TIAA research highlights the increasingly important role of employer-sponsored retirement plans, but also a continuing disconnect between reality and workers’ expectations about retirement. Consider these statistics: Some 85 percent of plan participants who report an easy transition into retirement say they shared their retirement vision with their partner... Read More: HERE
Chinese military veterans have demonstrated in central Beijing for two days, demanding unpaid retirement benefits in a new wave of protests highlighting the difficulty in managing demobilized troops. Hundreds of protesters, dressed in green and blue camouflage fatigues, gathered on Wednesday morning outside the Communist Party's anti-corruption agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, standing in rows and chanting slogans. Reuters was sent footage of the protest by participants. A smaller gathering of protesters congregated outside the Ministry of Civil Affairs on...
Moody’s on February 17 published: “State and Local Government — US: Softening Investment Expectations Signal Accelerating Budget Pressure from Pensions.” Moody’s Senior Analyst Thomas Aaron commented that with both the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) moving to cut investment return assumptions to 7 percent by 2018, large United States public pension systems will be pressured to also drop their return assumptions in response to lower investment outlooks. Aaron highlighted, “In a market...
Ruth Brunn finally said yes to marijuana. She is 98. She pops a green pill filled with cannabis oil into her mouth with a sip of vitamin water. Then Ms. Brunn, who has neuropathy, settles back in her wheelchair and waits for the jabbing pain in her shoulders, arms and hands to ebb. “I don’t feel high or stoned,” she said. “All I know is I feel better when I take this.” Ms. Brunn will soon have company. The nursing home in...
Energised by the successes recorded by the new pension reform, which led to monumental increment of pension holdings to the tune of N6 trillion, the National Pension Commission (NPC) is set to target the informal sector in the first quarter of 2017. The Director General of the Commission, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, disclosed this last Friday at an executive breakfast meeting held by Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, with the theme: “Corporate Governance: a Pension Industry perspective”. She said the decision was...
The government is proposing to allow businesses to remove the link between retirees’ pensions and the retail price index (RPI), in a move that could alleviate the pressure on the UK’s drastically underfunded defined benefit (DB) pensions regime. The plans – contained in a new green paper published by the Department for Work and Pensions – are likely to prove controversial, with one estimate claiming they could cost the average employee £20,000 over the course of their retirement. The move could...
The green paper, Security and sustainability in defined benefit pension schemes, poses consultation questions around four key areas: employer contributions and affordability; member protection; consolidation of DB schemes; funding and investment. It will also consider strengthening the powers of The Pensions Regulator (TPR), and how to strike the right balance between the needs of pension scheme members, sponsoring employers, and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The consultation seeks views on whether there is a case for making special arrangements for...
German regional governments' pension credit risk is moderate due to their ability and demonstrated willingness to ensure sustainability, Moody's Public Sector Europe (MPSE) said in a report published today. Furthermore, the decision to build reserves to mitigate the expected rise in pension costs will keep annual payments at a sustainable level. The report, "German Regional Governments -- Small Pots, Big Impact - Pension Reserve Funds To Alleviate Budgetary Pressure", is available on www.moodys.com. Moody's subscribers can access the report using...
A number of pensioners and citizens have taken the National Unity Government (NUG) to task for failing to abide by its commitments to them. This was after President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah had earlier pledged to improve the quality of public services in government institutions. On Sunday pensioners and other citizens said things have become worse in the government institutions during the past two and half years since NUG leaders took the charge. They also said that public services in...
China shares rebounded on Monday, led by wine makers and banks, after media reports said pension funds may begin flowing into the country's stock markets as early as this week. The bullish sentiment spread to Hong Kong, where the market also advanced but by a more modest margin. China's CSI300 index rose 1.1 percent to 3,457.94 points by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 percent to 3,227.33, recouping losses on Friday. Blue chips were on...
