NEWS
Japan. World’s largest pension fund to resume foreign stock lending
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has confirmed it will resume foreign stock lending after it first suspended the practice in December 2019. In the future, the fund intends to “promptly proceed” with specific practical measures such as the selection of foreign stock lending agents by asset management organisations. However, GPIF does not intend to carry […]
UK. TPR takes tougher action over value as it issues first fine
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has issued a fine against a corporate trustee in the UK in a drive to ensure savers receive value from their pension schemes. Regulation, which came into force in 2021, require trustees of pension schemes with less than £100m in assets to undertake a more detailed assessment of value for members […]
Japan union group announces biggest wage hikes in 33 years, presaging shift at central bank
Japan’s biggest companies agreed to raise wages by 5.28% for 2024, the heftiest pay hikes in 33 years, the country’s largest union group said on Friday, reinforcing views that the county’s central bank will soon shift away from a decade-long stimulus programme. The much-stronger-than-expected increase comes as the Bank of Japan looks close to ending […]
US. Around 20% of people have no retirement savings, survey finds
The AARP and the Ad Council launched a campaign called “This is Pretirement” to help encourage people to seriously think about their retirement plans. “The idea of creating a new campaign to give people small, actionable steps, to really get their retirement savings on track but remove that shame and fear, which is all over us when it really […]
UK. DWP’s frozen state pension policy called into question
The International Consortium of British Pensioners has called for a review of frozen pensions as its analysis reportedly calls into question the figures used by the government to defend the policy. According to the report titled ‘Frozen Pensions: A Policy Overdue for Review’, the figures used by the DWP on the cost of unfreezing pensions […]
South Korea. Pension reform proposals criticized for lacking sustainability
The recent national pension reform proposal at the National Assembly is facing criticism for merely tweaking some key figures — such as the premium and income replacement rates — without tackling the essential reforms needed to bolster the system’s long-term sustainability. Many say the suggested changes are provisional, especially given the uncertainty about when the […]
East Asian societies have the world’s lowest birth rates—and are learning that ‘throwing a bit of money’ at the problem isn’t solving anything
Governments across Asia—in Singapore and Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul—are facing a crisis: plummeting birth rates. For several decades now, people in East Asian economies have had fewer and fewer children. Last year, South Korea beat its own record for having the world’s lowest birth rate, reporting 0.72 births per woman for 2023, down from 0.78 in 2022. Singapore reported 0.97 births per […]
Bitcoin ETFs to pull in pension fund investments
By Lucas Cacioli In light of mounting evidence and evolving market infrastructure, it seems increasingly likely that institutional investors like pension funds are moving towards a tipping point where bitcoin ETFs will be seriously considered as part of a diversified investment strategy. During a private conversation I had with a pension fund CEO late […]