February 2023
14Feb

UK. Mary Starks Leads Review of Pensions Regulator

The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the appointment of Mary Starks to lead a review of The Pensions Regulator (TPR). This is in line with the expectation that public bodies are reviewed each Parliament. The Minister for Pensions has asked Starks to aim to deliver the report in May 2023. Stark’s previous experience includes serving as executive member of the Board and Director of Competition and Chief Economist at the Financial Conduct Authority. She has also served as Executive...

February 14, 2023
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13Feb

UK. FCA places restrictions on IFA over misappropriation of client funds

The Financial Conduct Authority has placed a number of restrictions on an independent advice firm over concerns its sole director may have misappropriated 1 5mn of a client s funds Campbell & Associates, based in West Wellow, Romsey, had the restrictions imposed on it last week (February 9), and is now prevented from carrying out any regulated activity and cannot reduce the value of its assets without the FCA’s consent. Lisa Maureen Campbell is listed as the sole active director of...

February 13, 2023
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13Feb

China. Legislative steps being taken to protect elderly

China's legislature has accelerated the creation of legislation aimed at the elderly over the past few years in a bid to bolster protection and respond to a rapidly aging population. The latest National Bureau of Statistics data showed that by the end of last year, China's population aged 60 and above exceeded 280 million, making up 19.8 percent of the national total. The National Health Commission estimates that this figure will grow to over 400 million by 2035, accounting for more...

February 13, 2023
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08Feb

UK. New Funding Code could affect how pension schemes are run

UK pension schemes are expecting the Defined Benefit (DB) Funding Code, currently in consultation, to affect the way they are run in the future, a recent poll by Aon has found. At a recent Aon webinar on the funding code consultation, almost 250 attendees were asked how material they thought the new funding regime would be to the way their schemes are run, with 42% of respondents indicating that they thought it would have either a moderate or a significant...

February 8, 2023
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08Feb

U.S. Anti-ESG bill could cut this State pension returns by $6.7 bln

Proposed legislation to limit the use of sustainable investment factors by fund managers of the U.S. state of Indiana could cut $6.7 billion from the investment returns of a public pension system there over a decade, a fiscal analysis shows. One such bill proposed in Indiana requires public pension system officials to act only in the fiduciary interests of participants and beneficiaries. According to a Feb. 4 "fiscal impact statement" prepared by the Indiana Legislative Services Agency, which advises lawmakers in...

February 8, 2023
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08Feb

Early Pension Withdrawals in Chile During the Pandemic

By Olga Fuentes, Olivia S. Mitchell & Félix Villatoro Chile, with one of the largest and best funded defined contribution programs in Latin America, held over USD $200 bn in assets at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, or more than 80% of GDP. Reacting to populist pressures during the pandemic, however, the government gave non-retired participants three separate opportunities to tap into their retirement accounts, leaving some 4.2 million participants with zero retirement savings and draining around $50 bn...

February 8, 2023
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07Feb

U.K. Regulators Are Urged to Address Pension Risks After Last Year’s Crisis

British regulators failed to properly monitor the risks created by the derivatives-based investment strategy that upended the U.K.’s pension sector last year, an investment approach that poses a continuing risk to companies if changes aren’t made, according to a U.K. legislative panel. Liability-driven investments, known as LDIs, invest in derivatives that are tied to U.K. government bonds known as gilts. They help pensions match long-term liabilities they have to retirees with less capital than they would need had they owned...

February 7, 2023
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03Feb

Ghana. Employment Minister now in-charge of pensions

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, as the Minister in charge of Pensions. The appointment, which took effect from Monday, January 30, 2023, was in accordance with section 211 of the National Pensions Act 2008 (ACT 766). This mandates the Minister to steer the affairs of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust. Mr Baffour Awuah made this known when he appeared before the...

February 3, 2023
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02Feb

Trade Unions In Bangladesh Win Universal Pensions

The ITUC welcomes a new law passed in the Bangladesh parliament which establishes a framework for universal pensions. This new law represents a breakthrough following intensive advocacy from trade unions, as well as civil society groups, within the Bangladesh Social Protection Advocacy Network (BSPAN) to extend social protection in the country. The new law will provide, for the first time, the possibility for all Bangladeshi workers to benefit from income security in retirement. Previously, the pension system in Bangladesh was...

February 2, 2023
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02Feb

U.K. Department of Work and Pensions launches collective defined contribution consultation

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a public consultation on a policy framework for broadening collective defined contribution (CDC) provision in pension schemes. The consultation was launched to get views from the public on policy proposals for broadening CDC provision beyond single or connected employer schemes, to accommodate multi-employer schemes. It has also asked for opinions on the role of CDC in decumulation, including how products of this kind might work in practice, and whether there is a significant...

February 2, 2023
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