December 2019

31Dec

The Collapse of the Models. Re-shaping Social Protection in Europe and Latin America

The 2010-decade was a challenging period for the world. Latin America’s economy was doing relatively well at the beginning of the decade. However, the region’s economy is stagnated. Read also Colombia’s Pension Reform Hampered By Political Tension The European Union has been struggling too. Besides economic stagnation, right-wing populist candidates have been on the rise. The populists’ slogans on preserving national identity and tackling uncontrolled immigration have gained traction. Read also Greek government planning pension rises for 450,000 recipients Further, the...

December 31, 2019
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31Dec

UK. Bank of England Governor warns of climate change threat to pension funds

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned pension schemes are at risk due to climate change unless they cut their investments in fossil fuels. The outgoing BoE chief made the comments in a pre-recorded BBC Radio 4 interview broadcast today (30 December). Read also UK. 20 key changes to tax, pensions, benefits, rail fares and more coming in 2020 He warned unless firms woke up to the 'climate crisis' certain assets would become worthless. Mr Carney said:...

December 31, 2019
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30Dec

France. Macron forced to step in to defuse crisis over pension changes

Emmanuel Macron will be forced to speak out on France’s ongoing pensions strike in his televised new year address on Tuesday as transport stoppages look likely to continue into a fifth week, causing major disruption over the holiday period and into January. Read also On Day 29, French rail strike makes history The centrist French president, who made overhauling the country’s pensions system a key election pledge, has until now refrained from intervening personally, leaving his prime minister, Edouard Philippe,...

December 30, 2019
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30Dec

UK. 20 key changes to tax, pensions, benefits, rail fares and more coming in 2020

A huge number of changes are planned for 2020 that will affect many aspects of your life - including changes to benefits, pensions and transport fares. Some of the moves will be good news for your finances - others will hit you in the pocket. Benefits are rising, while tax breaks are taken from landlords - and while the state pension is up, free TV licences are being taken away. There are also new rights coming affecting bank accounts...

December 30, 2019
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December 2019

27Dec

The Pan-European Pension Product Regulation: A Huge Opportunity for the Luxembourg Fund Industry

By Sebastiaan Niels Hooghiemstra Currently, there is a dynamic and ongoing improvement in life expectancies that is not accounted for in pension systems designed to provide financial security in retirement. All over Europe, there are currently employment-based (2nd pillar) pension funds and first pillar pay-as-you-go (PAYG) state pensions systems that are facing huge funding deficits as a result of that. Recently both the EU parliament and the EU Council took their stance on the introduction of an European legal...

December 27, 2019
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27Dec

Latvia. Investments in Sustainable Pension Plan Exceed 2 Million Euro

At the end of May, Citadele Bank’s subsidiary, CBL Asset Management, created Latvia’s first pension plan whose pension savings are invested in businesses which are the most sustainable in their respective industries: protecting the environment, taking care of their employees and acting responsibly in the long term. In just over six months, Latvia’s first pension plan based on responsible investments has been able to attract a relatively large amount of attention from the public, and currently, total assets have...

December 27, 2019
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26Dec

Greek government planning pension rises for 450,000 recipients

After reversing itself and approving holiday handouts, Greece’s New Democracy government now said there will be hikes beginning in January 2020 to 450,000 main and auxiliary pension benefits. Who gets them and how much will be determined after a study for the Labor Ministry for the National Actuarial Authority, said Kathimerini in a report in which it said it was told by sources not identified that the hikes will be retroactive to Oct. 6, 2019, for 60,000 beneficiaries whose pensions...

December 26, 2019
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26Dec

Unmerry Christmas as French transport strike enters fourth week

Christmas Day brought no respite for travellers in France as a transport strike entered its fourth week, ruining the plans of thousands to share a traditional meal and quality time with loved ones. Many scrambled at the last minute to make alternative arrangements as the protest against pension reform saw thousands of trains cancelled or delayed -- and taxis, ride-sharing services and car rental agencies unable to make up the shortfall. Only a fraction of high-speed and inter-city trains ran...

December 26, 2019
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24Dec

Macron’s popularity slightly down as pension strikes gather pace

A poll released on Monday showed French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity suffered a slight slowdown in December when anti-pension reform protests and strikes were gathering pace. Figures from Odoxa pollster showed that Macron's dissatisfaction rating rose to 67 percent in December, from 65 percent a month earlier. "This ...is indeed small in view of the (social) anger and the support which the opponents of the pension reform still enjoy," said Gael Sliman, Odoxa's director. Macron proposes to replace the...

December 24, 2019
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23Dec

Japan, European Development Bank Launch Social Bond Initiative

Japan’s $1.48 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) have launched a partnership to promote and develop sustainable capital markets. Their focus will be on social bonds, and the incorporation of ESG assessments in fixed-income investments. “GPIF requires all asset managers to integrate ESG into their investment analysis and decision-making,” Hiro Mizuno, CIO of GPIF, said in a statement. “We regard the purchase of green, social and sustainability bonds as one of...

December 23, 2019
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