April 2022

Colombia. Reforma pensional: crecen las propuestas fuera de campaña

Colombia. Reforma pensional: crecen las propuestas fuera de campaña

Centros de estudios económicos, universidades, académicos, gremios, expertos y hasta políticos han lanzado propuestas para que la mayor parte de la población tenga un aseguramiento en la vejez en forma de pensión, beneficio o salario universal y esos planteamientos tienen todo tipo de características. Las propuestas son variadas y han tomado importancia al calor del debate presidencial y el ambiente es propicio para su discusión, pues entre el jueves y viernes se realizará el 15 Congreso Asofondos FIAP, en Cartagena. La...

Japan eyes expansion of workers’ insurance scheme

The Japanese government is reportedly discussing plans to expand the coverage of its employee pensions and health insurance programs to all workers in the country. The proposal will be initially handled by a government panel of experts on Japan’s social security system for all generations, The Japan Times reported. In June, Tokyo plans to decide on the direction for the insurance system covering all workers and have it reflected in its honebuto, or basic economic and fiscal policy guidelines. This follows the...

What does the future of ESG disclosure look like?

For trustees, the rise of environmental, social and governance factors within the pensions sector has resulted in a shift in agendas, with compliance and regulatory matters growing in prominence. Fifty-three per cent of trustee boards now consider ESG an important agenda item, according to research produced by the Pensions Management Institute and BMO Global Asset Management in 2021. This is up markedly from 2020, when ESG was important for just 29 per cent of trustee boards. With current regulatory shifts and changes...

Ghana. Access to pension benefits now easier – NPRA

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, (NPRA), Hayford Attah-Krufi, has stated that pensioners do not need lawyers to access their pension benefits after retirement. Mr Attah-Krufi said the days when pensioners had to go through severe struggle to access their benefits were over as pragmatic measures had been put in place for pensioners to access their benefits at ease. He said the authority had directed the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to fast-track the claim...

US. 2022 HSA Conference: HSA Education and Communication

Without significant education, many employees do not understand their HSA benefits. They often get them confused with flexible spending accounts, for example, or they fail to see how HSAs could affect their own circumstances with regard to financial wellness and retirement savings. This was the conclusion of a panel of industry experts at the 2022 PLANSPONSOR-PLANADVISER HSA Conference, which discussed the “what,” “how” and “when” for HSA education and communication. The goal of the discussion was to help plan advisers,...

ESG, SRI, Impact Investing: What Are They, How to Get Started, and How Funds Have Performed

What is ESG, SRI, and impact investing, and how have ESG funds performed? ESG, SRI, and impact investing may seem like last decade's buzzwords, but they now have enough capital and data behind them for investors to pay attention to. ESG stands for environmental, social, and (corporate) governance. ESG investors look for companies that lead in those areas in addition to strong financial returns. Broadly speaking, ESG investors, socially responsible investors (SRI), and impact investors invest in companies that are both financial...

Diputados chilenos rechazan los dos proyectos de retiro de fondos de AFP

Diputados chilenos rechazan los dos proyectos de retiro de fondos de AFP

La Cámara de Diputados de Chile rechazó este lunes un proyecto de ley que planteaba permitir un nuevo retiro universal de un 10 % de las cuentas individuales de pensiones, iniciativa que generó gran polémica por la aguda inflación que atraviesa el país. Con 70 votos a favor (de 93 necesarios), 70 en contra y 12 abstenciones, el pleno desechó la idea de seguir discutiendo una propuesta que se planteó como una vía para ayudar a las melladas economías familiares...

Chile’s lower house votes on dueling pension withdrawal bills

Chile’s lower house will debate and vote on two proposals for early withdrawal of pensions on Monday, one by legislators and another by President Gabriel Boric, who is seeking to juggle inflation and populist demands. Leftist legislators are proposing a 10% withdrawal but Boric and Finance Minister Mario Marcel have said it would worsen spiraling inflation. In March, Chile reported its highest monthly inflation rate – 1.9% – since 1993. According to the government, Boric’s plan represents a fifth of the...

China may see negative population growth in 2022, 12 years earlier than UN prediction: experts

Experts said that population aging may lead China to count more deaths than births in 2022, 12 years earlier than the UN predicted. They suggested boosting commercial insurance to support the elderly given the current inadequate old age welfare system. Chinese people aged over 65 have surpassed 14% of the total population in 2021, which is an important indicator and means the country has formally become an aged society, said Zheng Bingwen, director of the Center for International Social Security...

UK. PensionBee publishes gender pay gap figures for 2021

PensionBee, a leading online pension provider, has revealed a median hourly pay gap of just 1.6%, and a median bonus pay gap of 0% among its staff, as at 31 December 2021. The gap is in line with PensionBee’s target of 0%, with a variance of +/- 5% owing to the overall size of the employee base. This is the second year that PensionBee has voluntarily reported on its pay gap, as part of its commitment to wage equality, in...