February 2022

Global Pension Assets Study – 2022

By Thinking Ahead Institute The Global Pension Assets Study estimates global pension fund assets across 22 major pension markets (the P22). These geographies now total a record US$56.6 trillion in pension assets and account for 76% of the GDP of these economies. The study, conducted by WTW and the Thinking Ahead Institute since the 1990s, includes an analysis of the seven largest markets (the P7): Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and US comprise 92% of total pension assets, unchanged...

January 2022

UK. Expanding auto-enrolment could cost employers more, experts warn

Proposed legislation expanding auto-enrolment pensions to include thousands more employees, including younger workers and lower earners, could lead to higher costs for employers, experts have warned. A bill was introduced to Parliament yesterday (5 January) that would see the minimum age for auto-enrolment drop from 22 to 18, giving employees an extra four years of savings towards their pensions. The proposal would also scrap the £10,000 minimum earning threshold that currently triggers automatic enrolment, meaning that all workers over 18 would...

US. NCPERS Proposes a New Tool to Make Public Pension Plans Fiscally Sustainable

Public pensions can be made and kept sustainable for the long haul by incorporating a new tool— sustainability valuation—into funding policies and practices, according to a new study by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. Pension systems can use sustainability valuation to monitor their fiscal status on a continuing basis, gaining insights that would enable them to identify fiscal adjustments needed to stabilize pensions long-term, the study found. The study by Michael Kahn, NCPERS director of research, delineates...

December 2021

Green Finance: A Shift Towards Sustainable Economic Growth

By Bazgha Khan & Noria Farooqui Green finance refers to the financial arrangements that are specific to the utilization for projects that are environmentally sustainable or projects that adopt the aspects of global climate change. It’s to extend the level of financial flows from banking, micro-credit, insurance and investment, the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to sustainable development priorities. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has been working to align financial systems to the 2030 sustainable development agenda to direct financial flows...

November 2021

Why scaling investment is crucial for sustainable development

Global organizations are cooperating on scaling investment to help achieve sustainability goals. Investment promotion needs to change to target sustainable investments, particularly to help reach climate goals. Turkey is implementing this approach by making the SDGs central to its foreign direct investment strategy. Climate change has been on the international agenda for a long time, but recent developments have upped the urgency of taking immediate action for both humanitarian and developmental reasons. World leaders gathered in Glasgow to discuss...

October 2021

These Are the World’s Best (And Worst) Pension Systems in 2021

Iceland has the best pension system in the world, according to a global study that shines a light on how nations are preparing their aging populations for retirement. The country took the top spot in the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index published Tuesday, drawing praise for being well governed and providing strong benefits to retirees, including a generous state pension. The Netherlands and Denmark came in second and third respectively after holding the top spots for the past decade. Read...

India’s pension system needs impetus to ensure adequate retirement income: study

India needs to undertake strategic reforms to revamp the pension system so as to ensure adequate retirement income, revealed the 2021 Mercer CFA Global Pension Index survey (MCGPI) released on Tuesday. The Indian pension system ranked 40th on the overall index ranking out of 43 systems and had the lowest rank in the adequacy sub-index. The primary objective of this annual survey by Mercer Consulting, a leading global management consulting firm, is to benchmark each retirement income system using more...

Irish pensions system at risk, new study says

The €5 hike in the State pension in last week’s budget, along with delays in increasing retirement age and introducing automatic enrolment into savings plans, all threaten the sustainability of the pensions system over the long term, according to a new study. The Mercer study points to considerable future challenges as the population ages due to the topping up of what is described as a “generous” pensions system, and a failure to address core issues. Also adding to the problem is...

Sustainability agreements and antitrust – three criteria to distinguish beneficial cooperation from greenwashing

By Maurits Dolmans This paper discusses European competition law as it applies to agreements between market players to reduce, eliminate, or compensate for greenhouse gas emissions. It places these in an economic context, discusses the relevant provisions of the European treaties and applicable case law of the European Court of Justice. It identifies three broad criteria for the non-application of the prohibition of restrictive agreements, or exemption, to sustainability agreements. Source: SSRN 509 views

Post-covid pension reforms in Europe should focus on sustainability – leading macroeconomic influencers

The reforms introduced in European pension systems have placed unnecessary burden on younger population. Experts opine that post-Covid reforms should focus on sustainability and equity. Linda Yueh Linda Yueh, economist at the University of Oxford, shared an article on the equity of pension systems in Europe in the post-Covid era. The ageing population in Europe resulted in the implementation of several reforms to ensure the sustainability of the pension system. Major reforms, however, were implemented following the 2007-2008 global financial crisis and...