March 2020

04Mar

France. Macron’s pension reform survives two confidence votes

French President Emmanuel Macron's government has defeated not just one but two no-confidence votes, allowing it to force an overhaul of the retirement system through the lower house of parliament despite months of protests. Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris and other cities the day before the vote to denounce the pension changes, which they fear will oblige people to work longer for less money. Currently the eligibility age for a full pension is 62. As...

March 4, 2020
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03Mar

UK. Pension transfer market needs regulation, says industry

Ministers are facing calls to give powers to regulators to supervise the corporate pension transfer market after claims that companies are pressuring employees to quit their valuable retirement schemes. Senior figures in the pension industry said a voluntary code of practice that is meant to prevent abuses by employers was no longer working. The concerns centre on how employers have the ability to initiate exercises under which workers who are members of their defined benefit pension schemes can swap...

March 3, 2020
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03Mar

Ukraine. Pensions will increase by average of $50 by 2023, – Sokolovska

In 2020, pensions will be indexed - people over 80 years old will increase payments by an average of $22 / month. By 2023, the average pension will increase by $50 / month. Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Yulia Sokolovska on her Facebook page. "There will be an indexation of pensions! And with it, a new pension growth strategy that the government team and the deputy corps developed on behalf of President Vladimir Zelensky! The initiative is to...

March 3, 2020
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02Mar

Macron Bypasses Lawmakers to Pass France Pension Overhaul

French President Emmanuel Macron moved Saturday to pass his pension overhaul without a vote in the legislature, seeking to brush aside tens of thousands of amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to slow debate. “It is clear that a discussion on the merits was never truly able to take place” in the legislature, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said, invoking an article of the French constitution allowing the executive branch to bypass the legislature. “I deeply regret it.” The move...

March 2, 2020
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February 2020

28Feb

Poverty Reduction Among Older People Through Pensions: A Comparative Analysis

By Olaf van Vliet, Koen Caminada, Kees Goudswaard, Jinxian Wang Given the ageing of the populations in many Western countries, older people constitute an important group in the analysis of poverty. In this chapter, we examine the poverty incidence among older people across LIS countries, relying on data from the Luxembourg Income Study. The data show that poverty rates are substantially reduced by redistribution via tax/benefit systems (mainly via pension benefits). Furthermore, the data show that old-age poverty rates...

February 28, 2020
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28Feb

Greek parliament approves pension bill

Greece’s parliament on Thursday approved a pension bill that introduces more flexibility for the self-employed over contributions and incentives to stay working longer on a promise of higher pensions. The new framework, that also creates a digital social security registry, was approved by a majority of lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament. Read also Greece. Parliament opens debate on new social security bill The conservative government says workers and employers stand to benefit from the reforms, which are intended to safeguard the system's...

February 28, 2020
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28Feb

UK. Pensions take hit as FTSE loses £152billion in four days due to coronavirus

PENSION savings took a battering yesterday after billions of pounds were wiped off the stock market in the wake of the growing coronavirus outbreak. The London Stock Exchange dropped to a new 13-month low as the spread of Covid-19 hit markets around the world and traders warned that it could lead to “anaemic global growth”.  The FTSE 100 blue-chip index has lost £152billion in the past four days – a fall of 8.2 percent so far this week, shedding £62billion yesterday. It...

February 28, 2020
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27Feb

France shows slow progress of pension reform in parliament, raising concerns of Macron imposing it by decree

Discussions in France's National Assembly on the pension reform bill are continuing this Wednesday amid tensions delaying the progress of debates, marked by the opposition's rejection of the bill. Since February 17, the government initiative to establish a universal points-based system is on the daily agenda of the National Assembly. The mechanism used in the sessions by France Insoumise members and communists has been to introduce over 30,000 amendments in order to obstruct the bill, which is one of...

February 27, 2020
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27Feb

The Netherlands: Pensions funds will change risk-free rate – Rabobank

The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf reported this morning that all parties involved in the pension reform discussion agreed on changing the risk-free rate term structure for Dutch pension funds. The pension agreement has been redefined and only one new pension contract remains. Bas van Zanden, Senior Pension Analyst at Rabobank, expects a decrease in demand for hedging by Dutch pension funds. Key quotes “The pension contract will split up all pension funds into an: Accrual phase – Every...

February 27, 2020
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26Feb

Greece. Parliament opens debate on new social security bill

Greek lawmakers started debating on Tuesday evening a social security bill, which Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis describing it as a "watershed" law that will affect current and future generations. Earlier, the minister tabled an accompanying actuarial report which he said "proves the [draft] law's viability until 2070." "The law has come to restore injustices of the past and to align with constitutional order and restore SYRIZA's Katrougalos law, which contravenes the constitution," Vroutsis said, adding that during the...

February 26, 2020
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