October 2023
16Oct

Ghana. Total membership of SSNIT Scheme is 1.8 million — Minister

As of March 2023, the total membership of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Scheme was estimated at 1.8 million, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Minister of Employment, Labour Relations and Pensions, has disclosed. This, he said means that about 8.1 million of the estimated Ghana’s working population of 9.9 million might not have any form of social security cover, which shows that leveraging digitalisation to extend social security coverage was long overdue. “The overwhelming importance of digitalisation today...

October 16, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

September 2023
26Sep

UK pension schemes reveal 4,000% rise in cyber security breaches

Pension scheme trustees have been urged to remain mindful of cybersecurity risks, after research from RPC revealed a 4,000 per cent increase in data breach reports to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in the year to June 2023. The research found that UK financial services firms reported 640 cybersecurity breaches to the ICO in the year to June 30 2023, marking a threefold increase on the 187 cybersecurity breaches in the previous period. UK pension schemes reported the biggest...

September 26, 2023
News,
Read more...
20Sep

AI ‘inevitable’ in pension master trust era – MHC

Large institutional investors, including pension schemes, are beginning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based platforms and machine learning models, a Mason Hayes and Curran webinar has heard (7 September). These tools are used to assist in long-term portfolio management in place of more traditional models based on financial theories. Accurate planning Fund providers have also begun using machine learning to predict scenarios such as an early withdrawal of the fund’s resources, which will allow for accurate planning. When it comes to individual retirement planning,...

September 20, 2023
News,
Read more...

June 2023
20Jun

Ghana’s pensions authority seeks support from development partners — As SECO project comes to an end

The National Pensions and Regulatory Authority (NPRA) is asking for support from the World Bank and other development partners for continuous technical training for the effective operationalisation of its Risk Based Supervision (RBS) System. The RBS systems which was developed in 2019 through the help of the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) is aimed at streamlining the supervisory and regulatory mandate of the authority. It was also designed to help the authority to stay abreast with the emerging pensions...

June 20, 2023
News, , ,
Read more...
15Jun

The GPSSA announces the launch of its new pension platform “MA’ASHI” to UAE-based entities

As part of its digital transformation implementation plan, the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) will soon launch a new pension platform known as “MA’ASHI” for thousands of UAE-based federal, government and private sector entities to access. Ahead of the platforms launch, the UAE Pension Authority has dedicated both English and Arabic virtual training workshops, from the 20th to 22nd June 2023, for employers/entities across the UAE in order to learn more about GPSSA’s new platform “MA’ASHI” – which...

June 15, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
07Jun

The Irish pension landscape for employers in 2023

Pension provision for staff is a valuable recruitment and retention tool for employers. Pensions can be a core part of a benefits and reward package offered. When there are labour or skills shortage affecting your hiring capabilities, this can be a meaningful part of your offering to ensure you are competing with top employers for talent. IORP II The IORP II Directive “sets common standards by ensuring the soundness of occupational pensions and better protecting pension scheme members and their beneficiaries.” Employers...

June 7, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

March 2023
28Mar

UK. Government backs expansion of automatic enrolment

Automatic enrolment was introduced in 2012 with the aim of helping more people save for their retirement. Since then 10.8 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme and pension participation in the private sector has increased from 41% in 2012 to 86% in 2021, according to recent analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions ("DWP"). We celebrated ten years of automatic enrolment in our previous blog wherein we discussed the possibility of future reform...

March 28, 2023
News, , ,
Read more...

February 2023
24Feb

The Portability of Pension Rights: General Principles and the Caribbean Case

By Alvaro Forteza The portability of pension rights is an increasingly important issue in the Caribbean. The large and increasing flows of migrant workers, including both permanent and temporary migrants, the small size of the domestic economies and the process of regional integration and economic openness call for effective means to make pensions portable. This document presents a select survey of the literature on pension portability and reviews the progress made by the Caribbean countries as well as some remaining...

February 24, 2023
Articles, Labor Market, , ,
Read more...
17Feb

UK. Industry organisations call for ‘urgent’ clarity on pensions dashboards

Industry experts have argued that “regulatory certainty” around pensions dashboards is needed as quickly as possible, with concerns over the timing and implementation of pensions dashboards emerging ahead of the first scheme staging deadlines. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) recently held consultations to gather views on proposed design standards for pension dashboards, and the regulatory framework for operators, both of which closed today (16 February). However, whilst the consultations were broadly welcomed by industry experts, concerns...

February 17, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
10Feb

Kenya. Pensions Department To Fast-Track Processing Of Pensions

Retiring public servants will receive their pension within 90 days after exiting from service if a plan by the Pensions Department in the Treasury and Planning Ministry to fast-track the processing of pension materializes. Already, the department has deployed its officers at the Teachers Service Commission and Vigilance House to help process pension for retiring teachers and police officers and the same is expected to be replicated at the Headquarters of all ministries, officials have said. This, the officials said, will...

February 10, 2023
News, ,
Read more...