February 2021

02Feb

Ireland. ISME looking for donations to argue for fairer pensions

Isme is calling on private sector workers across the country to donate money to support a campaign to create an equitable system for private sector pension savers. The Irish SME Association (Isme) is looking to raise €500,000 to support three plaintiffs who will challenge tax discrimination against private sector workers before the High Court, arguing that the pension system favours public sector workers. The funds raised will support the formation of a technical team giving tax guidance, pensions expertise,...

February 2, 2021
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January 2021

29Jan

Coronavirus throwing retirement systems into a deepening hole

By Douglas Appell, Paulina Pielichata Emerging markets policymakers' uphill battle to ensure a comfortable retirement for their fast-aging populations became considerably more daunting last year as the coronavirus ripped through the global economy. Read also Australia’s pension assets fall for first time since 2009- regulator Creative approaches to asset allocation and structural changes to keep retirement systems from morphing into rainy day funds are topics policymakers could find themselves grappling with as they look to move forward again after a year...

January 29, 2021
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15Jan

Why BlackRock’s CEO Says the Retirement Crisis Is Getting Worse

Even as BlackRock’s earnings surged in 2020, with the world’s largest asset manager benefiting from increased saving and investment, the coming retirement crisis in the U.S. is getting worse, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said. Read also Swiss APK designs new climate strategy for investments The three reasons are low interest rates, low savings rates, and more part-timers and self-employed people in the economy. Partly because of the low U.S. household savings rate, Fink said he believed the U.S. has required...

January 15, 2021
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14Jan

U.K. government cuts administration fees for smallest DC pots

U.K. defined contribution plans with £100 ($136) in assets or less will be exempt from paying administration fees, the government said Wednesday. A consultation into fee cap rules aimed at protecting automatically enrolled plan participants from paying high fees resulted in the government keeping the fee cap at its current level set at 0.75% of assets under management and administration. The consultation was launched in June. However, due to additional concerns raised by respondents to the consultation around the...

January 14, 2021
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13Jan

US Pension Spending Supports $1.3 Trillion in Economic Output

While public and private defined benefit (DB) pensions are often criticized by politicians and executives as being too expensive to support, a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) highlights the major impact pensions have on the US’s economic output. According to the report, private and public sector DB pensions in the US generated $1.3 trillion in total economic output in 2018, supported nearly 7 million US jobs, and added nearly $192 billion to federal, state,...

January 13, 2021
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11Jan

Pension crisis hits families in Indiana and across the US

Did you know that several families in our community, state and across America, including mine, are facing the loss of our pensions in the very near future? A recent estimate is that 1 million plus pensioners that have “Multi Employer Pension Plans” are trying to survive this crisis. These pensions, for which we worked longer hours, increased productivity and gave up wages, should have been considered sacred and above all, guaranteed. Reflect for a moment about the stress on...

January 11, 2021
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06Jan

Pension funds need a radical rethink

Good pensions finance good infrastructure. Good infrastructure pays for good pensions. This crucial relationship only gets noticed when they both go missing — as the US, UK and several other countries are finding out. Having largely dismantled the defined benefit corporate pensions of yesteryear, they now struggle to turn fragmented individual pensions into the long-term investments their savers and their economies require. Fixing this is vital. It will not be easy. Also Read Uk regulators and police say covid lockdowns...

January 6, 2021
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December 2020

18Dec

400 000 Finnish pensioners to receive extra pension in December by mistake

In Finland, the government agency responsible for public sector pensions has made a mistake and sent for payment January pensions in December, amounting to over 400 million euros, Finnish public broadcaster YLE reports. Keva, the agency responsible for managing municipal pensions in Finland, has noticed on Wednesday, December 16, that it has accidentally made payments to about 400,000 people a month too early. «It was noticed this morning that the municipal pensions were paid out ahead of schedule due...

December 18, 2020
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08Dec

Covid-19 poses long-term threat to pension savings – OECD

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the risk that people will not be able to save enough for their retirement, according to a new OECD study. Read also FinTech In The Time Of COVID: What Financial Services Companies Need To Know The economic impact of the crisis and the shutdowns that many countries have adopted in an effort to halt the spread of the virus has affected the ability of workers and their employers to contribute to private retirement plans, the...

December 8, 2020
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November 2020

23Nov

Chile’s President Pinera seeks Constitutional Court help to head off pensions bill

Pinera said the legislation was unconstitutional since it implied a cost to the public purse that can only determined by the executive, and posed a “grave risk” to the future pensions of Chileans as well as offering another tax-free windfall to higher-income individuals who did not need it. Read also Chile’s famed pensions system faces an existential crisis “All authorities, and especially the president of the republic, have to be sensitive to the needs of citizens, and also responsible over...

November 23, 2020
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