June 2021

East Africa’s countries race to form inclusive, affordable pension schemes for informal sector

East African Community partner states are in the process of creating micro-pension schemes for employees in the informal sector to address the low pension coverage in the region, estimated at less than 10 percent. Read also Bright Africa 2020 Pension Industry. Modernising pension policies to future-proof long-term savings A new pension sector survey by global investment firm RisCura shows that Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya are among African countries racing to create affordable and all-inclusive old-age saving schemes for the informal sector...

China. Rising pension levels to ensure senior citizens have no tension

Seventeen provincial-level regions in China, such as Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, and Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei and Liaoning provinces have issued notices raising local pensions. Other regions are expected to follow suit. This rise in pensions for the 17th consecutive year is in accordance with the spirit of this year's Government Work Report and a notice issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance in April on adjusting basic pensions for retirees in 2021...

Canada. New CPPIB Head Graham Says Inflation Will Stay Muted in Long Run

Strong demand, particularly from the U.S. consumer, may fuel higher inflation in the short term, but there is little risk of runaway price growth, according to the head of Canada’s $403 billion national pension fund. “It’s going to be really interesting over the next few months. We have a really high savings rate in the U.S., high savings rate in Canada, and really a lot of pent-up demand,” John Graham, chief executive officer of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said...

Ireland. Reducing pension age from 66 to 65 would cost €127m

Sinn Féin expects other parties and the public to judge them on “what they say they will do if they were in government in the south not what they actually do when they are in Government in the North,” Minister of State Damien English has said. Mr English made the claim during a Dáil debate on a Sinn Féin motion calling for calling for the Government to offer people the choice to retire at 65 if they wish. The pension age...

Australia. Changes to ‘super size’ retirement savings

For the average Australian worker, legislated rises in superannuation will mean an extra $85,000 in their super account at retirement. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia on Wednesday released a report on how the increases set to kick in from July 1 will "super-size" retirement balances. Super balances are also set for a whopper year of double-digit gains, despite COVID-19 wobbles. The rise in the superannuation guarantee rate to 10 per cent from next month represents an extra $19,000 in a...

Fintech App Marketing Insights LATAM: Edición 2021

Por AppsFlyer El mercado latinoamericano ha desarrollado un número creciente de soluciones de aplicaciones financieras o Fintech en los últimos años, satisfaciendo las demandas de una base cada vez mayor de usuarios que buscan nuevas formas de gestionar su dinero. Del primer trimestre de 2019 al primer trimestre de 2021, se produjo un salto del 132% en las descargas de apps de finanzas a nivel mundial, una tendencia de crecimiento que también está presente en la tasa media de instalación por...

Trabajo decente para los trabajadores de plataformas en América Latina

Por CEPAL, OIT   El impacto económico generado por la pandemia de enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) en 2020 no tiene precedentes en los mercados laborales de América Latina y el Caribe. Si bien las respuestas para contener la crisis sanitaria tuvieron consecuencias mundiales en la oferta y la demanda económica, la región fue comparativamente más afectada y la contracción del PIB regional (7,1%) se tradujo en la marcada caída de la ocupación y la participación laboral (5,5 y 4,5 puntos porcentuales,...

Fintech en América Latina Como Estrategia de Integración Regional

Por Edel Rocío Lasso Silva1, Sonia Patricia Rojas Álvarez En las últimas décadas, la sociedad ha enfrentado constantemente cambios en sus estructuras económicas, políticas, financieras y culturales, enmarcadas en un mundo globalizado; situaciones que han ocasionado riesgos e incertidumbre en la realización de las actividades económicas y sociales de las personas dentro y fuera de un país. Es así como, para enfrentar y dar solución a una sociedad ilíquida basada en la inseguridad para su desarrollo y crecimiento, surge un...

Elementos para una reforma alternativa al sistema de pensiones

Por Flor Esther Salazar Guatibonza, Paula K. Triviño-Gaviria, Santiago Castaño Salas En el marco de los derechos humanos y sociales, la seguridad social y, dentro de esta, la seguridad social en pensiones, es un asunto de vital importancia que debería figurar entre las prioridades de cualquier país. No obstante, resulta difícil ocultar el hecho de que en el mundo y, particularmente en Colombia, millones de personas carecen o carecerán de protección social alguna en su vejez. El sistema de pensiones en Colombia...

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...