September 2020

14Sep

US. How the Secure Act Could Affect Retirement Savers

In December 2019, the federal government passed into law a set of reforms designed to help Americans achieve retirement security The legislation—known as the Secure Act—broadens access to tax-advantaged retirement-savings accounts and lets Americans keep money in such accounts longer, among other things. In recent months, worries about Americans’ retirement security have been heightened by the coronavirus pandemic. The mass unemployment caused by Covid-19 is a reminder of why people need retirement savings in the first place. So how...

September 14, 2020
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11Sep

US. The crisis of multiemployer pension plans: Where do we go from here?

It is no secret that many multiemployer pension plans are struggling – paying out substantially more in benefits to retirees than the income they are receiving. Without legislative action, many are expected to go bankrupt in the next 5 to 15 years, leaving current retirees and active employees without the retirement income they expected. To understand where we go from here, let’s first explore the history of multiemployer plans, then look at potential avenues for reform. How...

September 11, 2020
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10Sep

US. Pension fund, MIT launch social investing project

The Massachusetts state pension fund is teaming up with the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative to try to improve the data available to investors who want to make decisions based on things like the way a company treats its workers, its carbon emissions or its product safety record. As socially responsible investing expands rapidly across the globe, the Aggregate Confusion Project with the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board aims to cut through the noise around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)...

September 10, 2020
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09Sep

US. What has COVID-19 done to our retirement savings?

COVID-19 has disrupted life as we knew it, upending our daily lives, threatening the health of many, and exacerbating the financial stress already facing many families. The short-term impacts have been substantial and have received considerable attention, but we should not lose sight of the potential for long-term financial consequences, especially on retirement security. Read also US. DOL´S mixed message for plan sponsors Short-term relief, long-term consequences As millions of Americans found themselves out of work and many small businesses...

September 9, 2020
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08Sep

US. Should Pre-Retirees And Retirees Worry About The Presidential Election’s Impact On Their 401(k)?

It’s understandable if pre-retirees and retirees are nervous about the impact of the upcoming presidential election on their retirement savings, especially if they’re keeping up with the news these days. If they are, they might feel as if they’re being whipsawed between conflicting headlines they’ve read or heard in the media. For example, President Trump claims the stock market will crash if Biden is elected, but not if he himself is reelected. On the other hand, several recent news...

September 8, 2020
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07Sep

US. DOL´S mixed message for plan sponsors

The Labor Department is on a tear. In recent actions, it has opened the door for sponsors of defined contribution retirement plans to consider adding alternative investments such as private equity to their lineups. And it also sent a stern warning for both defined benefit and DC plan sponsors over including investments with an explicit ESG focus. More recently, it has proposed blocking an ERISA plan sponsor's ability to vote a proxy unless the issue has an economic impact on...

September 7, 2020
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04Sep

US. No, Joe Biden Won’t Kill Your 401(k)

A simmering debate among financial professionals and policy wonks has intensified as the presidential race kicks into high gear: Should Joe Biden become president, will he reinvent the 401(k)? A Biden campaign pledge to make employer-sponsored plans more equitable is driving the conversation. While Biden’s team hasn’t offered many details, some observers believe a Biden administration would favor changing retirement plan tax benefits to the benefit of lower-income workers. Skeptics worry this would depress retirement savings overall and lead...

September 4, 2020
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03Sep

US. COVID-19 economy pushing workers into early, involuntary retirement

The COVID-19 pandemic may have pushed millions of older workers out of the workforce prematurely. A report published earlier this month from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) at The New School showed that 2.8 million older workers have left their jobs since March — and ongoing economic turmoil coupled with poor health could make it difficult to resume their career elsewhere. Some may have already given up. Per the report, 38% of unemployed older employees stopped...

September 3, 2020
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02Sep

Pennsylvania Teachers’ Pension Sheds $2 Billion in Risky Investments

The board of trustees of the $55.8 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) has unanimously voted to dump approximately $2 billion from “expensive and underperforming” investments. At its most recent meeting, the board agreed to the move as part of a $5 billion reallocation out of hedge funds and other higher risk investments into stocks, bonds, commodities, and infrastructure investments. The move was lauded by Pennsylvania State Treasurer Joe Torsella. “It’s time that more pension funds wake...

September 2, 2020
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01Sep

How can cities adapt to the needs of their aging populations?

Long before COVID-19 had us rethinking just about every aspect of how we live, demographers and experts on aging were already considering what the future will look like for the world’s cities. A decade from now, roughly 3 of every 5 people on the planet will live in cities, and that population is getting older than the urban dwellers of the past. On top of that, aging populations will double between now and the end of the century. Add...

September 1, 2020
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