November 2024
14Nov

Brazil. Military pensions post largest deficit among retirement systems

The segment is also the one with the most retirement benefits, according to a TCU report Targeted by the fiscal reforms under consideration by the government, Brazil’s military pension system (SPSMFA) recorded a deficit of R$49.73 billion last year, placing it as less sustainable than the General Social Security System (RGPS) and generating a per capita deficit 17 times higher. This data appears in a separate report by Walton Alencar of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), presented during the review...

November 14, 2024
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13Nov

Danish pension fund pushes for Japan, Korea to abandon coal

PensionDanmark, Denmark’s $51 billion pension fund, is calling on Japan and South Korea to completely wean themselves off coal-generated power by 2030. “We have decided not to finance new coal power planned after 2023 anywhere in the world," Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, head of ESG and sustainability at PensionDanmark told AsianInvestor. "Our ask for utilities in developed countries, including in Japan and South Korea, is that they present comprehensive plans to phase out coal as soon as possible. And that should be closer...

November 13, 2024
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13Nov

UK. Pensions to be key focus of Chancellor’s first Mansion House speech

Pensions are expected to be a key focus of Rachel Reeves’s first Mansion House Speech, due to be delivered this Thursday. Many in the industry are expecting the new Chancellor to set out bold pension reforms, setting out how DC and DB funds will be used to boost investment into UK infrastructure and private business over the next five years. This Mansion House speech is a key economic speech given by the Chancellor to senior City and banking representatives, outlining broad policy...

November 13, 2024
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13Nov

Australia. Government urged to transform Disability Support Pension after its ‘lacklustre’ response to Senate report

A coalition of disability and social services groups has called for further reform of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and condemned the federal government for its official response to a Senate inquiry into the payment. In 2021, a months-long Senate inquiry into the purpose, intent and adequacy of the DSP received 134 submissions and held four public sessions. The inquiry reported early the following year while the Morrison government was still in power, and heard "overwhelming evidence" the DSP was inadequate and that...

November 13, 2024
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13Nov

Brazil’s aging population poses challenges, economists warn

By Marsílea Gombata Brazil is set to experience rapid demographic changes within the next 20 years, which could slow economic growth and increase expenditures on healthcare and pensions. However, these shifts are not being adequately considered in government decision-making, according to economists from the Fundação Getulio Vargas’s Brazilian Institute of Economics (Ibre-FGV). They caution that, from a budgetary standpoint, the government should exercise greater caution with projected spending in areas like education, given the anticipated decline in the population aged...

November 13, 2024
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12Nov

US. Why do workers yearn for defined-benefit pension plans?

A closer look at the Boeing negotiations only makes the question more puzzling Boeing Co. unionized workers recently voted to accept the aerospace company's third contract offer and end their strike. The agreement does not include reopening the Boeing (BA) defined-benefit pension plan, which was cited as the major reason that the union rejected the second offer. Even though the strike is over, I find the fact that reopening the pension plan played such a prominent role in the negotiations really...

November 12, 2024
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12Nov

APG, AIA Thailand turn climate risk into investment opportunity

Two major asset owners discuss how they are deploying capital across the region and targeting sustainable investments in forestry, infrastructure, and green energy. For the nearly $600 billion Dutch pension fund investor, sustainable investment isn't just about ticking boxes – it's about wielding their considerable investment capital to address real-world climate and biodiversity challenges while delivering strong returns, according to Eric van der Maarel, chief executive officer of APG Asset Management’s Singapore office. "Allocating to megatrends with clear sustainability goals is...

November 12, 2024
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12Nov

Nigeria. Micro Pension Subscribers To Get Free Health Insurance Cover

There are strong indications that Micro Pension Plan(MPP) subscribers in the country will soon get free health insurance cover as part of benefits of subscribing to the micro pension scheme. To this end, LEADERSHIP learnt that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has had meetings with health insurance stakeholders, comprising the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) and some Health Management Organisations(HMOs) on the possibility of procuring this cover for subscribers of the scheme. Hence, the cost of the annual basic health cover...

November 12, 2024
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12Nov

Canadian sustainability investment standards to launch in December

The Canadian edition of an international set of sustainability investment disclosure standards will be officially released in December, according to the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board. The organization was tasked with creating a set of sustainability investment standards in Canada based on those created by the International Sustainability Standards Board. The two new disclosure metrics — CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 — will be voluntary and are designed to offer consistency, comparability and transparency to sustainability reporting for institutional investors to...

November 12, 2024
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11Nov

Gen X slip between DB and DC pension cracks

The tail-off in defined benefit (DB) pension provision around the millennium and a lack of compulsion around defined contribution (DC) saving until 2012 has had a lasting impact according to Standard Life’s Retirement Voice report. • Majority of Gen X (54%) are worried their finances won’t cover their retirement – compared to 31% among Baby Boomers • 45% Gen X expect their living standard to be worse in retirement compared to 29% of Millennials • Gen X most likely...

November 11, 2024
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