December 2020

Understanding Debt in the Older Population

By Annamaria Lusardi, Olivia S. Mitchell, Noemi Oggero Poor financial capability can erode well-being in later life. To explore debt and debt management among older Americans, age 51-61, we designed and analyzed a new module in the 2018 Health and Retirement Study along with information from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study. Even though this group should be at the peak of their retirement savings, it nevertheless carries debt due to student loans and unpaid medical bills; having children...

OECD warns against using pension assets for ‘pet projects’

The OECD has warned governments against tapping into private pension assets for “pet projects” as nations look to retirement scheme cash to help drive the post Covid-19 economic recovery. Read also ESMA advises fresh postponement of pension fund central clearing duty Trustees of pension schemes in the UK have a duty to act in the best interests of members, but in spite of their investment freedoms, their portfolios predominately invest in equities and bonds. Read also US. Workers Tap Retirement...

Personal data leak in one of Britain’s largest pension providers

Workplace pension provider NOW: Pensions has emailed a number of UK customers to warn about a data leakage caused by contractor error. The email, seen by this publication, claims a service provider "unintentionally" posted user data to an unnamed "public software forum". These records include biographical data (names, email addresses, and dates of birth) as well as National Insurance numbers. According to the pension provider, the data was obtained by "a small number" of third parties. NOW: Pensions said...

Four Italian pension funds unite for major push into private debt

Four Italian pension funds have combined their efforts to find an alternative investment manager to oversee mandates related to private debt. The funds – Fondo Gomma Plastica, Fopen, Pegaso and Previmoda – have a total of €195m in commitments, which will result in a core strategy or unitranche corporate direct lending, with other strategies being added residually. The group said the tender, known as the Zefiro Project, will focus mainly on the European Economic Area with particular attention on...

US. Saving at Work for Retirement: A Perk Coming to More States in 2021

Denise Geske panicked two years ago when her accountant told her about a new Illinois law that would require her to enroll her employees in a retirement savings program. “As a small-business owner, I felt it was overwhelming,” she said. “I was terrified that I was going to be mandated to do one more thing.” Ms. Geske, co-owner of Fox & Hounds Salon and Day Spa in Bloomington, Ill., is close with her staff of 32 massage therapists, aestheticians...

Japan. GPIF Invests $12.5 Billion in Morningstar, MSCI ESG Benchmarks

The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) in Japan has started investing $12.5 billion into two foreign environmental, social, and governance (ESG) benchmarks from US index providers Morningstar and MSCI. Read also US. Saving at Work for Retirement: A Perk Coming to More States in 2021 The Japanese pension allocated roughly $9.7 billion to a general ESG-themed index from MSCI, as well as $2.9 billion to a gender diversity-themed index from Morningstar, the fund said Friday. Respectively, the two benchmarks...

Mexican President says the Maya train will pay for military pensions

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday the army will run the Maya train project and several airports, and use any profits to finance military pensions. Read also Mexican Congress passes major reform to boost pensions The army is already overseeing construction on some parts of the controversial project, while private firms build the rest. But López Obrador said Sunday that “so there won’t be the temptation to privatize” the $6.8 billion project, the army will operate it once...

ESMA advises fresh postponement of pension fund central clearing duty

The EU financial markets watchdog has recommended the European Commission extend until June 2022 the current exemption for pension funds from the obligation to use central clearing for derivatives. Its stance follows a public consultation to collect more data as well as views from a wide range of stakeholders about issues surrounding potential central clearing solutions for pension schemes. ESMA said it was convinced of the benefits of a broad adoption of the clearing obligation for pension funds, but...

US. Calpers Seeking an Investment Chief With Staying Power

The nation’s largest public pension fund has a retention problem, an especially pressing issue given the deep hole it and other retirement plans are in. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has burned through six chief investment officers over the past two decades. Its most recent investment chief, Ben Meng, lasted just 19 months. His tenure ended this summer in the midst of questions about whether his personal investments created a conflict of interest. Elsewhere, investment chiefs stay for...

Perspectives and Theories of Social Innovation for Ageing Population

By Andrzej Klimczuk, Łukasz Tomczyk In recent years we may observe increasing interest in the development of social innovation both regarding theory as well as the practice of responding to social problems and challenges. One of the crucial challenges at the beginning of the 21st century is population ageing. Various new and innovative initiatives, programs, schemes, and projects to respond to negative consequences of this demographic process are emerging around the world. However, social theories related to ageing are...