December 2021

Leftist millennial Gabriel Boric, that vowed to reform pensions for the poor, is elected president of Chile.

Leftist lawmaker Gabriel Boric, 35, on Sunday became Chile’s youngest-ever president on promises of installing a “welfare state” in one of the world’s most unequal countries. The former student activist only just met the required minimum age to run in the presidential race, seven years after being elected to his first political job as a member of Chile’s Chamber of Deputies. On Sunday, he prevailed over far-right rival Jose Antonio Kast, an ultra-conservative lawyer who had promised to cut taxes and...

Iceland’s Gigantic Pension Fund Is Creating a Headache at Home

Iceland’s Gigantic Pension Fund Is Creating a Headache at Home

Iceland is confronting the trouble that comes with having a pension system so successful in amassing savings for future retirees that it was recently rated the best in the world. With assets now at about double the size of the north Atlantic island’s economy, the government is considering allowing investment managers to diversify by buying up more securities abroad, prompting the central bank to urge caution. The rules currently limit the share of overseas holdings in pension assets at 50%. “The...

November 2021

Pension funds can steer next level growth and development in Nigeria

In retrospect, it is widely attested that an active pension ecosystem effectively congregating players – a regulator, administrators, custodians, public and private sector employers and working-class persons across several age groups – is well established in Nigeria. The maturity of this industry relative to more advanced economies of the world like the US or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nonetheless, the pension industry globally has displayed great resilience, navigating the turbulence and whirlwinds: macroeconomic shocks, economic downturns,...

The Future of Jobs Report 2020

By World Economic Forum The Future of Jobs report maps the jobs and skills of the future, tracking the pace of change. It aims to shed light on the pandemic-related disruptions in 2020, contextualized within a longer history of economic cycles and the expected outlook for technology adoption, jobs and skills in the next five years. Get the book here 236 views

October 2021

World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2021

By ILO The pandemic has brought unprecedented disruption that – absent concerted policy efforts – will scar the social and employment landscape for years to come The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unparalleled disruption worldwide through its devastating impact on public health, employment and livelihoods. Governments and workers’ and employers’ organizations everywhere have taken immediate measures to tackle the crisis, preserve jobs and protect incomes, though these measures have differed in scope and generosity. While such measures have been crucial in mitigating...

September 2021

Japan’s GPIF won’t buy China’s sovereign debt

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's largest pension fund, said it won't include yuan-denominated Chinese sovereign debt in its portfolio. The decision comes as FTSE Russell is set to start adding Chinese debt to its benchmark global bond index, which the GPIF follows, starting in October. The pension fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond index that excludes Chinese government bonds, Hiroshi Nagaoka, an official at the pension fund, told Bloomberg News. Minutes from a July...

Korea’s aging population to sap fiscal health: Fitch

The fast-paced aging of South Korea’s population is likely to undermine the fiscal health of Asia’s fourth-largest economy in the long run amid soaring debt, credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings said Monday. The aging population, coupled with a declining fertility rate of fewer than one child per woman, could leave Korea exposed to higher risks as rising government spending could become a less effective means of boosting nationwide productivity. Read also Australia. Most vulnerable excluded from Disability Support Pension Fitch urged Korea...

The Surprising Ingredients of Swedish Success – Free Markets and Social Cohesion

By Nima Sanandaji Sweden did not become wealthy through social democracy, big government and a large welfare state. It developed economically by adopting free-market policies in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It also benefited from positive cultural norms, including a strong work ethic and high levels of trust. As late as 1950, Swedish tax revenues were still only around 21 per cent of GDP. The policy shift towards a big state and higher taxes occurred mainly during the...

August 2021

UK. ONS warns early retirement could negatively affect individual finances and wider economy

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has warned that the exit of workers aged between 50 and 65 from the workforce could negatively impact both individuals’ finances and the wider economy. The organisation’s Living longer: impact of working from home on older workers study estimated that if the employment rate of people in the age group matched that of those aged 35 to 49 years, it would add more than 5 per cent to UK gross domestic product (GDP), equating...

Thatcher: the Myth of Deregulation

By Philip Booth It is commonly believed that, during the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher presided over a substantial reduction in government regulation of financial services. Indeed, some have blamed this deregulation for the financial crash that took place nearly 30 years after 1979. ‘Big Bang’ in 1986 did remove the restrictive practices and largely private regulation that existed in securities markets. However, this involved the state unwinding systems of private regulation and was not, as such, a simple act of deregulation. Furthermore, not...