May 2021
12May

Kenya. Civil servants mass departure pushes pension to Sh150bn

Mass retirement of civil servants has pushed pension payouts to more than Sh150 billion, underlining the burden of a fast-aging public service to taxpayers on the back of delays in implementing reforms in the past. The Treasury has projected the pension department will require Sh153.64 billion in the financial year starting July 2021 to honour monthly pensions claims and gratuity pay by senior citizens. Read also South Africa: Green light for infrastructure investment by retirement funds? This is a 38.24 percent jump...

May 12, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
10May

Philippines. DOF backs planned overhaul of military pension system

The Department of Finance (DOF) will rally support this year for the passage of proposed reforms in the pension system of the military and uniformed personnel (MUP). Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has directed the department’s Strategy, Economic and Results Group (SERG), led by Finance Assistant Secretary Juvy Danofrata, to assist the Treasury in gathering support from stakeholders and lawmakers for the revamp of the MUP pension system. “This year, Secretary Dominguez directed SERG to assist the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr)...

May 10, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

March 2021
01Mar

US. Prelude to a State Pension Bailout

By Andrew G. Biggs After decades of mismanagement, state and local government pensions face unfunded liabilities topping $4.2 trillion. When a major public plan finally runs dry, you can bet Congress will bail it out no matter the crippling cost. Congressional Democrats’ Covid-relief package includes a multibillion-dollar bailout for union-affiliated private-sector multiemployer pensions. If politicians will bail out truckers’ and coal miners’ pensions, why would they turn away teachers and firefighters? Multiemployer pensions are jointly run by labor unions and employers,...

March 1, 2021
News, OP Ed, Slider, ,
Read more...

February 2021
11Feb

Ireland. State pension liabilities rising 10% a year, CSO study finds

State pension liabilities are rising at a rate of 10 per cent a year, according to the latest study of Ireland’s pensions, which says pension schemes across the State have total liabilities of €607.9 billion. The study published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Wednesday examines how much Irish households were owed by private employers and government at the end of 2018 based on the pension benefits they had accumulated by that date. The State pension accounts for almost 60...

February 11, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

November 2020

27Nov

UK. State pension rise will go ahead in 2021

State pensions will rise by 2.5 per cent next year, the government has announced. In her statutory annual review of benefit and State Pension rates, Therese Coffey, secretary of state for work and pensions, confirmed the state pension hike, in line with the government’s manifesto commitment not to tinker with the triple lock. The new rates will come into effect on April 12, 2021 and apply to the 2021/22 tax year. She said: “The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits)...

November 27, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...

October 2020

19Oct

Kenya.Pension Bill for Members of Council Assembly gets governors’ backing

Governors will support MCAs in their push for a law that will give them pension after service. Read also Kenya mulls reforms to attract pension funds to invest in infrastructure projects The new legislation that is developed by the Council of Governors on the welfare of governors and deputy governors will also cover county assembly speakers and MCAs. Read also US. Pension Fund Freezes New Investment With Apollo Over Founder’s Epstein Ties Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya said the proposed...

October 19, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
12Oct

South Africa. Deflation puts brakes on retired SA public servants’ pensions

For the first time since the 1990s, nearly 15,000 retired South Australian public servants will see their indexed pensions frozen until consumer prices bounce back – but the state Treasurer has intervened to ensure they don’t lose money. After this year’s record fall in the consumer price index, State Treasurer Rob Lucas has used his legislative discretion to maintain pension payments at their current level to more than 14,300 people in the pre-1986 scheme administered by Super SA....

October 12, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
09Oct

Pensions for State and Local Government Workers Not Covered by Social Security: Do Benefits Meet Federal Standards?

By Laura Quinby, Jean-Pierre Aubry, Alicia H. Munnell Federal law allows certain state and local governments to exclude employees from Social Security coverage if the employees are provided with a sufficiently generous pension. Approximately 6.5 million such workers were not covered by Social Security in 2018. Retirement systems for non-covered workers have become less generous in recent years, and a few plans could exhaust their trust funds within the next decade, putting beneficiaries at risk. This article examines data...

October 9, 2020
Articles, System Sustainability, , , , ,
Read more...
08Oct

Ireland. State’s pension scheme for public servants ‘more sustainable’

Over 40% of the government's 345,000 employees now belong to the less generous pension scheme introduced for new entrants in 2013, according to an expenditure review issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform today. The review describes the introduction of the state's Single Scheme for public servants' pensions as "arguably the most fundamental reform to date" which is set to put the state pension bill on a sustainable footing. Before its introduction, there were fears...

October 8, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

June 2020
05Jun

US. Bill to limit pensions for officials convicted of crimes moves forward

Lawmakers moved to restrict pensions for public officials who commit crimes while performing their official duties. Senate Bill 719 passed unanimously from the House Pensions and Retirement Committee on Wednesday. It targets elected government officials convicted of a felony offense connected with their service. Convicted officials could collect only the amount of money they contributed to the retirement system plus interest. Nor could they count unused sick leave accumulated after July 2007 toward their retirement benefits. The bill won’t...

June 5, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...