June 2023

Thousands march in Colombia’s streets against Petro’s reform plans

Thousands of Colombians have protested in the capital Bogota and other cities against reforms by the country's first-ever leftist President Gustavo Petro, which many say go too far. Called by the right-wing opposition under the banner "march of the majority," protesters gathered on Tuesday in cities including Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla. Many waved Colombia's yellow, blue and red flag, and held up posters with such messages as: "No to ending up like Cuba or Venezuela." The mobilisation seemed particularly large in...

US. 8 Best Retirement Destinations for LGBTQ Seniors

Choosing the best place to retire can be a difficult decision. Not only do you have to consider cost of living, accessibility to health care, proximity to family and more, but if you hope to settle into a community of like-minded retirees – say the LGBTQ senior community – it can be even more difficult to find a place that checks all your boxes. As an LGBTQ senior, inclusivity and community amenities are equally important as factors like cost, so...

Finnish pension giant invests €500m in newly launched Europe climate-action ETF

Finnish pension giant Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance has invested more than €500m in Amundi’s new MSCI Europe Climate Action Ucits ETF. The fund tracks an index designed to identify European companies assessed as the top 50% sector leaders in terms of their positioning and actions relative to the climate transition. Notably, the ETF gives investors an alternative to ESG and Climate ETFs linked to the Paris-aligned benchmark (PAB) and EU Climate Transition benchmark. The index methodology tracks metrics including carbon intensity, science-based...

Zurich & Prudential Financial in £1.7bn UK pension longevity swap & reinsurance

The Nationwide Pension Fund Trustee Limited has entered into a longevity swap agreement with Zurich Assurance Ltd (Zurich UK), and Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI) of the United States has acted as the reinsurance capital provider. The longevity risk of approximately £1.7 billion ($2 billion) of Nationwide’s pension scheme liabilities, covering approximately 7,000 in-pay members in the UK, are involved. The transaction sees the longevity risk of the pension passing through Zurich UK, to an insurance subsidiary of PFI as the reinsurance...

México. Presidente buscará reforma para cambiar edad de retiro

El presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador informó este lunes que promoverá una reforma al Artículo 4 constitucional con el fin de garantizar las pensiones a adultos mayores así como a los integrantes de grupos originarios a partir de los 65 años y no de los 68, y otra para establecer trato digno a los animales. “Tiene que modificarse en lo que tiene que ver con pensiones, porque se estableció que la pensión para adultos mayores se entregaría a partir de...

Peru. Reforma al sistema previsional llega al Pleno sin consenso

Caras opuestas. Son dos dictámenes, una de la Comisión de Economía y otra de la de Trabajo; sin embargo, solo se busca discutir el que promueve el fujimorismo e inclina la balanza en favor de las AFP. Aquí, los principales aspectos de cada propuesta. El Congreso de la República cuenta con dos propuestas (ver infografía) para reformar el sistema previsional peruano, cuyos contenidos distan uno del otro en fondo y forma. Especialistas coinciden en que lo ideal hubiera sido trabajar...

Chile. Reformas tributaria y de pensiones seguirán en el foco del debate legislativo esta semana

Esta semana, se debería despachar del Congreso el veto del Presidente al proyecto que hace más drásticas las penas en contra de quienes cometan delitos económicos, conocidos popularmente en Chile como de “cuello y corbata”. Sin embargo, el debate estará centrado en la reforma tributaria y los dichos del ministro de Hacienda Mario Marcel, en cuanto a que no estaría financiada la PGU aprobada por el gobierno anterior. Por otra parte, también se espera el debut en el Congreso del...

El Salvador. El ISP recibió $244.3 millones para pagar pensiones pero solo usó $119.5 millones

El Ministerio de Hacienda ya transfirió al Instituto Salvadoreño de Pensiones (ISP) el 57% del presupuesto de 2023 para obligaciones previsionales, pero no todos los fondos han sido ejecutados y no se especifica el destino del dinero no usado, según los datos oficiales. El Instituto Salvadoreño de Pensiones (ISP) ya recibió de manos del Ministerio de Hacienda las transferencias de dinero que suman $244.3 millones para el pago de pensiones, según datos oficiales hasta abril de 2023. Sin embargo, de esos...

The politicisation of investments at US public funds

By Amanda White with Sarah Rundell The attempts by multiple Republican states to restrict where US pension funds can invest is symptomatic of bad governance. Top1000funds.com takes a deep dive into the quagmire of US state pension funds to assess the impact of partisan politics on the ability of CIOs to do their jobs. The analysis highlights the need for improved practices around delegated authority to prevent the politicisation of investments. So much has been written about the rise and fall...

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...