January 2023
06Jan

Pension Fund Statistics – Q3 2022

By Central Bank of Ireland Total assets of the Irish pension fund sector fell by 2.5 per cent (€3 billion) over Q3 2022 to stand at €117 billion. This continues a trend across the year to date with assets down 14.9 percent on the series high of €137 billion at end-2021. Technical reserves relating to pension entitlements of Irish pension funds decreased in Q3 2022. 1 Defined contribution (DC) technical reserves fell as a result of falls in corresponding asset values. Defined benefit...

January 6, 2023
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06Jan

Occupational pensions statistics

By European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority EIOPA provides statistical data on how institutions for occupational retirement provision in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) perform. The statistics contain aggregated country level information about the basic information, balance sheet, asset exposures, expenses, member data, contributions, benefits, and transfers. Data refers to the latest information available for each reference date. Our statistics are based on quantitative pensions data reports. Occupational pension institutions in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA)...

January 6, 2023
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06Jan

US. Financial Planning for Retirement: It’s More Accessible, but Be Careful

I’ve been writing and researching articles on finance and money for most of my career, and covering retirement for the past 15 years. But my wife and I haven’t picked a stock or mutual fund for our own retirement accounts since the late 1990s, or written our own retirement plan. For that, we rely on a financial planner. Hiring a planner is one of the smartest financial moves we have made. This type of advice was once a subset of...

January 6, 2023
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06Jan

Principal announces pension joint venture in China

Principal Financial Group ®, a leading global financial services provider, today announced an exciting new chapter in their ongoing expansion of their global pension footprint as Principal® acquires a minority ownership stake (17.647%) in China Construction Bank (CCB) Pension Management Co., Ltd. (CCBP), CCB’s pension business with the Social Security Fund of China (SSF). CCB will remain as the majority shareholder of CCBP with a 70% interest and an additional minority stake (12.353%) held by the SSF. Principal is the...

January 6, 2023
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05Jan

UK. A surge in pension risk settlement predicted in 2023

Aon is predicting a surge in UK pension risk settlement in 2023, as the events of 2022 continue to feed through to the market. Martin Bird, senior partner and head of UK Risk Settlement at Aon, said: “While 2022 was one of the busiest years we have seen in the risk settlement market, we have every expectation that 2023 will see it accelerate. We think there will be a focus on full scheme transactions driving significant volumes across the entire...

January 5, 2023
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04Jan

UK. Solving the Liquidity Factor for Alternative Investments in DC Plans

One of the main reasons that plan sponsors have been hesitant to bring alternative assets into defined contribution plans is concerns about the liquidity of such assets. Private real estate, for example, which has become the most common alternative investment within defined contribution plans, is at its core an illiquid asset. Part of the reason that it’s a less volatile investment than traditional securities is that it’s typically only valued once per quarter, making it even harder for asset managers...

January 4, 2023
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03Jan

UK. Industry criticises 2022 as an adverse year for pensions

Results from our last Pensions Buzz survey of 2022 revealed 54% of respondents felt the last 12 months have not been positive for the industry, against 36% who disagreed and 14% who voted don't know. Of the respondents who said 2022 had not been a positive year, several pointed to the liability-driven investment (LDI) crisis as a result of September's Mini Budget. One respondent said: "The LDI crisis was very damaging. Stock market has been volatile, pension valises have fallen and...

January 3, 2023
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02Jan

OECD says pension funds must take ‘extreme care’ with liquidity risks

Pension funds should be “extremely careful” when investing in illiquid assets, as rising interest rates and falling stock markets increase the likelihood of their having to access cash quickly, the OECD has warned. In the recent era of low interest rates, pension funds poured money into alternative investments, such as infrastructure projects and private equity, in an effort to escape the low yields available on government bonds. But such investments are typically illiquid, meaning the funds cannot quickly convert them...

January 2, 2023
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December 2022
30Dec

U.K. Altmann hits out at providers for pension positivity failure

Providers have failed to engage or enthuse millions of auto-enrolment customers with positive pension messages, undermining the policy by not explaining the advantages of pensions, Baroness Ros Altmann says. The campaigner and former pensions minister said that, rather than "constant negative messaging", people needed to know about the positives of pensions so they understand the free money they will have and higher benefit payments they could have if they keep paying in. Altmann's comments come as research by The Pensions Management Institute...

December 30, 2022
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27Dec

Inflation, war, rising interest rates posed steep challenges for investors in 2022

An inflationary environment that is anything but transitory, the volatility arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other geopolitical crises, and a bevy of controversies surrounding ESG investing dominated headlines this year, while the fall of Allianz Global Investors and an exceptionally busy regulatory year were also among Pensions & Investments' top 10 stories of 2022. The top story this year was inflation and the Federal Reserve's aggressive actions to curb it through multiple interest rate hikes. After more than...

December 27, 2022
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