June 2019

South Africa’s Market for Retirement Funding, 2019: Covering Comprehensive Profiles of 27 Public & Private Companies

This report is on retirement funding and provides information of size and state of retirement funding in South Africa, on the continent and internationally as well as the factors influencing the sector. There are comprehensive profiles of 27 public and private companies in the sector. These include the Public Investment Corporation, which manages the Government Employees Pension Fund, with 1.27 million members and assets under management totalling around R1.8-trillion. There are profiles of notable private sector players such as...

UK. Asset managers step up on cost transparency

Data collection and analysis platform ClearGlass has added six asset managers to its list of firms that have provided 'exceptional' cost transparency to their clients. ClearGlass provides investment cost reports to pension schemes by collecting and analysing data from asset managers, according to the standardised templates prescribed by the Financial Conduct Authority’s Institutional Disclosure Working Group (IDWG). The platform was set up by Chris Sier, the former chairman of the IDWG and a professor at Newcastle University Business School....

¿Queremos o no mayor ahorro para el retiro en México?

Dejar de ahorrar para el retiro es poner en juego la estabilidad y certidumbre de nuestro futuro y el desarrollo presente y potencial del país De manera individual las afores pueden responder con acciones que llevan a un menor ahorro voluntario o a ofrecer servicios de menor calidad En 1997, para hacer frente a los cambios demográficos que vivía nuestro país —el adelgazamiento de la base de la pirámide poblacional, su ensanchamiento en la parte superior, y el aumento...

Chile. María José Zaldívar: “Las AFP en todos los tonos declararon que ellas podían administrar el 4% sin un mayor costo”

Ha estado presente en todas las sesiones de la Comisión de Trabajo de la Cámara de Diputados desde que el año pasado empezó a verse la reforma de pensiones en el Congreso. Se trata de la subsecretaria de Previsión Social, María José Zaldívar, quien incluso ha recibido varias felicitaciones de los parlamentarios de oposición por este motivo. La discusión en particular recién comienza, y aún faltan varios artículos para ver el tema de los nuevos actores que administrarán el...

UK. Record £7 billion of longevity risk reinsured by PIC in 2019

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has completed £5.8 billion (USD 7.4 billion) of pension buy-ins and buyouts and has reinsured a record £7 billion (USD 8.9 billion) of longevity risk so far in 2019. The specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds has highlighted a very active year for the pension risk transfer market, which has seen PIC conclude a huge £5.8 billion of buyouts and buy-ins with the trustees of these schemes. During 2019, PIC has also reinsured £7...

Over 2 million Pensioners in Bulgaria with Higher Pensions From July

More than 2 million and 130,000 pensioners will receive higher pensions from next month. The increase is 5.7%. About BGN 277 million are provided for it. The minimum retirement pension will increase by about 12% and the old-age pension will be around 7 BGN. The pension ceiling is increasing from BGN 910 to BGN 1200. Thus, about 43,000 people will receive the real amount of their pensions. 26 thousand will remain limited by the higher ceiling. After the increase...

Japan. Abe survives censure motion by opposition over pension report

A censure motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe submitted by opposition parties over his finance minister's refusal to accept a report suggesting pensions are inadequate for most retirees was voted down in the House of Councillors on Monday. The motion was submitted last Friday as opposition parties launched a last-minute offensive before the end of the current Diet session Wednesday and an upper house election in July to take issue with the Abe government's reluctance to address public concerns...

US. Retirement Plan Electronic Delivery Under Consideration

Retirement plan electronic delivery (e-delivery) may soon be the default method when a plan sponsor issues a retirement plan disclosure notice. This is predicated on the Department of Labor (DOL) acceptance of a recent proposal made by a group of industry organizations. As reported by a Planadviser, eight defined contribution (DC) plan industry organizations, including the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and The SPARK Institute, have sent a letter to the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the DOL asking...

Retirement Security: Women Face Challenges in Ensuring Financial Security in Retirement

By U.S. Government Accountability Office Women aged 65 and over will account for a growing segment of the U.S. population over the next several decades. Despite increases in women's workforce behavior in the past 65 years, elderly women have persistently high rates of poverty. Thus, it is important to understand the differences between men's and women's retirement income, and how women may fare given future reforms to Social Security and pensions. GAO was asked to examine (1) how...

The Future Shape of Insurance and Risk Management in the Cyber-Physical Space

By W. Jean Kwon For years, the insurance industry was essentially about mathematical quantification and financial transformation of physical risks. But our world has become more interconnected with the advent of the internet, blockchain etc.: as a consequence, cyber risk is expanding rapidly. Here, Prof. W. Jean Kwon looks at how the insurance industry will adapt to the “cyber-physical” world order. Source: SSRN