May 2021
26May

US. Forensic Investigation Of Chicago Police Pension Fund Underway

The Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund (PABF) —commonly referred to as the Chicago Police Pension Fund—is one of the worst funded public pension plans in the United States today, with a funding ratio of only 23 percent. A group of retired and disabled officers, along with widows, has long questioned the trustees and management of the struggling pension. Dissatisfied with the responses they received, the group formed the CPD Pension Board Accountability Group. Funds were raised to commission an independent...

May 26, 2021
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25May

US. New York City Pensions to Fund $250 Million Apartment Venture

For New York City’s pension funds, there’s no time like now to invest in new apartments. The two largest retirement systems -- covering public school teachers and municipal employees -- are teaming up with developer Hudson Cos., to allocate $250 million for construction of middle-income housing in the city and surrounding suburbs, the developer said. The pensions will commit $243.75 million of that equity, which will be leveraged to build as many as 10 projects or 2,000 units, said Joe Riggs,...

May 25, 2021
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25May

UK. Pension fee shake-up

Proposals include introducing a threshold of £100 or below which a person cannot be charged a flat fee by their pensions provider, helping limit the erosion of small pot pensions and protect savers. This will stop pensions worth £100 or less and invested in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment being gradually whittled away by the fees, a situation commonly faced by people who change jobs frequently or take up short-term contracts. Minister for Pensions, Guy Opperman said: We...

May 25, 2021
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25May

Dutch manager APG forms joint venture to help ABP invest in Chilean forests

Dutch pensions provider APG formed a joint venture on behalf of its largest pension fund client to invest in forests in Chile. On behalf of the €495.3 billion ($601.5 billion) ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands, APG formed the company with British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and South American investment bank BTG Pactual's timber investment group. BCI has C$171.3 billion ($141.4 billion) in AUM. The new venture will invest $385.5 million in forestry in Chile, owning more than 80,000 hectares of Chilean forest across...

May 25, 2021
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24May

Ireland. Bringing order to a fragmented pensions landscape

The transposition into Irish law of the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) II directive at the end of April represented a game changing event for Irish pensions, says PwC pensions partner Munro O’Dwyer. Ireland has more than 100,000 pension schemes, the majority of them one-person arrangements, and the net effect of the new rules could be to reduce that number to less than 200. That rationalisation will be prompted by the increased regulatory obligations and costs imposed on pension schemes. IORP...

May 24, 2021
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24May

UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions

One in five savers in the UK have three or more pension pots, while almost half (47 per cent) have two or more, according to research commissioned by Hargreaves Lansdown. The study, conducted by Opinium, also found that less than a quarter (24 per cent) had ever transferred a pension. Men were more likely to have transferred a pension, with 26 per cent of male respondents having done so, compared to 22 per cent of women. However, Hargreaves Lansdown noted that it...

May 24, 2021
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24May

Bulgaria. Average Salary shows significant growth and pensions with it

The average salary registered over 10 percent growth year-on- year.On the other hand, the share of remuneration from work in the overall household budgets has shrunk, while the share of incomes from pensions and social benefits has grown. Despite the reported growth of the average salary up to BGN 1,500, this does not apply to all sectors of the economy. Traditionally, the highest incomes are in the information and communication technologies and in the health sphere - due to the...

May 24, 2021
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24May

UK. Top British companies forced to pump £200bn into pension schemes to prop them up, figures reveal

Top British companies have been forced to pump £200billion into their pension schemes to avoid a drop in funding, figures reveal. Read also UK pension asset owners join Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Law firm Lane Clark & Peacock said the sum – equivalent to the economic output of Czechia – was needed to counter tumbling share prices and bond yields. Read also UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions It warned that firms were 'running just to stand still' and that...

May 24, 2021
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20May

African Demographics Changing Rapidly, Forcing To Re-Think Pensions

Africa has long been known for its youthful population, and while the continent will continue to have the largest youth cohort in the world, they’ll live longer than their forebearers, according to the latest Bright Africa pensions research from RisCura, a global investment firm. Read also Investing in an Ageing Population The research shows that longevity expectations have changed dramatically, thanks to better nutrition, medical advances and overall improvements in the general standard of living. Read also Shock retirement numbers for South...

May 20, 2021
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20May

Pensions in Germany to rise by average of 5 percent next year

After seeing their benefits stagnate in 2021 due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, pensioners in Germany can look forward to an increase next year. The government is also changing the way benefits are calculated, which could mean a permanent increase for pensions in Germany. More money in German pensioners’ pockets Every year, the German federal government makes a so-called pension adjustment (Rentenanpassung), based on the development of salaries in the previous year. A few weeks ago it was...

May 20, 2021
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