April 2024
02Apr

Amex freezes pension payouts for thousands of Brits for tenth year

American Express has sparked criticism for freezing pension payments for thousands of former British employees for the tenth year in a row. The US payment cards giant said in a letter to UK pension fund members on 22 March that it had considered the case for a discretionary increase in payouts and decided against it. Campaigners have said they have suffered a 30 per cent drop in the value of their pensions over the past decade when adjusted for inflation. During this period Amex has...

April 2, 2024
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March 2024
19Mar

Pension savers warned of ‘national crisis’ as ‘eye-watering’ £50billion at risk of being lost in UK

Over £50 billion of hard-earned pension cash is at risk of being lost in the UK as the number of pensions rises, new research shows. An estimated 4.8 million pension pots are already missing in the UK with nearly one in 10 workers believing they could have lost a pension pot worth more than £10,000. The number of lost pensions are set to rise by 130 per cent by 2050 as more people change jobs, and are automatically enrolled into their...

March 19, 2024
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13Mar

US. Corporate Pension Funding Levels Skyrocket in February

The funded status of U.S.-based corporate pension plans increased significantly in February, primarily due to a rally in technology stocks, driven by excitement over AI and semiconductors, according to industry reports. Funded status also continues to be boosted by heightened interest rates. The surplus in pension funding could have some plan sponsors considering what to do with their excess pension assets. Earlier this month, Eastman Kodak announced it would shut its investment office, shifting the management of its assets to...

March 13, 2024
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13Mar

U.K. pension fund surplus and funding ratio rises in February

The total surplus of U.K. corporate pension funds covered by the Pension Protection Fund, London's 7800 index increased by 4% in February to £442.3 billion ($559.8 billion), while the funding ratio also rose. The funding ratio increased to 146.1% as of Feb. 29, compared to 143.9% at the end of January, an update said. The total deficit of all plans with a shortfall was £3.9 billion as of Feb. 29, down from £4.3 billion as of Jan. 31. Total assets were...

March 13, 2024
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07Mar

U.S. corporate pension surpluses rise in February – 4 reports

U.S. corporate pension plan funding surpluses grew in February thanks to positive returns from growth assets as well as falling liabilities, according to four new reports. Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans reached 109.4% as of Feb. 29, up from 106% a month earlier. "U.S. corporate pension plans have maintained their overfunded status for 14 consecutive months since early 2023," said Ned McGuire, managing director at Wilshire, in a news release March 6. "February's increase in...

March 7, 2024
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04Mar

Revolutionizing Retirement: How TWPS is Pioneering Pension Participation in Jamaica

In a groundbreaking move, the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme (TWPS) is setting a new standard for pension schemes, aiming to significantly boost retirement participation among Jamaica's tourism workers. Differentiated by its inclusivity of both employed and self-employed individuals and bolstered by government support, TWPS is driving towards a membership goal of 20,000 in the current year, overcoming initial setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unique Features and Strategic Goals The TWPS stands out by covering workers in the private sector, with...

March 4, 2024
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01Mar

Pension Funding Index February 2024

By Zorast Wadia The funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans increased by $12 billion during January as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). The funding surplus improved to $40 billion as a result of liability decreases that outweighed asset losses during the month. Pension liabilities fell due to an increase in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value those liabilities. As of January 31, the plans’ funded ratio climbed...

March 1, 2024
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February 2024
22Feb

UPS to drive $1.2 billion into U.S. pension plans in 2024

The shipping company disclosed its plans in its Feb. 20 10-K filing with the SEC. UPS previously contributed $1.2 billion to the U.S. pension plans in 2023 and $2 billion to the plans in 2022. As of Dec. 31, the actual allocation of the U.S. pension plans was 41.3% U.S. government fixed income, 16.2% corporate fixed income, 13.2% domestic large-cap equities, 11.6% private equity, 9.1% hedge funds, 7% international equities, 5.9% real estate, 2.3% cash and cash equivalents, 2.2% each emerging...

February 22, 2024
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16Feb

Does Pension Automatic Enrollment Increase Debt? Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Experiment

By John Beshears, Matthew Blakstad, James J. Choi, Christopher Firth, John Gathergood, David Laibson, Richard Notley, Jesal D. Sheth, Will Sandbrook & Neil Stewart Does automatic enrollment into retirement saving increase household debt? We study the randomized roll-out of automatic enrollment pensions to ~160,000 employers in the United Kingdom with 2-29 employees. We find that the additional savings generated through automatic enrollment are partially offset by increases in unsecured debt. Over the first 41 months after enrollment, each additional month...

February 16, 2024
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13Feb

US Corporate Pension Plans Continue to Improve Funded Status in January

Following a market rally in 2023 that boosted the funded status of corporate defined benefit plans in the U.S., that strength has continued into 2024. According to several pension trackers, the funded status of the plans continued to increase in January. The WTW Pension Index, which tracks the performance and funded status of a hypothetical 60/40 plan, rose to 108.8 in January, up 1.2% from the closing figures from 2023. WTW attributed this performance primarily to a rise in discount rates,...

February 13, 2024
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