November 2018

08Nov

US. Midterm Elections: What’s The Verdict For Aging Policies?

Yesterday, one of the most significant midterm elections in recent history occurred, with significant implications for the outlook on public policies and legislation affecting aging and older Americans. Health and aging issues drove the midterms more than other issues, including preserving the Affordable Care Act (with special emphasis on threats to pre-existing condition protections), considering Medicare for All proposals and lowering prescription drug costs. The election results make prospects stronger for new policies to lower prescription drug costs, something President...

November 8, 2018
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02Nov

US. IRS Announces Higher 2019 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits For 401(k)s And More

Get ready to save more for retirement in 2019! The Treasury Department has announced inflation-adjusted figures for retirement account savings for 2019, and there are a lot of changes that will help savers stuff these accounts. After six years stuck at $5,500, the amount you can contribute to an Individual Retirement Account is being bumped up to $6,000 for 2019. The amount you can contribute to your 401(k) or similar workplace retirement plan goes up from $18,500 in 2018 to...

November 2, 2018
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October 2018

31Oct

US. IRS To Audit 401(k) Savers Who Contribute Too Much

We’ve written about the danger of overstuffing your Individual Retirement Account. Stiff penalties apply. Now the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administrator is out with a report that suggests that some 401(k) workplace retirement plan savers are pushing the limits, saving more than what’s allowed, costing the U.S. Treasury. TIGTA’s recommendation: bring lax employers and errant taxpayers into compliance. The IRS’ response: It will beef up employer education and conduct targeted audits for taxpayers who appear to have excess 401(k) deferrals, especially...

October 31, 2018
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31Oct

US. The Dangerous Consequence Of Cutting Public Safety Pensions

Management consulting firm McKinsey reports that organizations that appear on “best places to work” lists often make the cut because their business strategy is premised on a long-term relationship with their employees. McKinsey credits companies for both the large and small signals sent to employees that an organization cares about its people. Valued by employers as a workforce management tool to recruit and retain talent, offering defined benefit (DB) pension benefits is one way that employers send a loud signal to employees...

October 31, 2018
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30Oct

It’s Never Too Soon: Retirement Planning for Millennials

Millennials are in a bind, squeezed by changing workplace opportunities and massive student debts. To get on the right path to build their wealth, they should follow these four steps. Much has been written about the shaky financial health of Millennials, most notably that they are lagging behind other generations in personal net worth and falling behind in their retirement savings. This is due less to the popular belief of excessive spending and an alleged aversion for saving money, and...

October 30, 2018
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30Oct

US. Pension Funds Point Finger at Lobbyists of Polluting Companies

A group of pension funds that control $2 trillion are pushing for 55 large European energy, mining and transportation companies to scale back their anti-climate lobbying. Sweden’s AP7, Legal & General Group Plc, the Church of England’s pension fund and Robeco of the Netherlands wrote to the chairman of each company, asking them not to use organizations that try to ease governments’ environmental rules and to be transparent about their own lobbying. The list of recipients includes 10 oil and...

October 30, 2018
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26Oct

US. New York state sues Exxon Mobil for deceiving investors on climate-regulation risk

Company engaged in fraudulent behavior that went all the way up to ex-CEO Rex Tillerson, who went on to serve as Trump’s first secretary of state New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has filed a lawsuit against energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp., alleging that it misled investors about the true risks to its business posed by climate-change regulations. The suit comes after a roughly three-year probe and does not charge the company XOM, -1.03% with contributing to climate change as a...

October 26, 2018
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25Oct

MIT Center launches contest to develop new type of retirement plan for the public sector

The MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy will distribute a prize pool of $20,000 to the winners The Golub Center for Finance and Policy (GCFP) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is launching a contest to generate strategic proposals aimed at enhancing retirement plans covering millions of public sector workers across the US. A prize pool of $20,000 will be distributed to the winners who propose the most well-reasoned, prudent and implementable strategies. Everyone is eligible to participate....

October 25, 2018
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23Oct

Here’s how well retirement income systems in Asia Pacific fare

As ageing populations continue to pose a challenge to governments worldwide, policymakers are struggling to balance delivering adequate financial security for their retirees while keeping it sustainable for the economy. Measuring 34 pension systems worldwide, the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index shows that the Netherlands and Denmark (with scores of 80.3 and 80.2 respectively) both offer A-Grade world class retirement income systems, topping the index globally. In Asia Pacific, top performing countries are Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand, scoring 72.6, 70.4,...

October 23, 2018
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19Oct

US. California Public Employees Vote Against Pension-Fund Activism

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System this month said no thank you to pension-fund activism. Government workers unseated Priya Mathur, the sitting Calpers president. She was defeated by Jason Perez, a police-union official who criticized Ms. Mathur’s focus on environmental, social and governance investing, or ESG. Mr. Perez emphasizes the agency’s fiduciary duty to maximize investor returns. Calpers represents almost two million California public employees, retirees and families. Yet it mostly makes headlines for its activism, such as divestiture from...

October 19, 2018
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