January 2024
31Jan

U.K. looks to reprioritize investment flexibility in pension fund legislation

The U.K. government is amending proposed legislation to ensure defined benefit plans do not become overly risk averse, following a consultation review that was published online. DB plans in the U.K. will be able to take more investment risk when supported by sponsoring employers, according to the government's final position on the long-running development of new legislation for pension plans. "It was never (the U.K. government's) intention to bear down on risk-taking across the board. Rather, it was to make funding...

January 31, 2024
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31Jan

Australia regulator scrutinises pension funds over unlisted asset pricing

Australia's prudential regulator said on Wednesday it will review how sections of the A$2.5 trillion ($1.7 trillion) pension fund sector value unlisted assets and that it is already working with several funds whose practices need to improve. As part of its supervision priorities for the next six months, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said it will conduct a "deep dive review" into valuation practices at a number of large and mid-sized pension funds. The unnamed funds have material holdings of unlisted...

January 31, 2024
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30Jan

UK. DWP confirms final DB funding regulations

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published the final Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding and Investment Strategy and Amendment) Regulations 2024, which are set to come into force from April 2024. The final regulations set out the requirements for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes when determining their funding and investment strategy and statement of strategy, and will apply to scheme valuations from September 2024. Industry experts previously raised concerns over a potential mismatch between the DB regulations and The Pensions...

January 30, 2024
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24Jan

Ghana’s Pension Regulator, NPRA, appoints new CEO

President Nana Akufo-Addo has appointed John Kwaning Mbroh as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA). Mr. Mbroh, whose appointment takes effect from 1st February 2024, replaces Mr. Hayford Atta Krufi who proceeds on retirement after holding the position since 2017. Mr. Mbroh is a management member of the NPRA and currently the Director of Standards and Compliance at the Authority for the past six years. He has taken charge of the core mandate under Section 7 of Act 766 of 2008...

January 24, 2024
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19Jan

UK. Pensions changes on the Horizon for 2024

In 2023 a number of announcements were made about changes to pensions law that are expected to take place during 2024. In addition to proposals set out in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement (summarised here), some other significant developments we expect are: Automatic enrolment: The vast majority of UK employers have to automatically enrol certain employees and other workers into an appropriate pension scheme. The Government has proposed that the qualifying age threshold for auto-enrolment will be reduced from 22 to...

January 19, 2024
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17Jan

La reforma del sistema de pensiones de Chile supera el primer obstáculo

El plan del presidente Gabriel Boric para reformar el sistema privado de pensiones de Chile, creado en los años 80 durante la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet, superó uno de sus primeros obstáculos en el Congreso esta semana. El proyecto de ley de pensiones fue aprobado con el apoyo de la coalición de Gobierno en una votación realizada en la Comisión de Trabajo y Seguridad Social de la Cámara de Diputados el lunes por la noche. Si el proyecto logra la aprobación en el Congreso en su estado actual, terminaría con...

January 17, 2024
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17Jan

UK. Pension funds to begin TNFD reporting

At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos today (16 January), 320 organisations from 46 countries signalled their commitment to adopting the TNFD recommendations. Among these were Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pools Brunel Pensions Partnership and London CIV. Other signatories included UK asset managers such as Fidelity International and Schroders, as well as the London Stock Exchange Group. Several UK climate-focussed asset managers were also on the list, including Climate Asset Management, Impax Asset Management, Greensphere Capital,...

January 17, 2024
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16Jan

UK Pensions Regulator’s new code of practice offers more flexibility for schemes

A new general code of practice issued by the UK Pensions Regulator (TPR) should help improve the operation of pension schemes and manage risk for both members and trustee boards, an expert has said. which consists of 51-topic based modules- has been laid before parliament and is expected to come into force on 27 March. TPR recently published its final response to a consultation on the new code, explaining some of the main changes compared to previous drafts. Its aims...

January 16, 2024
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10Jan

Kenya. Auditor General’s Report Reveals Ksh.67B Lost Through Fake Pension Scheme Payments

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has lifted the lid on the Ksh.67 billion loss of public funds through fake payments made to pensioners whose realness is also in question. The performance report by the Auditor General on the fund shows that top civil servants manning the scheme were among others using duplicate IDs to enrol fake claimants, occasioning the loss of taxpayers' money.  Officials in the National Treasury are said to have colluded to defraud the pension fund of billions of shillings...

January 10, 2024
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08Jan

UK. PM urged to suspend whip from pensions minister accused of misusing taxpayer funds

Calls have been made for the prime minister to suspend the whip from a minister while claims he used his taxpayer-funded constituency office to campaign for the Conservative party are reviewed. Paul Maynard, the pensions minister, has been referred to an investigator by the parliamentary expenses watchdog over reports that he charged taxpayers when producing political materials. The Sunday Times, which broke the story, also reported that the Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP claimed rent for an office that doubles up...

January 8, 2024
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