January 2021

29Jan

CalPERS 2019-20 Annual Performance Report

By CalPERS The 2019-20 CalPERS Annual Performance Report provides a snapshot of our performance during the fiscal year and how we monitor our progress towards achieving our strategic goals and operational outcomes.* This report demonstrates our pledge to operate in an open and transparent manner. Our employees, members and stakeholders can see where we’re successful and where additional support may be needed. The pandemic hit the global economy very hard, but we’ve been preparing for...

January 29, 2021
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28Jan

US. Biden May Have to Move Quickly to Reverse Anti-ESG Rule

The clock is ticking for the Biden administration to nullify Donald Trump’s restrictions on retirement plan fiduciaries, rules by which the Republican sought to limit their ability to direct money into environmental, social and governance funds. Trump’s Department of Labor moved earlier this month to adjust the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require those overseeing pension and 401(k) plans to always put economic interests ahead of so-called non-pecuniary goals. It was seen as a direct...

January 28, 2021
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27Jan

US. Investment Earnings Drive 71% of Public Pension Revenue

Earnings on investments accounted for 71 percent of public retirement system revenues, while employer and employee contributions provided 20 percent and 9 percent respectively, according to an annual study by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. Hank H. Kim, Esq., executive director and counsel of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems The share of revenues that comes from investment earnings edged up from 69 percent a year earlier, while the employer contribution dipped from...

January 27, 2021
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27Jan

Analysis: Sovereign wealth, public pension giants caught up in U.S.-China tech fight

Some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds are getting caught in the escalating tensions over technology between the United States and China, a Reuters analysis of their filings data and public disclosures show. Read also US. Biden May Have to Move Quickly to Reverse Anti-ESG Rule They range from Norway and Singapore’s giant sovereign wealth funds to Switzerland’s central bank and the $1.1 trillion U.S. TIAA, founded over a century ago by Andrew Carnegie as...

January 27, 2021
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26Jan

US. NYC pension funds vote to divest $4 bln from fossil fuels

Two New York City pension funds voted to divest their portfolios of some $4 billion worth of fossil fuel company securities, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Comptroller Scott Stringer, and fund trustees said https://on.nyc.gov/39ejxHM. "Fossil fuels are not only bad for our planet and our frontline communities, they are a bad investment,” said de Blasio in a statement on Monday. New York was among a dozen big cities worldwide that pledged to shift their money out of the fossil fuel...

January 26, 2021
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26Jan

US. MetLife to Provide Annuity Benefits to Nearly 5,200 Weyerhaeuser Retirees and Beneficiaries

MetLife, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company, has entered into an agreement with Weyerhaeuser Company (Weyerhaeuser) to provide annuity benefits to nearly 5,200 retirees and beneficiaries in Weyerhaeuser’s defined benefit (DB) pension plan, representing pension obligations of approximately $765 million. “We are pleased to have been selected to provide guaranteed lifetime income to these Weyerhaeuser retirees and beneficiaries,” says Graham Cox, executive vice president and head of Retirement & Income Solutions at MetLife. “In...

January 26, 2021
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25Jan

Covid-19 And The Future Of Aging: Technology For Connecting

By Joseph F. Coughlin Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging: What impacts will the Covid-19 pandemic have on development of technologies that enable older adults to connect with their communities and live independently? Joseph F. Coughlin: By April last year, the nation changed overnight. Work commutes, shopping trips, nights out and visits with friends and family were abruptly halted. We retreated into our homes. Both fear and caution locked us inside. Suddenly, all of us were part of...

January 25, 2021
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23Jan

Biden team to review Labor Department ESG rule

The Biden administration will review a recent Department of Labor rule stipulating that ERISA plan fiduciaries cannot invest in "non-pecuniary" vehicles that sacrifice investment returns or take on additional risk. In his first few hours in office Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a flurry of executive orders, including one titled "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis." Also Read: US. Multiemployer pension plans could soon see relief In the order, Mr. Biden directed all executive...

January 23, 2021
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22Jan

US. Multiemployer pension plans could soon see relief

Legislation to help struggling multiemployer pension funds is to be introduced Thursday in the House and could be headed for passage if bundled with a COVID-19 relief measure now before Congress. The proposal also calls for some funding relief for single employer plans through extended amortization periods and pension interest rate smoothing changes. The proposed Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 is based on similar multiemployer pension reform legislation proposed in the last session of Congress as part...

January 22, 2021
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22Jan

US. Special Report: Why Pennsylvania SERS is Moving Toward a Liability-Driven Benchmark

Seth Kelly, the investment chief at the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS), joined the pension fund just half a year ago, but he’s already overseeing some big changes. Board members at the $31.5 billion pension fund last month announced that they are increasing their fixed income allocation in order to move the pension fund toward a liability-driven benchmark. The trustees hope that the changes to the investment policy statement (IPS), including a new 7.8% target for long...

January 22, 2021
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