July 2024
15Jul

US. The $25 Trillion System of Retirement Savings Needs Fixing

Few Americans today know much about Studebaker or Packard automobiles. Classic car aficionados recall their sleek, innovative designs, but the brands are also a reminder of another bygone era: the traditional defined benefit pension. Studebaker and Packard merged in 1954 and later went out of business. Their pension plans were terminated, leaving thousands of workers without their expected benefits. That, along with other pension plan failures, prompted efforts to make retirement savings safer, culminating in federal legislation that has shaped much...

July 15, 2024
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12Jul

US. DOL may review ‘derisking’ pension risk transfers, says congressional report

A recent Department of Labor report to Congress reaffirming current fiduciary standards for selecting annuity providers in defined benefit pension plans also includes notice that it may review the increasingly common, and controversial, practice of companies transferring pension risks to life insurers, commonly known as “derisking.” The report by the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), which was mandated by 2022’s SECURE 2.0 Act, reviews its 1995 Interpretive Bulletin 95-1 that outlined the responsibilities of fiduciaries under the Employment Retirement Income Security...

July 12, 2024
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11Jul

UK. Wish list for new Pensions Minister

The new pensions minister, Emma Reynolds, must address the key challenges of adequacy, sustainability and intergenerational fairness facing the industry and the millions of savers across the UK as a priority, says Hymans Robertson. The leading pensions and financial services consultancy also says, it would like to see the new government deliver on the key pensions’ initiatives that are underway as the firm lays out its pensions policy wish list. Commenting on the need for rapid action from the new...

July 11, 2024
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08Jul

UK. The Pensions Regulator to challenge master trusts on investments

The Pensions Regulator will shift its focus onto the making sure master trust investments deliver for savers, now it has taken regulatory responsibility of these vehicles. The growth of master trusts has been driven by the introduction of automatic enrolment in 2012 and in 2018 the Government introduced a regulatory framework which meant only master trusts authorised by TPR were permitted to operate. Neil Bull, TPR’s executive director of market oversight, said following the completion of this process the regulator would...

July 8, 2024
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08Jul

Hong Kong. HSBC fined $3 mln over incentives given to unauthorised agents for MPF scheme

HSBC has been fined HK$24 million ($3.07 million) for offering incentives to "unregistered intermediaries" to get clients to join its Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme in 2020 and 2021, Hong Kong's pension regulator said. The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) also said that it disqualified Yip Sze Ki, former head of pensions at HSBC, from taking up senior executive positions at any MPF operator for the next 18 months, according to a statement on Friday. "The MPFA concluded that HSBC...

July 8, 2024
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08Jul

Empowering India’s Gig Workers: The Need for Comprehensive Legislation

In the bustling streets of India's cities, where the hum of traffic meets the aroma of street food, a new workforce is silently shaping the future. These are the gig workers  the delivery drivers rushing through narrow lanes to bring you a warm meal, the freelance coders burning the midnight oil to meet a deadline, and the rideshare drivers ensuring you reach your destination safely. They are the backbone of a rapidly growing digital economy, offering flexibility and convenience...

July 8, 2024
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05Jul

Pensions industry awaits review as Labour wins UK election

After a landslide election win last night, the UK will be looking to Labour to advance key priorities within the pensions industry, including a promise to “review the current state of the pensions and retirement savings landscape”, as per the party’s manifesto. Morten Nilsson, chief executive officer of Brightwell (former BT Pension Scheme Management, the asset management arm of the UK’s largest corporate defined benefit pension scheme), said: “A top priority for the new Labour government will be getting the planned pensions review under way.” He...

July 5, 2024
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04Jul

United States: US court vacates the SEC Private Fund Adviser rule

On 5 June 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the Private Fund Adviser rule (“Rule“) in its entirety on the grounds that the SEC, in enacting the Rule, had exceeded its statutory authority. The Rule was adopted by the SEC in August 2023 and would have fundamentally changed the regulatory landscape for private equity funds and their investors. The outcome was somewhat unexpected as in oral arguments the petitioners only directly challenged three...

July 4, 2024
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04Jul

UK. Election 2024 manifestos: Parties’ pledges on disability, PIP, pensions and workers’ benefits

The party vows to reform disability benefits so they are “better targeted” and improve PIP assessments to make it more specific to someone’s need – following a consultation. The party wants to stop the number of claims from rising and argues people with mental health issues, for example, may not need as much financial support as someone with a physical disability. Labour Labour would work with councils to help match up disabled people, or those with health conditions, with jobs as...

July 4, 2024
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June 2024
25Jun

US. DOL report inconclusive on pension risk transfer market, needs more research

The U.S. Department of Labor is not proposing specific changes to Congress regarding Interpretive Bulletin 95-1, its Employee Benefits Security Administration guidance related to the fiduciary standards of pension risk transfer transactions. Instead, the DOL believes further exploration into the evolution of the PRT market may warrant changes in the future. A report released June 24 was required by SECURE 2.0, the retirement security package Congress passed in December 2022. The bulletin, IB 95-1, outlines the process plan fiduciaries must take when executing...

June 25, 2024
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