November 2023

UK pension regulator outlines challenges and plans for scheme transformation

Louise Davey from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) addressed the complex issue of pension decumulation during an ABI webinar Today. She outlined TPR's strategy to transform UK pension schemes into full-service providers that support savers from the accumulation phase through to retirement. Davey highlighted the limitations of current trust-based pension schemes and underscored TPR's support for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) proposal to mandate these schemes to offer decumulation products and services. She emphasized the evolution of the UK...

October 2023

International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) annual meeting on at Victoria Falls

FINANCE, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Prof Mthuli Ncube has officially opened the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) annual meeting where he called for development of the pensions and financial sector in the region in line with international protocols. The meeting is being attended by pension supervisors from around the world and started on Tuesday with the IOPS committee closed door meetings and will end tomorrow. Among the delegates attending the meetings are representatives of pension supervisory authorities from...

September 2023

UK. TPR to ‘work more closely’ with pension administrators

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has said it is planning to "work more closely" with third-party administrators (TPAs) and has updated on recent progress in a blog published today (13 September). The blog, written by TPR interim head of relationship supervision Cliodhna Judge, outlined how a recent pilot project on an ‘administrator relationships' function has led to better engagement with TPAs. The project, which has been running since early 2022, involved working with a voluntary administrator to "explore potential risk areas", and...

August 2023

México. Gobierno exhibe esquema de defraudación en pensiones ISSSTE; daños ascienden a 15 mil millones de pesos

El procurador fiscal de la Federación, Félix Arturo Medina Padilla, dio a conocer la identificación de un esquema de saqueo y defraudación en el Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE), el cual generó afectaciones al patrimonio de la institución por 15 mil millones de pesos en pensiones durante más de 12 años.   A partir del proceso de rescate y nacionalización del ISSSTE, la Procuraduría Fiscal de la Federación detectó un modelo de corrupción en el que extrabajadores...

July 2023

The pensions regulator’s annual report and accounts 2022-2023

By The Pensions Regulator The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is the UK regulator of workplace pension schemes. We make sure that employers put their staff into a pension scheme and pay money into it. We also make sure that workplace pension schemes are run properly so that people can save safely for their later years. Read book “here”

Kenya. Treasury plans to go after counties over pensions debt

The National Treasury and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) have trained their guns on counties that have failed to remit statutory deductions to pension schemes. With the non-remittances hitting Sh90.69 billion in May, Treasury is now mulling deducting the outstanding arrears directly from the counties equitable share of revenue and the taxman engaged to collect the debt. Appearing before the Senate’s County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u said that in consultation with the Retirement Benefits Authority,...

June 2023

EIOPA says national supervisors need more data on liquidity risks

Pension funds and insurers in Europe are holding up well in spite of higher financial stability risks, according to a new report from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) – but the body also said national supervisors need more data on liquidity and other risks to make sure buffer requirements are adequate. Publishing its June 2023 Financial Stability Report today, Frankfurt-based EIOPA said the European economy was currently experiencing a new period of high uncertainty and elevated financial...

Ghana’s pensions authority seeks support from development partners — As SECO project comes to an end

The National Pensions and Regulatory Authority (NPRA) is asking for support from the World Bank and other development partners for continuous technical training for the effective operationalisation of its Risk Based Supervision (RBS) System. The RBS systems which was developed in 2019 through the help of the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) is aimed at streamlining the supervisory and regulatory mandate of the authority. It was also designed to help the authority to stay abreast with the emerging pensions...

May 2023

UK. Pensions industry set for ‘fraud crisis’

Greater accessibility to retirement savings could leave Brits ‘highly vulnerable to a wide-scale wave of scams’ The pensions sector is facing a looming fraud crisis that could see millions of pensioners scammed out of their life savings, according to a report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions The Digital Pension Fraud: a looming crisis awaits report found that industry experts fear greater accessibility to draw down cash from retirement savings as digital pension services come online will leave pension holders highly vulnerable to...

UK. Capita: Watchdog warns pension funds over data after hack

Hundreds of pension funds have been asked to check whether data was stolen by cybercriminals during a major hack of the UK's largest outsourcer. The Pensions Regulator has asked trustees responsible for funds that use Capita as an administrator to assess whether clients' data is at risk. After the hack in March, information apparently containing Capita data began to circulate on the dark web. The pensions watchdog said on Sunday that it had written to the hundreds of pension funds that employ...