March 2017

US. Congress could kill state retirement plans

New state-sponsored IRA plans would aim to help small business employees who don't already have access to a retirement savings plan at work -- like a 401(k). But new legislation could stop them before they even begin. The House of Representatives voted along party lines last month to roll back an Obama-era rule that paved the way for these plans. On Thursday, the Senate narrowly passed legislation that takes another step toward finalizing the repeal. Republicans say that under President Obama,...

UK. Insurers call for pension dashboard regulation as tech set to launch

Insurers have called on the government to start legislating for a pensions dashboard, as they prepare to launch the first working prototype next month. In last year's Budget the Treasury set out expectations for the pensions industry to build a dashboard to allow people to see where all their retirement savings are by 2019. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has taken responsibility for organising the project. Currently 17 providers have signed up to help develop the dashboard. Technology for the dashboard...

UK. Slowdown in life expectancy could ease pension deficit pressure by £28b

The latest projections from the Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) would reduce life expectancies at 65 by around 1.3% for males and 2% for females, compared to the previous version of the model. According to Mercer's Pension Risk Report, at 30 December 2016 the pension liabilities for FTSE 350 employers were £857 billion so, in total and to the extent the experience underlying the new model has not already been allowed for, the adjustment could remove around £28 billion of...

Nigeria. Insurance Companies Yet to Remit over N19bn Pension Fund

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said that the federal government is yet to recover all the legacy pension assets, funds and liabilities including over N19 billion in the custody of insurance companies. The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Ms. Sharon Ikeazor, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on “reshaping the landscape of pensions administration for the defined benefits scheme.” Ikeazor said that the legacy fund was inherited from the defunct Pensions Offices and Boards of Parastatals when PTAD...

US. The Fed’s pension fund is flashing a warning sign about the Trump trade

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen went out of her way during her March press conference to emphasize the central bank's decision to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point was predicated on past economic performance, not extrapolations about future policy from the administration of President Donald Trump. "The basis for today’s decision is simply our assessment of the progress of the economy against our long-established goals of maximum employment and price stability," Yellen told reporters on March 15. "There’s...

Ghana. Informal sector players to enroll on pension schemes

Some financial institutions have begun moves aimed at getting more workers in the informal sector to enroll on pension schemes. According to some reports, about 70 percent of Ghana’s working force that fall under the informal sector do not have any pension scheme. In an interview with Citi Business News, the Chief Executive Officer of Old Mutual Ghana, George Kojo Addison said talks have begun with associations in the informal sector to increase their interest in pensions as well as get...

Norwegian Pension Fund Boycotts Dakota Access Pipeline Companies

Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP), a $70.5 billion Norwegian pension fund, is divesting a combined $68.4 million from Phillips 66, Enbridge, Marathon Petroleum, and Energy Transfer Partners, calling the companies’ involvement with the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) “an unacceptable risk of contributing to serious or systematic human rights violations.” The nearly 1,200-mile long pipeline was built to transport oil through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. It has drawn heavy opposition over a potential risk of water contamination at the Lake...

India’s largest mobile phone company sells 10.3% of tower unit to KKR-Canada Pension Plan combine

India's Bharti Airtel has sold a 10.3% stake in its tower unit to a consortium for 61.94 billion rupees ($952 million) as the country's largest mobile phone company seeks to trim its staggering debt. The consortium, backed by private equity firm KKR & Co. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, paid 325 rupees per Bharti Infratel share, a 4% premium to Monday's closing price, Bharti Airtel said in a statement to the Indian stock exchanges Tuesday. Bharti Airtel, which will hold...

Invest Africa’s Pension Funds In Infrastructure, NEPAD Advocates in Nigeria

Mr Ibrahim Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer, NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, has tasked African governments to commit to a roadmap that will allow pension funds to invest in infrastructure. A statement in Abuja by the communications section of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) disclosed this on Monday at the venue of the ongoing African Development Week which began on Thursday in Dakar, Senegal. The meeting was organized by ECA and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the statement...