should get involved in setting environmental, social and governance requirements is a hot topic, with some experts arguing that involvement could stifle innovation. In a recent twitter poll, Pensions Expert asked its readers whether or not regulators should take the lead on ESG within asset management. The result reflected how divisive the issue is in the industry. The poll revealed 53.6 per cent of respondents felt regulators should intervene to meet demand for standardisation across...

Japan’s GPIF won’t buy China’s sovereign debt

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's largest pension fund, said it won't include yuan-denominated Chinese sovereign debt in its portfolio. The decision comes as FTSE Russell is set to start adding Chinese debt to its benchmark global bond index, which the GPIF follows, starting in October. The pension fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond index that excludes Chinese government bonds, Hiroshi Nagaoka, an official at the pension fund, told Bloomberg News. Minutes from a July...

UK. Pensions department faces ‘serious questions’ over non-payments

By Kevin Peachey A saga over unpaid state pensions means the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should face "serious questions" about its work, a leading MP has said. Thousands of people reaching the state pension age of 66 have applied for their state pension, but have not received any money. The backlog has been blamed on pandemic workload and staffing issues. Stephen Timms, who chairs the Work and Pensions select committee, said the issue would be raised with ministers. "There are clearly serious...

Pension fund and other investors with $4 trln assets aim to tackle Asian firms on climate change goals

A group of six investors with a combined $4 trillion of assets under management, including Fidelity International, said on Wednesday it aims to step up engagement with big Asian companies like banks and energy producers to ensure they have a road map to meet climate change targets. Initial engagement will focus on carbon risk and coal at banks and coal-exposed power companies, the group of investors, facilitated by Singapore-based advisor Asia Research & Engagement (ARE), said in a statement. The move...