March 2022
09Mar

Russia. Putin signs law allowing government to quickly raise pensions – RIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing his government to quickly raise pensions, part of a set of anti-crisis measures after Russia was hit by a wave of economic sanctions over Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday. Read also UK. Pension Protection Fund pulls out of Russia Read also UK pension funding levels prove resilient in February despite the crisis in Ukraine Another new initiative signed into law by Putin gave individuals and small- and medium-sized businesses the...

March 9, 2022
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09Mar

US. This Is The Best Kept Secret In Retirement Planning & It’s About To Make Retirement More Expensive & Complicated

Looking past the gas pump to me on the other side, a 60-something year old woman states, “I waited a long time for this.” Jiggling the nozzle out from my tank, “What’s that?” I ask. She replies blandly, “Retirement.” Continuing, as if speaking to a larger invisible audience, she points up to the pump price sign and shakes her head saying, “With these prices, I just don’t know.” Fuel prices, and transportation costs generally, are on the rise for all of us....

March 9, 2022
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09Mar

UK pension funds increasingly look into impact investing

UK pension schemes seem to be taking impact investing increasingly into consideration, more specifically social infrastructure and affordable housing. According to a survey conducted by Pensions for Purpose and sponsored by Big Society Capital researching UK pension funds with total assets under management of around £150bn (€180bn), more than 50% of schemes hold some form of impact investment which focuses on positive social or environmental outcomes as well as financial returns. It also shows that 90% of respondents are looking to...

March 9, 2022
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08Mar

U.K. pension regulator calls for vigilance over Russia risks

U.K. pension fund trustees should be "vigilant" about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions might affect them, The Pensions Regulator cautioned in a March 4 guidance. TPR recognized that some trustees and their advisers have already been reviewing their exposure risks, and set expectations for those reviews. "We expect you to be vigilant and talk to your advisers about any action which you may need to take, depending on your scheme's investment, risk management or employer covenant exposures,"...

March 8, 2022
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08Mar

Why women’s pensions need more attention to reach equality

By Helen Morrissey International Women’s Day asks us to imagine a world free of bias and look towards a more equitable future. Equal pay and financial prospects are integral to this but remain an area where women continue to struggle as they remain significantly lower paid than men. This issue affects women throughout their working lives and leaves them retiring with a total pension income that is on average a whopping 37.9 per cent less than men. This is more than...

March 8, 2022
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US. Funding ratio of ‘$20 billion club' rises to 93.8% in 2021
08Mar

US. Funding ratio of ‘$20 billion club’ rises to 93.8% in 2021

The average funding ratio of 19 U.S. publicly listed corporations with more than $20 billion in global pension fund liabilities totaled 93.8% at the end of 2021, up from 86.2% at the start of the year, according to a report from Russell Investments. The impressive increase in the average funding ratio for the "$20 billion club" was attributed primarily to an increase in the discount rate of about 35 basis points, said the report released Monday. Positive investment returns also contributed...

March 8, 2022
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Labour Ministry launches ‘Donate-a-Pension’ initiative: Check details
08Mar

India. Labour Ministry launches ‘Donate-a-Pension’ initiative: Check details

Union Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav launched the 'Donate-a-Pension' program under Pradhan Mantri Shram on Monday. This move is to make the process of creating and contributing to a pension fund for support staff easier. Union Labour and Employment Minister, Bhupendra Yadav tweet, “Launched ‘Donate-a-Pension’ programme at my residence by donating to the gardener. It is an initiative under (PM-SYM) pension scheme where citizens can donate the premium contribution of their immediate support staff such as domestic workers, drivers,...

March 8, 2022
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UK pension funding levels prove resilient in February despite the crisis in Ukraine
08Mar

UK pension funding levels prove resilient in February despite the crisis in Ukraine

UK pension funding levels prove resilient in February despite the crisis in Ukraine XPS's DB:UK funding tracker reveals that total scheme assets fell by £25bn over the month to 28 February 2022 reflecting the significant impact on global markets of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. UK pension scheme deficits against long-term funding targets increased relatively modestly by £7bn over the month to 28 February 2022. Liabilities fell as gilt yields continued to rise for the first half of February after the Bank...

March 8, 2022
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07Mar

IMF Sees ‘Severe Impact’ on Global Economy From War, Sanctions

The International Monetary Fund warned Russia’s war with Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed upon President Vladimir Putin’s country will have a “severe impact” on the global economy. “While the situation remains highly fluid and the outlook is subject to extraordinary uncertainty, the economic consequences are already very serious,” the Washington-based lender said in a statement on Saturday. Food and energy prices have surged in recent days and supply chains have frayed, adding to the inflationary pressures that policy makers were...

March 7, 2022
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07Mar

The Complex Formulas Of Responsible Investing

By William Baldwin Distinguishing good from evil on Wall Street is a challenge. Be grateful there are analysts doing most of the homework for you. An ethical portfolio excludes the shares of irresponsible companies. Which ones are those? Once upon a time that was a fairly simple matter. A handful of mutual funds had portfolios omitting certain industries, such as weapons, alcohol and tobacco. Today, separating good equities from sinful ones is an industry unto itself. There are thousands of analysts at work...

March 7, 2022
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