March 2021
31Mar

Guyana. IDB study calls for overhaul of pension system

With Guyana’s pensionable cohort projected to reach 20% of the total population size by 2050, a complete overhaul of its pension system is being recommended by a recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Study. “The financial sustainability of the pension scheme is at risk, and… without any major reform the increasing pension expenses…will erode the government’s ability to provide other relevant services to the population,” the study stressed, while warning that the window of opportunity for reform is closing rapidly as...

March 31, 2021
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February 2021
22Feb

Albania. Deficit in State Pension Scheme Deepening

The decit in the state pension scheme reached Dollar 506 million at the end of 2020, reaching the highest level since the start of the implementation of the new reform in this area. Government spending on pensions amounted to Dollar 1.34 billion, 2.2% more than in 2019, while contributions for social security payments fell for the rst time since 2016. Economic experts link this phenomenon to the eects of the Covid-19 pandemic, where many people lost their jobs, and in many...

February 22, 2021
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19Feb

Spain Counts on Citizens to Buy Into Revolution for Pensions

Spain is hoping to entice people to prepare for retirement with a voluntary saving plan as it tries to wean them off relying solely on state pensions. The aim is to set up a fund run by private investment companies by the end of the year, offering Spaniards an affordable alternative to supplement their public pension. But unlike some other countries, the system will require workers to opt in rather than being automatically enrolled. “We think there’s a group of middle-...

February 19, 2021
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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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