September 2018

28Sep

Kenya. Pension schemes pool resources to fund infrastructure projects

Pension schemes under their newly-formed umbrella body, the Kenya Pension Fund Investment Consortium is eyeing big-ticket investment projects by pooling their resources. Zamara Group Chief Executive Officer Sundeep Raichura says that teaming up of local pensions funds will enable them invest in alternative investment asset classes including affordable housing, private equity, energy and infrastructure projects which would ordinarily be challenging if pension funds were to invest individually. The Kenya Pension Fund Investment Consortium is currently made up of 10 pension funds...

September 28, 2018
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27Sep

UK. Pension bosses banned for 34 years after abusing members’ funds

Four directors of companies that formed part of a group involved in the transfer of millions of pounds of pensions have been banned for a total of 34 years. Karl Dunlop, Stuart Grehan and Ian Dunsford previously accepted disqualification undertakings for their management roles within the group of companies involved in the transfer of pension funds. Stuart Grehan, Director of Sycamore Crown Ltd and also known as Stuart Chapman-Clark, agreed to a 9-year voluntary ban as a result of false and...

September 27, 2018
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27Sep

US. Public pensions are paying higher fees for lower returns, Pew study finds

Public pension plans are spending more than $2 billion a year in fees on high-cost, risky investments to boost returns. But those bets haven't been paying off, according a report Wednesday from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The higher cost comes as public pension fund managers try to make up for a steep shortfall brought by years of underfunding and lackluster investment returns. As of fiscal 2016, the latest data available, state pension funds tracked by Pew had a combined $1.4 trillion...

September 27, 2018
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27Sep

Russian parliament approves Vladimir Putin’s controversial pension reform

Russian parliament’s lower house passed a controversial pension reform bill on Wednesday, after President Vladimir Putin announced concessions to try to dampen widespread public anger over plans to raise the state retirement age. The bill, which still has to go through the formality of a third reading and senate hearing, would see Russian men retire at 65 instead of 60 and has sparked rare national protest, with tens of thousands rallying across Russia in recent months. The lower house passed the...

September 27, 2018
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26Sep

Important to address Malaysia’s ageing population

THE ageing population in Malaysia is rising and necessary steps are crucial to prepare for this unprecedented demographic patterns, said deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye. He said people over 65 years of age comprise between 15% and 30% of the population, with the elderly population growing at a rate of 2.4% yearly.  Dr Lee said by the end of the century, the ageing population would increase to 35%. “In Japan and other developed countries, 50% of the population will be...

September 26, 2018
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26Sep

Qatar pension fund investments touch QR90bn

Qatar’s Pension Fund investments have reached QR90bn. The Fund recorded a seven percent growth in total revenues in 2017 compared to the previous year, to the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority (GRSIA) noted in its annual report for the year 2017. In an introductory note to the annual report, Minister of Finance H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi said that the state of Qatar is proceeding with the development of investment policies to achieve the highest growth rates of...

September 26, 2018
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25Sep

Investment Consultants Market Investigation. Provisional Decision report

By CMA Overview of our provisional decision Investment consultancy and fiduciary management services influence the pension outcomes for millions of people. It is vital that competition within these markets works well. Both investment consultancy and fiduciary management are useful services for many pension schemes, helping them to manage their investments well on behalf of scheme members. We have provisionally found that there is an adverse effect on competition and that material customer detriment may be expected to result from it in both the...

September 25, 2018
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25Sep

Canada. Non-profit workers offered chance to join Ontario public sector pension plan

As many as one million Ontarians who work for registered charities and non-profit organizations will be eligible to join the provincial government pension plan under an agreement being announced Monday. The Ontario Nonprofit Network, which advocates on behalf of the province’s 58,000 charities and non-profits, is recommending OPTrust as the sector’s first defined-benefit pension provider. The new OPTrust Select plan will be available to every registered charity and non-profit in Ontario, whether it has one employee or hundreds, said the network’s...

September 25, 2018
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25Sep

As Algerian army retirees protest, NGO urges restraint

An Algerian rights group on Monday called for dialogue to resolve ongoing protests by retired military personnel demanding higher pensions. In a statement, the League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), a prominent Algerian NGO, said that National Gendarmerie forces on Sunday had forcibly dispersed a protest by thousands of army retirees in the Haouch al-Makhfi district of capital Algiers. According to the LADDH, the dispersal led to clashes between protesters and gendarmerie forces, leaving an undetermined number of people...

September 25, 2018
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25Sep

UK. Pensions regulator fines more than triple in a year

The value of fines issued by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has more than tripled in a year, reaching £42m in 2017/18. This value, which is made up of fixed and escalating penalty notices, compares to £12.6m in the previous year, according to information published by TPR. A fixed penalty notice of £400 is issued to an employer for failure to comply with a statutory notice or some specific employer duties. An escalating penalty notice varies between £50 and £10,000 a day depending...

September 25, 2018
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