August 2020

06Aug

Kenya launches contributory pension scheme for government workers

Kenya launched a contributory pension scheme for hundreds of thousands of government workers on Wednesday, to prevent a crisis in the government’s finances from growing retirement obligations. The East African nation, which is facing reduced tax revenue due to the coronavirus crisis and ballooning debt repayments, has been spending 2.9% of its annual budget on pensions payments, the ministry of finance said, in a plan that does not involve contributions by individual workers. Read also Nigeria. Operators invest N55.25bn...

August 6, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

July 2020

27Jul

Gig and older workers need to take control of their retirement

Several retirement trends have been brought into focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most disturbing is the number of workers between 50 and 65 who are in jobs without retirement benefits. Today half of all workers don’t have access to a work sponsored retirement plan. Read also US. DOL’S ESG proposal would hurt retirement accounts According to a recent study by Alicia H. Munnell and her colleagues at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, one-fifth of...

July 27, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
24Jul

US. COVID-19 Underscores Need to Address Retirement Savings Gaps

Addressing the 2020 NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum this week, two members of the House Ways & Means Committee shared their thoughts on how the economic stress caused by the pandemic has shined a spotlight on the need to better align retirement savings incentives. “I actually believe, long term, the biggest issue for the United States is retirement security,” noted Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ). “If you look at the U.S. demographics, we have so many of our Baby Boom...

July 24, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
15Jul

US. Post-pandemic Retirement: Can We Build More Resilient Systems?

Reforming retirement systems is a more urgent imperative globally as the coronavirus pandemic claims jobs, lowers economic growth and investment returns, and threatens to choke funding for already underfunded pension plans. The pandemic is also hastening the imminent insolvency of the Social Security Trust Fund in the U.S., a recent report by the Penn Wharton Budget Model has found. In two recession scenarios the report laid out, the trust fund would run out of money in 2032 or 2034...

July 15, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...

June 2020

17Jun

Netherlands moves closer to defined contribution system

The Dutch cabinet moved closer to a new agreement with employers, employees and unions that will see the country phase-out defined benefit arrangements by 2026. Following an initial "in principle" agreement in June 2019, talks over a new retirement legislation progressed on June 12 toward a new mandatory defined contribution system. The details of the system will be outlined in new legislation, which is expected to be in place by January 2022. The new legislation is expected to state...

June 17, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

May 2020

28May

Bitwage and Gemini Partner to Launch Bitcoin-Based Retirement Plan for Employees

Cryptocurrency payroll service Bitwage has announced the launch of a Bitcoin 401 (k) plan, allowing companies to give their employees a BTC-based retirement plan. In a press statement, Bitwage, which claims to have tested the product on its own employees for 10 months, said workers now have the ability to invest their pre-tax and post-tax dollars in BTC, through their employer. A 401(k) is a retirement plan that allows employees of a company to save and invest for retirement...

May 28, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
27May

The Future Of Fintech: The New Normal After The Covid-19 Crisis

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANK The “new normal” in banking and fintech is best understood by starting with a look back at what the “old normal” was. The Old Normal: Fintech Fetishism The Oxford dictionary defines fetishism as “worship of an inanimate object for its supposed magical powers.” That’s a good term for how many people have thought—and still think—of fintech. There’s a misguided notion held by many that fintech startups are somehow more ethical than legacy banks,...

May 27, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
26May

Romania’s PM says pensions will rise “depending on economy”

Romanian prime minister Ludovic Orban confirmed that the public pensions would increase from September 1, although the economy is not going well. By how much will depend on "the state of the economy" and will be decided considering the long-term sustainability of the public pension system, he added. "The pensions will increase. By how much will they increase, this depends on the state of the economy and the [state's] actual capacity to pay pensions not only this year but...

May 26, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
20May

Did Coronavirus Destroy The FIRE (Early Retirement) Movement?

If you’re a member of the FIRE movement, you may be justifiably concerned about the economic and financial turmoil of the past few months. Most members of the movement have no experience with a serious downturn, at least not since retiring early. Read also How to Motivate Young Workers to Save For Retirement If you’re not familiar with the FIRE movement, it’s a moniker for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Participants in the movement use a combination of high income, radically...

May 20, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
19May

US. How Lawmakers Can Raise Teacher Pay Without Decimating Pension Funds

When the pandemic hit, school districts across the country were in the process of giving their teachers a raise. But hiking teacher salaries now will strain state pension funds at a time when the economic fallout from the coronavirus is decimating public pension systems. In March, Moody’s Investment Service said U.S. public pension funds had already suffered nearly $1 trillion in investment losses. Lawmakers can’t make lost assets reappear. But they can take a step that will reduce future...

May 19, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...