June 2021

Pandemic spurs cautious plan changes among pensions

Pension plans are cautious about making plan changes, despite the improved economy following the pandemic, according to a survey by Mercer and CFO Research. The report is based on responses from 201 senior finance executives at firms with $500 million or more in annual revenue. About a third of respondents said they were taking advantage of relief in the American Rescue Plan Act to change funding thresholds to avoid benefit restrictions or participant notices, but only 15% expect to speed...

US. 401k Savings, Account Balances Grew During Pandemic

Closed restaurants and movie theaters meant more disposable income for retirement savings during the pandemic. T. Rowe Price is out with its annual Reference Point 401k benchmarking report featuring year-over-year data and analysis on participant behavior and plan design, and the results were positive, all things considered. “While the financial, physical, and emotional strains caused by the pandemic had, and will continue to have, repercussions on plan design and retirement savings outcomes, it was encouraging to see that through it all,...

La complejidad de la crisis por Covid-19 y la fragilidad del mercado de trabajo mexicano. Las brechas entre hombres y mujeres en la ocupación, la desocupación y la disponibilidad para trabajar

Por Ana Ruth Escoto Castillo, Mauricio Padrón Innamorato, Rosa Patricia Román Reyes La implementación de medidas para controlar la propagación de la Covid-19 en México ha tenido un gran impacto sobre las condiciones, características y procesos de entrada y salida del mercado laboral nacional, modificando las situaciones y expectativas de millones de personas, particularmente de las mujeres. Este trabajo busca revisar y describir la dinámica laboral antes del inicio de la pandemia y una vez flexibilizadas las medidas sanitarias más...

UK. Pensions Regulator Urges Robust Liquidity Risk Analysis

Trustees of retirement saving schemes have improved their understanding of the liquidity risks facing their programs, but they should be more robust when they analyze those dangers, a director at the pensions watchdog has warned. David Fairs, an executive director at The Pensions Regulator, said that major government and central bank intervention programs around the globe in late 2020 — such as lowering interest rates — helped to stabilize markets during the coronavirus outbreak. But interventions in the future cannot...

May 2021

German court rejects complaints against double taxation of pensions

Germany's federal fiscal court on Monday rejected as unfounded a retired couple's objection to their retirement benefits being double taxed. The court case resulted from a 2005 change in the law that made pensions liable to tax. Until then, pensions had been essentially tax-exempt as the contributions were made from taxed salaries. Under the 2005 law, pension contribution payments gradually became essentially tax free while the taxable share of pension income was increased in a process set to conclude by 2040. The...

US. Market Rebound Spurs Record 33.55% Return for NY State Pension Fund

The New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) reported a 33.55% investment return for the fiscal year ending March 31, the largest one-year investment return in the fund’s history. It easily beat its long-term expected rate of return of 6.8%. Read also US. New York City Pensions to Fund $250 Million Apartment Venture The performance, which reflected the financial markets’ rebound from last year’s market crash after the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, raised the fund’s asset value to an estimated $254.8...

Perú inicia el tercer retiro de las AFP y futuro para las compañías luce incierto poselecciones

Desde esta semana en Perú se puede solicitar el tercer retiro de los fondos en las AFP, empatando así a Chile, donde también se ha acudido tres veces a los fondos previsionales para dar respuesta a la crisis económica que ha desatado el Covid-19. Leer también Análisis comparativo de la rentabilidad y liquidez en las administradoras de fondos de pensiones, Perú Las otras dos normativas ya han dejado huellas importantes en el Sistema Privado de Pensiones (SPP). Según los últimos datos...

México. Pese a crisis, los retiros de Afore no han alcanzado niveles tan altos como en otros países de América Latina

Pese a la crisis económica, a diferencia de otras naciones de América Latina, en México no se registró el retiro masivo del ahorro para el retiro de los trabajadores, indicó Juan Haro, director de fondos de inversión de Fitch. Según datos de la Consar, durante la pandemia casi 2 millones de trabajadores que se quedaron sin empleo han retirado recursos por un total de 21 mil 700 millones de pesos, aproximadamente mil millones de dólares Los retiros por desempleo en México...

UK. Covid fails to inject interest in pensions

The pandemic has failed to spark interest in pensions according to a survey from Canada Life. It reveals that 67% of UK adults have not logged into their pension online in a year. This figure rises to 78% for those aged over 55 while 56% of adults said they haven’t received a pension statement that they read. The research also shows that 16% of those who have not logged into their pension were not interested in doing this. Fifteen percent admitted they did...

Perú. Retiro AFP: Comisión de Economía debate observaciones del Ejecutivo

La Comisión de Economía del Congreso sesiona esta tarde para definir si acepta las observaciones formuladas por el Ejecutivo a la autógrafa de la ley que permite un nuevo retiro de S/ 17,600 soles de los fondos de las AFP, o persiste en la insistencia, con las mismas condiciones en que fue aprobado por el pleno. Leer también Perú. Retiro de fondos AFP: Solicitud para retiro se podrá presentar desde el 27 de mayo La sesión extraordinaria será a partir de...