News Archives - Page 2 of 732 - Pension Policy International

16AprApril 16, 2024

UK. Wave of retirement is starving UK stocks of pension fund investment, warns Goldman Sachs

British businesses risk being starved of investment as pension funds sell off assets to meet a wave of retirement claims, Goldman Sachs has warned. Analysts at the Wall Street bank have sounded the alarm over investment levels flatlining in the UK after research found final salary schemes are selling almost as many British stocks as other pension funds are buying. This has meant that UK-listed companies are receiving just £500m in net investment from pension funds each year. Goldman Sachs said defined...

April 16, 2024

NewsInvestment, UK

16AprApril 16, 2024

Americans think they need almost $1.5 million to retire. Experts say to focus on another number instead

When it comes to retirement, Americans have a new number in mind — $1.46 million — for how much they think they will need to live comfortably, according to new research from Northwestern Mutual. That estimate is up 53% since 2020, when Americans said they would need $951,000, as the cost of living has surged in recent years. It is also up 15% from last year, when respondents said they would need $1.27 million. For many savers, that goal may sound daunting, particularly as...

April 16, 2024

NewsRetirement Planning, savings, US

16AprApril 16, 2024

South Africa. The system is offline — Government pension fund goes silent after data breach

The Government Employees Pension Fund’s (GEPF) systems are still down following a data breach from the LockBit ransomware group in mid-February 2024. As a result, government employees cannot log into the GEPF website or its smartphone app, leaving them in the dark about the latest value of their pensions. Several readers have informed MyBroadband of the issues experienced when attempting to access the system in recent weeks. “We are still not able to log into the GEPF website and the cell phone...

April 16, 2024

NewsRisk, South Africa

15AprApril 15, 2024

US. CWA Union Fights Back Against So-Called Pension De-Risking

Before its bankruptcy in 1991, Executive Life Insurance Company accepted transfer contracts from companies to pay their retirees’ pensions instead of the companies defined benefit pension plan. Employers saved money in the transfer because Executive Life offered high interest rates — which were discovered later to be backed by junk bonds – and because their retirees lost Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protection when the companies stopped paying PBGC premiums. Retirees from RJ Reynolds, Pacific Lumber suffered significant cuts in pensions...

April 15, 2024

NewsDefined Benefit, Occupational Pensions, US

15AprApril 15, 2024

Why richer, older China needs changes to its social contract

No one likes getting old. The pains and strains of becoming elderly wear on us. The worries about how to ensure we can provide for ourselves in old age looms largest of all, as countries’ birth rates fall Nowhere feels this more acutely than China, where a staggering 300 million peopleminimal or no pensionsmaller families The challenges are multifaceted. The government needs to build out rather than restrict the social safety net of pensions and healthcare for this growing segment of the country’s...

April 15, 2024

NewsAging, China, Public Policy

15AprApril 15, 2024

U.S. More people are working well past retirement age. It’s not easy

Hope Murray retired in 2013 after a 50-year career that ranged from game show producer to Hollywood party planner to casino executive. She settled into a life of golf, game nights and pickleball in her San Diego community, her daughter living nearby. Then things got more expensive. Gas was nearly $5 a gallon, medication costs were adding up, the grocery bill was increasing. So she downsized, stopped driving as much and waited longer between haircuts. But she could no longer afford some of...

April 15, 2024

NewsAging, Labor Market, US

15AprApril 15, 2024

Finland intends on cutting pensions

Finance Minister Riikka Purra of Finland has emphasized the necessity of implementing pension cuts as part of the government's efforts to bolster public finances, according to an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, a local newspaper. With the aim of slashing EUR3 billion from the 2025 state budget, discussions surrounding pension reforms have taken center stage in the current political discourse. Purra acknowledged the inevitability of reducing occupational pensions as a component of the government's austerity measures. She highlighted potential strategies such...

April 15, 2024

NewsFinland, Sustainability

12AprApril 12, 2024

Peru Passes Bill Allowing for $7 Billion in Pension Withdrawals

Peru’s Congress overwhelmingly approved a bill late Thursday allowing workers to tap their retirement accounts, which authorities estimate could lead to $7 billion in withdrawals. The bill was approved with the vote of 95 lawmakers out of 106 in attendance, despite government opposition. The government could veto the bill, but that is likely only to delay its implementation as congress can easily override it. Lawmakers have repeatedly targeted Peru’s vilified private pension system since the pandemic, saying the system has failed...

April 12, 2024

NewsPerú, Withdrawals

12AprApril 12, 2024

US. People Are Worried About Retirement Savings, And They Should Be

This week is America Saves Week, a time to focus on actions Americans can take to successfully save. When it comes to saving for retirement, Americans are feeling pessimistic. In a recent nationwide survey of working age Americans, 79% agree that the nation faces a retirement savings crisis, up from 67% in 2020. And more than half of Americans (55%) are concerned that they cannot achieve financial security in retirement. But is this worry about retirement savings warranted? After all, people worry about many things,...

April 12, 2024

Newssavings, US

12AprApril 12, 2024

UK. TPR finds trustees are taking action on climate risks and opportunities

Pension trustees are acting to address climate risks and opportunities, with more than 60 per cent of pension schemes included in The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) latest review having some form of net-zero goal with a target date of 2050 or earlier. Following the introduction of new climate-related disclosures for schemes with more than £1bn in assets under management in 2022, TPR undertook an analysis of a selection of reports in an effort to help raise standards across the industry. This review...

April 12, 2024

NewsClimate crisis, Regulation, UK

April 2024