January 2022
07Jan

US. Pandemic’s impact on retirement savings varies by geography, gender and age

Nearly every American has felt the impact of the pandemic on the ability to save for retirement. “Retirement is expensive, and Americans were struggling to save enough money for it long before the pandemic,” according to a report from The Penny Hoarder on its recent survey. “The economic turmoil of the pandemic underscored some critical lessons about investing for the long term, including keeping calm during turbulent markets and using market slumps as an opportunity to invest when prices are...

January 7, 2022
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07Jan

UK. Expanding auto-enrolment could cost employers more, experts warn

Proposed legislation expanding auto-enrolment pensions to include thousands more employees, including younger workers and lower earners, could lead to higher costs for employers, experts have warned. A bill was introduced to Parliament yesterday (5 January) that would see the minimum age for auto-enrolment drop from 22 to 18, giving employees an extra four years of savings towards their pensions. The proposal would also scrap the £10,000 minimum earning threshold that currently triggers automatic enrolment, meaning that all workers over 18 would...

January 7, 2022
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07Jan

India’s jobs crisis is more serious than it seems

Jitendra Maurya was one of more than 10,000 jobless young people who turned up for interviews for 15 low-skilled government jobs in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Many of them were overqualified - aspirants, according to one report, included post-graduates, engineers, MBAs and people like Maurya, who is preparing for a judge's exam, according to a BBC report. "The situation is such that sometimes there is no money to buy books. So I thought I will get some work [here],"...

January 7, 2022
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07Jan

UK. FTSE 350 DB pension deficit falls by £28bn; ‘looming risks’ ahead

The aggregate accounting deficit of FTSE 350 companies’ defined benefit (DB) pension schemes fell by £28bn during December, ending the year at £76bn, according to Mercer's latest Pensions Risk Survey. It revealed that liability values fell from from £962bn to £913bn during the month, although asset values also declined, from £858bn to £837bn. However, whilst the deficit had fallen compared to November, it had increased year-on-year, with an aggregate deficit of £70bn recorded at the end of 2020 and of £41bn...

January 7, 2022
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06Jan

The great population growth slowdown

At the stroke of midnight on January 1, New York City welcomed its first new inhabitant of 2022: Leyla Gessel Tzunun Garcia, born as the new year began at Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn. Read also India’s jobs crisis is more serious than it seems Given changing trends around population and fertility, though, there’s less competition to become the first baby of the new year than there used to be. Fewer babies were born in New York City in 2020 than...

January 6, 2022
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06Jan

US. What the Pension Protection Act has taught us about saving for retirement

They say that hindsight is 20/20. And as we look back on the Pension Protection Act, which was passed just over 15 years ago, it’s clear that our understanding of the law has, well, cleared up. Commendably, this legislation was crafted with the best of intentions — to help more Americans save for retirement — but its unintended consequences made a greater impact for too long. Among other provisions, the Pension Protection Act gave plan sponsors the power to automatically enroll...

January 6, 2022
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06Jan

UK. MP seeks to extend auto-enrolment to 18-year-olds

Proposals that would see working 18-year-olds and low earners automatically save into a pension are being put before parliament this week. Read also UK. Expanding auto-enrolment could cost employers more, experts warn Conservative MP Richard Holden tabled a motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday to extend auto-enrolment in this way. Read also UK. FTSE 350 DB pension deficit falls by £28bn; ‘looming risks’ ahead The proposal looks to boost the pension pots of 18 to 22-year-olds and those who either work...

January 6, 2022
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05Jan

US. NCPERS Proposes a New Tool to Make Public Pension Plans Fiscally Sustainable

Public pensions can be made and kept sustainable for the long haul by incorporating a new tool— sustainability valuation—into funding policies and practices, according to a new study by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. Pension systems can use sustainability valuation to monitor their fiscal status on a continuing basis, gaining insights that would enable them to identify fiscal adjustments needed to stabilize pensions long-term, the study found. The study by Michael Kahn, NCPERS director of research, delineates...

January 5, 2022
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05Jan

Taiwan fund to issue $2.3 bln climate change pension mandate, Asia’s first -official

Taiwan's largest pension fund is set to issue what a top official said is Asia's first climate change-focused stock mandate, worth $2.3 billion, amid mounting pressure for the global financial sector to support green investing. The open-tender bidding process for asset managers seeking to be involved in the Bureau of Labor Funds mandate will commence in the first quarter of the year, Liu Liju, deputy director general at the fund, told Reuters in an interview. The fund has Taiwanese $5.5 trillion...

January 5, 2022
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05Jan

ESG Investing Is Not Sustainable Investing

There’s a lot of confusion in the marketplace regarding ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and Sustainable, sometimes known as SRI (Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact) investing. Many people think the two terms are interchangeable – I’m here to tell you that they aren’t. Blackrock BLK +0.4%, Vanguard, and other big investment houses are simply capitalizing on the growing interest in values-aligned investing. In fact, they have invested a significant amount of money in marketing ESG to have you believe that they are...

January 5, 2022
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