May 2021
26May

The Future of Public DC Programs Includes a Focus on Financial Wellness

There is a movement among private-sector employers to offer not just a retirement plan, but a program of benefits that addresses all aspects of employees’ finances. But employees in the public sector—including those in public defined contribution (DC) plans—need holistic financial wellness help, too. Less than half of public-sector employees (43%) feel very/extremely confident making financial decisions on their own, according to the results of a 2019 study by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE). Fifty-four percent...

May 26, 2021
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26May

US. Forensic Investigation Of Chicago Police Pension Fund Underway

The Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund (PABF) —commonly referred to as the Chicago Police Pension Fund—is one of the worst funded public pension plans in the United States today, with a funding ratio of only 23 percent. A group of retired and disabled officers, along with widows, has long questioned the trustees and management of the struggling pension. Dissatisfied with the responses they received, the group formed the CPD Pension Board Accountability Group. Funds were raised to commission an independent...

May 26, 2021
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25May

UK. Pension fee shake-up

Proposals include introducing a threshold of £100 or below which a person cannot be charged a flat fee by their pensions provider, helping limit the erosion of small pot pensions and protect savers. This will stop pensions worth £100 or less and invested in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment being gradually whittled away by the fees, a situation commonly faced by people who change jobs frequently or take up short-term contracts. Minister for Pensions, Guy Opperman said: We...

May 25, 2021
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25May

Dutch manager APG forms joint venture to help ABP invest in Chilean forests

Dutch pensions provider APG formed a joint venture on behalf of its largest pension fund client to invest in forests in Chile. On behalf of the €495.3 billion ($601.5 billion) ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands, APG formed the company with British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and South American investment bank BTG Pactual's timber investment group. BCI has C$171.3 billion ($141.4 billion) in AUM. The new venture will invest $385.5 million in forestry in Chile, owning more than 80,000 hectares of Chilean forest across...

May 25, 2021
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24May

Ireland. Bringing order to a fragmented pensions landscape

The transposition into Irish law of the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) II directive at the end of April represented a game changing event for Irish pensions, says PwC pensions partner Munro O’Dwyer. Ireland has more than 100,000 pension schemes, the majority of them one-person arrangements, and the net effect of the new rules could be to reduce that number to less than 200. That rationalisation will be prompted by the increased regulatory obligations and costs imposed on pension schemes. IORP...

May 24, 2021
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24May

UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions

One in five savers in the UK have three or more pension pots, while almost half (47 per cent) have two or more, according to research commissioned by Hargreaves Lansdown. The study, conducted by Opinium, also found that less than a quarter (24 per cent) had ever transferred a pension. Men were more likely to have transferred a pension, with 26 per cent of male respondents having done so, compared to 22 per cent of women. However, Hargreaves Lansdown noted that it...

May 24, 2021
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24May

UK. Top British companies forced to pump £200bn into pension schemes to prop them up, figures reveal

Top British companies have been forced to pump £200billion into their pension schemes to avoid a drop in funding, figures reveal. Read also UK pension asset owners join Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Law firm Lane Clark & Peacock said the sum – equivalent to the economic output of Czechia – was needed to counter tumbling share prices and bond yields. Read also UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions It warned that firms were 'running just to stand still' and that...

May 24, 2021
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21May

Japan’s Number Two Pension Fund to Post Best Returns in 20 Years

Japan’s second-largest pension fund said it expects to post the best returns since 2001 on the back of the global equity market’s rally and is looking to expand sustainable investing. Returns likely exceeded 20% in the the year ended March, said Shigemune Sato, the director-general of the fund management department at the Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials. The fund, known as Chikyoren, tracks the portfolio of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension pot, and is...

May 21, 2021
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18May

Aon to sell pension, investment consulting units in Germany to LCP

Aon agreed to sell its pension consulting, pension administration and investment consulting businesses in Germany to consultant Lane Clark & Peacock as the firm seeks to secure clearance from the European Commission for its merger with Willis Towers Watson. In a news release Monday, Aon said the deal with LCP "resolves questions raised by the European Commission with respect to the markets in which these businesses are active." The commission has been investigating competition issues related to the Aon-WTW merger...

May 18, 2021
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18May

Managing a Retirement Plan Doesn’t Have to Be a Headache

COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our economy. Customers vanished and supply lines evaporated, as employees adjusted to a new paradigm of working from home. Wild swings in securities markets were a symptom of the pandemic. C-suite executives, who also found themselves working remotely, are still being pulled in multiple directions. Among the hardest-hit industries have been retail, oil & gas, hospitality and travel. In the past year, we’ve seen top national brands such as J.Crew and Neiman Marcus seeking reorganization under...

May 18, 2021
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