July 2021
16Jul

Private Retirement Systems and Sustainability: Insights from Australia, the UK, and the US

By Nathan Fabian, Mikael Homanen, Nikolaj Pedersen & Morgan Slebos Retirement system sustainability is defined as the ability of plan boards and managers to be responsible investors, active stewards, and allocators of capital to economic activities with desirable social and environmental outcomes. In this paper, we examine the policy frameworks and important structural variables pertinent to private retirement systems in Australia, the UK, and the US. By analyzing various reports, interviewing experts, and using data from the Principles of Responsible...

July 16, 2021
Articles, Investment, System Sustainability, , , ,
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08Jul

From welfare to farewell: the European social-ecological state beyond economic growth

By European Trade Union Institute RPS Submitter, Eloi Laurent This working paper is intended to shed light on a pressing issue: the apparent growth-dependency of European welfare states at a time of weak growth prospects and strong criticisms of growth. Indeed, while the notion of going beyond GDP growth is gaining momentum in the European Union, as elsewhere, and seems rational and desirable to a growing number of citizens and policymakers, it might not be feasible. Highlighting a new ‘welfare-growth-transition...

July 8, 2021
Articles, Pension Management, System Sustainability, , ,
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08Jul

Towards equity and sustainability? China’s pension system reform moves center stage

By Li Yang In this paper I review the latest development of China’s public pension system. Last several decades saw China’s tremendous achievement in various public pension reforms. Especially since the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), reform has accelerated. By 2019, the public pension system in China has covered almost one billion adults, which makes it the biggest pension system in the world. Together with the expansion of Dibao (Basic living allowance) and the eradication of poverty, the development of pension...

July 8, 2021
Aging, Articles, System Sustainability, , , ,
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02Jul

sigma 2/2021 – Emerging markets

By Viola Wang,Jessie Guo, Mahesh H Puttaiah, Caroline De Souza Rodrigues Cabral and Xin Dai Emerging markets worldwide are ageing fast. By 2050, these nations will be home to almost 80% of the world's population aged 65 and above. Yet on average only about 30% of their workers are covered by any sort of formal retirement income scheme. As their old-age-dependency ratios (the population above 65 years old relative to the working-age population of 15 to 64 years old) rise...

July 2, 2021
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02Jul

Pension Funding Index June 2021

By Zorast Wadia and Charles J. Clark The Milliman 100 PFI funded ratio increases to 98.8% as investment gains counter the effects of discount rate decreases The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans increased by $8 billion during May as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). As of May 31, the deficit improved to $21 billion from $29 billion at the end of April due to strong investment performance. The funded status improvement...

July 2, 2021
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June 2021
22Jun

Pension Funds and Financial Repression

By Richard Mark Davis, Fiona Stewart, Peter Knaack Pension funds in some economies are used as a captive audience to channel capital at below market rates to government. This policy is only one tool in the financial repression toolkit, but it is receiving increased attention as governments around the world struggle to increase fiscal space and reduce their sovereign debt burden as they rebuild their economies after the pandemic. First, this paper provides an analysis of financial repression using pension funds...

June 22, 2021
Articles, System Sustainability, ,
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17Jun

EIB Investment Report 2020/2021: Building a smart and green Europe in the COVID-19 era

By European Investment Bank The European Union's massive efforts to rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic present a unique opportunity to transform its economy, making it more green and digital – and ultimately more competitive. The Investment Report 2020-2021 looks at the toll the pandemic took on European firms’ investment and future plans, as well as their efforts to meet the demands of climate change and the digital revolution. The report’s analysis is based on a unique set of databases and...

June 17, 2021
Books, Investing, System Sustainability, , ,
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17Jun

Sustainable Pensions, Democratic Governance, and EU Law

By Ewan McGaughey The quality of democracy in our economy depends on the governance of capital, but Europeans are still deprived of real voice over their retirement money: the single biggest source of capital in the 21st century. This paper outlines three major problems facing EU pensions: precarious retirement, escalating inequality, and mounting climate damage. These problems start with the places where we work, the institutions that control our retirement savings, and the votes on shares that come with them....

June 17, 2021
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11Jun

Public Pension Schemes in Seven European Countries: A Micro-Simulation Approach

By Hand Hansen The idea of this book is to provide insight into the composition and structure of public pension and early retirement schemes in seven European countries, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. The component and structural analyses are based on micro simulation models, which, after validation of the models, makes it possible to perform a great number of precise calculations in a very short time and to present the results in graphical form, close...

June 11, 2021
Books, System Sustainability, , ,
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04Jun

Central Falls’ Bankruptcy and the Principle of Shared Pain

By James Tatum The small city of Central Falls, Rhode Island filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2011, with five other cities. The case could have easily been overshadowed by the insolvency of other sizable jurisdictions. Instead, Central Falls’ case is particular in both the treatment of bondholders and pensioners – one class of creditors was completely protected, while the other suffered deep cuts. The purpose of this article is to examine the method used to distribute losses in Central...

June 4, 2021
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