June 2022
30Jun

India. PFRDA to go fully digital in operations, invites bids from IT vendors to launch tech project

Pension fund regulator PFRDA has initiated steps to digitise its operations through the 'Technology Architecture (TARCH) Project', inviting bids from IT solutions providers to launch the project. PFRDA's most of the operations are currently manual in nature, and digitisation is partial. PFRDA has decided to digitise and automate its operations through Technology Architecture (TARCH) Project, which is envisioned to be a modular and API (Application Programming Interface) based platform, PFRDA said in a bid document seeking interest from reputed IT...

June 30, 2022
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May 2022
11May

UK. Queen’s Speech measures spark protests

There was no mention of automatic enrolment reform in the Queen’s Speech, but bills around local boycotts, online safety and a revamped audit and reporting framework will all impact the industry, experts have said. Campaigners have promised to take to the streets to protest a bill aimed at tackling local boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns by public bodies including the Local Government Pension Scheme. Meanwhile, pensions minister Guy Opperman has promised that a consultation into a new value for money framework...

May 11, 2022
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05May

UK. Pasa sets out good practice for DB transfers

The Pensions Administration Standards Association has published good practice guidance for those dealing with defined benefit transfers. At its annual conference in London yesterday (May 3), Pasa explained that the time taken to process DB transfers varies hugely, and sometimes, unexplained delays damage the relationship members have with their scheme, and pensions in general, which can lead to a breakdown of trust. Some transfers can often take months to execute, while others are processed within a month but administration delays can...

May 5, 2022
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April 2022
20Apr

Ghana. Access to pension benefits now easier – NPRA

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, (NPRA), Hayford Attah-Krufi, has stated that pensioners do not need lawyers to access their pension benefits after retirement. Mr Attah-Krufi said the days when pensioners had to go through severe struggle to access their benefits were over as pragmatic measures had been put in place for pensioners to access their benefits at ease. He said the authority had directed the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to fast-track the claim...

April 20, 2022
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March 2022

US. Mixed Reports on Retirement Funding
23Mar

US. Mixed Reports on Retirement Funding

A defined benefit plan’s funded status is often cited as an indication of the plan’s financial health and there is good news on that score for the largest U.S. plans. A report from Willis Towers Watson shows that the estimated aggregate funded status of 361 Fortune 1000 companies improved to 96% at the end of 2021. That’s the highest level since 2007 and an increase of five percentage points from 2020. The analysis also found the funding deficit is...

March 23, 2022
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Nigeria. PTAD saves N7 billion through BVN verification of pensioners
07Mar

Nigeria. PTAD saves N7 billion through BVN verification of pensioners

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said that over N7 billion has been saved through the use of Bank Verification Number (BVN) in its verification of pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme. According to the agency, the N7 billion hitherto went to settling dead or uncertain pensioners from the federal government account. The exercises got rid of 19,018 retirees who had been receiving monthly pension benefits from the Federal Government. Speaking on the development at a workshop for media in...

March 7, 2022
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January 2022
06Jan

US. What the Pension Protection Act has taught us about saving for retirement

They say that hindsight is 20/20. And as we look back on the Pension Protection Act, which was passed just over 15 years ago, it’s clear that our understanding of the law has, well, cleared up. Commendably, this legislation was crafted with the best of intentions — to help more Americans save for retirement — but its unintended consequences made a greater impact for too long. Among other provisions, the Pension Protection Act gave plan sponsors the power to automatically enroll...

January 6, 2022
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06Jan

UK. MP seeks to extend auto-enrolment to 18-year-olds

Proposals that would see working 18-year-olds and low earners automatically save into a pension are being put before parliament this week. Read also UK. Expanding auto-enrolment could cost employers more, experts warn Conservative MP Richard Holden tabled a motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday to extend auto-enrolment in this way. Read also UK. FTSE 350 DB pension deficit falls by £28bn; ‘looming risks’ ahead The proposal looks to boost the pension pots of 18 to 22-year-olds and those who either work...

January 6, 2022
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December 2021

Leveraging identification to extend social insurance to the informal sector
23Dec

Leveraging identification to extend social insurance to the informal sector

Providing pensions and other forms of social insurance to people requires keeping track of large numbers of individuals over long periods of time. There is little margin for error. Allocating contributions of one individual to the pension of another not only affects individual fates. It also risks undermining the trust in the entire system and without trust social insurance cannot work. In the formal economy with contractual employer-employee relationships, the identification of an individual over a long period can (at...

December 23, 2021
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July 2021
05Jul

India. Now, wider choice of pension funds in National Pension System

In order to make the National Pension System (NPS) more transparent, increase the subscriber base and ensure orderly growth, the pension fund regulator has taken a host of initiatives easing the process of transacting for the subscribers and the Points of Presence (PoP). The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has now issued guidelines for opening ‘on tap’ registration of pension funds on a continuous basis to manage the pension assets of NPS subscribers under central government schemes, state...

July 5, 2021
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