January 2020

30Jan

Estonia. Reform leader: We’ll use every means possible to halt pension reform mess

Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas says that the large number of proposed amends opposition parties made to the coalition's pensions reform bill to be vote on today were needed, given its huge socio-economic impact, and that she and her party intend to fight the bill every step of the way. "What worries them most is the pension system being dismantled in the way it is," Kallas said, speaking on ETV politics discussion show "Esimene stuudio" Tuesday night. "The experts...

January 30, 2020
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30Jan

Dutch sector schemes active on online comms to cut costs

Several large Dutch sector schemes are actively trying to persuade their participants to pass on their email addresses in order to save on communication costs and for sustainability reasons. They are finding, however, that the process is laborious, and that they have a long way to go before they no longer need the postman and can save millions of euros through digital correspondence. Although most schemes already have an online platform and prefer digital communication, the main hurdle is...

January 30, 2020
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29Jan

Measly Returns Spark $5 Billion Raid on Estonian Pension Savings

Cracking open a 4.85 billion-euro ($5.3 billion) piggy bank of pension savings may be a vote-winner. But Estonia’s plan to allow early access to retirement cash is facing a tide of criticism for being short-sighted. The government is meeting an election pledge by a junior coalition member to let more than half the Baltic nation’s 1.3 million residents reinvest or spend mandatory pension savings taken from tax contributions and gross salaries since 2002. The money would be released from...

January 29, 2020
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28Jan

UK. DWP publishes expat pension guidance ahead of Brexit

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that the UK state pension will be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement in new guidance examining the rights for UK nationals after the UK has left the EU. The guidance confirmed that UK nationals living in an EEA state or Switzerland by 31 December 2020 will be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. The UK state pension will be uprated every year that an individual continues to live there, regardless of...

January 28, 2020
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28Jan

Legal blow to French pension reform plans

Country's highest administrative court warns government that it has not had time to study legislation properly and it 'guarantee the legal security' of controversial changes to the pension system President Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reform plans that have prompted weeks of strikes and protests have been dealt a blow by the country's highest administrative court. The Conseil d'Etat said that the financial forecasts underpinning the bills were questionable and warned that it could not "guarantee the best possible legal...

January 28, 2020
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27Jan

UK Pension Fund Brunel to Firms, Asset Managers: Tackle Climate or We’ll Drop You

Companies and asset managers must show progress towards climate goals by 2022, Brunel Pension Partnership, one of Britain's biggest pension fund managers, said on Monday, or the fund will withdraw its investment. Policymakers such as outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney are pushing investors to do more to ensure their portfolio choices help to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change, by limiting warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5C. Brunel, which manages...

January 27, 2020
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27Jan

French Unions Warn Macron Pension Strikes Will Drag On for Months

France's hardleft trade unions on Friday threatened industrial action for months to come, as they searched for a way to force President Emmanuel Macron to ditch the biggest overhaul of the country's pension system since World War Two. The unions have been locked in battle with Macron over the fate of France's generous pension benefits since early December. The former investment banker has made some concessions to the unions but refuses to abandon his reform. The unions on Friday...

January 27, 2020
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27Jan

Greek public sector workers set to strike over pension reform

Greek civil servants’ union ADEDY has heralded strike action as soon as a bill with the government’s pension reform is tabled in Parliament, ekathimerini.com reports. ADEDY’s executive committee indicated on Thursday that it would proceed with a 24-hour strike on the day the bill goes to the House, in line with a decision adopted during its session last week. The union's key demands are for the revocation of all pension cuts implemented during Greece’s bailout years and a full state guarantee...

January 27, 2020
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27Jan

UK. FCA fined over pension scheme failures

The Pensions Regulator has fined the FCA £2,000 due to insufficient detail in its 2018 DC governance statement. This is the maximum fine The Pensions Regulator can issue for poor statements. Firms must submit an annual chair's statement which sets out how the scheme meets certain standards and obligations including information on the scheme’s default fund and its governance, the costs and charges applied, and the assessment of value for members. The fine was issued during Q3 2019, however...

January 27, 2020
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24Jan

OECD Reviews of Pension Systems: Portugal

By OECD This review provides policy recommendations on how to improve the Portuguese pension system, building on the OECD’s best practices in pension design. It details the Portuguese pension system and identifies its strengths and weaknesses based on cross-country comparisons. The Portuguese pension system consists of an old-age safety net, a pay-as-you-go defined benefit scheme and voluntary private savings. The safety net includes an old-age social pension and a complement (the so-called Complemento Solidário para Idosos or CSI), both...

January 24, 2020
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