September 2021
01Sep

Sustainability Gains In Asset Management, Led By Marketing

Asset managers are paying more attention to ESG — environmental, social and governance — concerns, according to a recent report from Northern Trust. “While many European markets have long made ESG a focus in their investment strategies, other mature markets in parts of North America and Asia have had a less straightforward approach,” Northern Trust reported, although recently Canadian asset managers have moved ahead of the U.S. “Alongside the pandemic, the summer of 2020 brought a global reckoning with racism, originating...

September 1, 2021
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01Sep

UK’s biggest pension scheme set to screen investments based on workforce diversity

The UK’s largest workplace pension scheme Nest has joined forces with the Church of England Pension Board to sign up to a new charter committing them to screen their investments taking account of gender and ethnicity diversity. It marks a significant step towards tackling the asset management industry’s serial image problem, namely, that they’re all male, pale and stale. A study run by investment data firm reveal more funds in the UK are run by men called Dave than by women. Now...

September 1, 2021
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01Sep

US. Indiana Public Retirement System posts net 23.1% return for fiscal year

Indiana Public Retirement System, Indianapolis, returned a preliminary net 23.1% for the fiscal year ended June 30. The preliminary net return of the system's $38 billion defined benefit plan was higher than its policy benchmark return of 22.4% in the year ended June 30 as well as in other reported time periods as of the same date. For the three, five and 10 years ended June 30, the DB plan returned preliminary annualized net returns of 10.7%, 9.9% and 7%, respectively,...

September 1, 2021
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August 2021
31Aug

Does the U.S. have a retirement crisis?

By Alicia H. Munnell At the end of a recent conference, the perennial question arose — once again — as to whether the United States faces a retirement crisis. Read also U.S. corporate pension funding rises in August – 2 reports I’ve never been wedded to the word “crisis,” but the Center’s National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) suggests that about half of today’s working-age households are at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement. While the...

August 31, 2021
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31Aug

Zimbabwe. NSSA closes accounts for widows

THE National Social and Security Authority (Nssa) has closed accounts for widows and widowers, triggering an outcry. In an interview yesterday, Masvingo Pensioners Forum co-ordinator Charles Gonzi described the move as inconsiderate. "Nssa closed accounts for those with deceased husbands and wives who could not register on time. We were told we needed to bring our children regardless of where we are coming from. In this COVID-19 pandemic, movement is very difficult. How are people supposed to travel in this environment?"...

August 31, 2021
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31Aug

India. Pensioners’ body urges Govt to exempt pension from income tax; seeks PM’s intervention

Pensioners' body Bharatiya Pensioners Manch has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exempt pension from income tax to provide relief to the senior citizens in the country. In a letter shot off to the Prime Minister on August 25 this year, the body argued that if the pensions of the Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies are not taxable, then why does the government levy income tax on the pension of retired employees. "Every retired person is paid pension...

August 31, 2021
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30Aug

Plan for early pension access in South Africa could do more harm than good, authorities warn

Financial authorities have warned that the proposed Pensions Funds Amendment Bill could have a harmful impact on financial savings in South Africa. The bill, which was tabled by the opposition Democratic Alliance, will allow retirement fund members to access a portion of their savings in cash before retirement as a guarantee for a loan. The bill makes provision for this by amending the current Pension Funds Act to allow pension fund members to obtain a loan, secured by a guarantee from...

August 30, 2021
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30Aug

UK. Govt encouraged to make CDC pensions more flexible to improve take-up

The government should make the framework for collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes more flexible to encourage take-up and make it fairer for younger members, according to LCP. The firm’s response to the government consultation on CDC regulations said further flexibility was needed due to the framework having been drafted with the Royal Mail scheme in mind, leaving sponsors who may wish to explore different benefit structures facing limited options. Read also UK’s biggest pension scheme set to screen investments based on...

August 30, 2021
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Students demand that teacher pension fund revoke fossil-fuel investments
30Aug

US. Students demand that teacher pension fund revoke fossil-fuel investments

More than 500 Bay Area high school students gathered outside the San Francisco Federal Building on 7th Street Friday before marching down Market Street to City Hall, calling on the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the state’s pension fund for California public school teachers, to divest its investment holdings in fossil fuel companies. They pointed out that that California’s wildfires demonstrate the need to reduce emissions. “This climate strike has been going on for years, but we’re feeling the effects of climate...

August 30, 2021
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27Aug

UK. 10m pensioners risk running out of money — poll

Nearly 10m British pension savers risk running out of money in retirement because they do not know how to make their savings last, according to new analysis which sheds fresh light on the complex choices facing retirees. In 2015, big changes to tax rules handed millions aged 55 and over full control over how they access their retirement cash, including spending the fund in one go. But a new study has found that faced with this increased choice, large numbers of...

August 27, 2021
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