June 2020

Bahamas. ‘Baffled’ Over Failure To Reform Public Pensions

The Chamber of Commerce's chief executive says he is "baffled" at the government's failure to reform public sector pensions by making civil servants contribute towards their own retirement costs. Jeffrey Beckles, speaking on a webinar hosted by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of The Bahamas, said: "I can't find a model in the world that has been using the same system where it has proven successful or profitable, and I don't know what causes us to feel that...

June 2019

Bermuda. Athene adopts pension risk analytics platform from RiskFirst

Athene Holding Ltd., one of Bermuda’s leading retirement services companies, has become the first insurer to adopt PFaroe, the pension risk analytics and reporting platform from RiskFirst. Using PFaroe’s on-demand liability and transaction price monitoring services, Athene plans to help sponsors evaluate risk and purchase annuities at the optimal time. “We see real value in moving from monitoring liabilities and insurance prices on an ad hoc basis to a more frequent – even daily – basis,” said Sean Brennan,...

May 2019

Bermuda. Retirement age under review

The retirement age should be increased to 70 over a ten-year period, a Labour Advisory Committee report recommended yesterday. The report, tabled in the House of Assembly, said Bermuda’s ageing population had put pressure on pension plans and public sector finances. It also recommended that legislation should be amended or introduced to prevent discrimination against older employees and that a toolkit to help people prepare for retirement should be created. An LAC sub-committee compiled the Reviewing the Retirement Age...

December 2018

Bermuda. Athene Announces Significant Pension Risk Transfer Transaction with Bristol-Myers Squibb

Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) (NYSE: ATH, a leading retirement services company, announced today a first-of-its-kind pension plan termination transaction with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) covering more than 24,000 active employee participants, retirees, beneficiaries, and former Bristol-Myers Squibb employees who have not yet commenced their benefits. Under the agreement, Athene’s wholly-owned Iowa-domiciled life insurance subsidiary, Athene Annuity and Life Company (“AAIA”), agreed in advance to provide an annuity contract covering all obligations of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s U.S. Retirement Income Plan (the...