August 2021

What’s the Ideal Asset Mix in Retirement? Is It 70/30? 60/40?

My wife and I are approaching retirement, and our financial adviser is recommending that we put about 70% of our nest egg in stocks and about 30% in bonds. This approach seems risky to me. Is it? My preferred mix is about 60/40. We hear questions frequently about asset allocation and pinpointing an optimal mix. The easy answer is: It depends. It depends, among other factors, on your ages, income from other sources (like Social Security and maybe a pension),...

UK pension funds urged to back investment ‘big bang’

Boris Johnson has called on British pension funds to plough more retirement savers’ cash into UK assets to spark an “investment big bang” to support the economic recovery. In a letter to the investment industry, the prime minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak said UK institutional investors needed to “seize the moment” and use their “hundreds of billions of pounds” to back assets that often carry a longer term payback such as infrastructure, which includes bridges, roads and wind farms. Read also...

US. Government to pilot online retirement application

By Jessie Bur Federal employees planning to retire may soon have the option to complete the requirements using an online system, rather than through the paper format most widely used across the U.S. government. Office of Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja told reporters on an Aug. 4 call that the agency will pilot an online retirement application system to address some short-term problems with the federal retirement system, namely slow processing times. Modernization of the federal retirement system has been a central...

1 in 3 Singaporeans are worried about retirement inadequacy and 45% have yet to start planning: Endowus Singapore Retirement Report 2021

39% of Singaporeans are worried about retirement inadequacy, with women being at higher risk of retirement inadequacy than men 72% of Singaporeans desire higher returns for their investments, but despite that, only 25% are currently investing their CPF 31% of Singaporeans have indicated that they would like assistance in the form of tools to help them understand the impact of financial decisions around CPF SINGAPORE, Aug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Endowus Singapore Retirement Report reveals that retirement inadequacy...

US. Best retirement plans for the self-employed

Retirement plans for the self-employed range from the good to the outrageously good, and can allow you to save much more than you ever could with a traditional employer. A well-chosen retirement plan can allow entrepreneurs and the self-employed to bankroll a bright retirement. The self-employed have several plan options, including defined contribution plans such as a solo 401(k), SEP IRA and SIMPLE IRA. But they also have some defined benefit options, too. Here are the details on some of the...

US. Lockheed Martin offloads $4.9 billion in pension liabilities

Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md., purchased group annuity contracts from Athene Holding Ltd. to transfer about $4.9 billion in U.S. pension plan liabilities. The purchase completed Tuesday will transfer the benefit-paying responsibilities for about 18,000 U.S. retirees and beneficiaries to Athene's wholly owned subsidiaries Athene Annuity and Life Co. and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, a news release from the aerospace and defense company said Tuesday. The Athene subsidiaries will begin paying benefits to the retirees and...

Intergenerational inequality and pension systems

By CAndreas Charalambous and Omiros Pissarides he issue of income inequality lies at the heart of political discussions, both at EU and worldwide levels. Inequality manifests itself in different forms – inequality within a country, inequality between countries and intergenerational inequality. Today’s article deals with the issue of intergenerational inequality, aiming at safeguarding a satisfactory quality of life for future generations, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable citizens. The main policy instrument for this purpose is the adaptation of pension systems. Modern...

UK pension funds commit to manager diversity

Some of the UK's biggest pension funds have committed to tackling the lack of diversity in funds management. The Asset Owner Diversity Working Group has launched the Asset Owner Diversity Charter, which aims to "build and investment industry which embodies a more balanced representation of diverse societies". "The charter reflects asset owners' aspirations to see diversity balance at all levels across financial services firms," the group said. "A balanced workforce is good for business - it is good for consumers, for profitability...

How can the retirement system help more people afford retirement?

You don’t have to be a mechanic to drive a car, and you shouldn’t have to be a financial expert to prepare for a secure and adequate retirement. In a nutshell, that’s the theme of a new book we edited and contributed to, Wealth after work: Innovative reforms to enhance retirement security. We propose a variety of ways to make the current retirement system work better for the majority of American workers. A better-working retirement system should provide broader and more...

World’s biggest pension fund makes record cut to U.S. bond weighting

The Government Pension Investment Fund made a record cut to the weighting of Treasuries in its portfolio last fiscal year as the world’s safest asset led a global debt selloff. Read also US. Pandemic not stopping workers from contributing to retirement plans GPIF, as the world’s biggest pension fund is known, lowered U.S. government bonds and bills to 35% of its foreign debt holdings in the 12 months ended March, from 47% previously, according to an analysis by Bloomberg of the...