November 2017

21Nov

Canada Pension Plan is safe for generations, says CEO of investment board

In his travels to every province and one territory over the last 17 months, British-born Mark Machin was struck most by one thing about Canadians. “There’s still this myth that’s circulating that the Canada Pension Plan won’t be there when you retire,” said the CEO of the CPP Investment Board, the largest pension fund in the country that manages a $328-billion investment portfolio on behalf of 20 million Canadian workers and retirees. “You ask the average person — stop anyone on...

November 21, 2017
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20Nov

China taps state firms to buttress pensions as society ages

China on Saturday (Nov 18) announced a pilot programme to help pension schemes meet growing pressure from an ageing society by transferring shares of state-owned firms to social security funds. A document released by the country's State Council, or cabinet, said the programme would begin this year with shares of up to seven SOEs to be transferred. The plan is intended to help make up for shortfalls in the nation's pension schemes and will be expanded in 2018 to involve more...

November 20, 2017
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20Nov

How your mind hurts your saving habits: Nobel winner

Richard Thaler, professor of behavioural science and economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business last month won the 2017 Nobel prize in economic sciences. The branch of economics is, according to the business school, a “relatively new field that bridges the gap between economics and psychology”. “Thaler’s research investigates the implications of relaxing the standard economic assumption that everyone in the economy is rational and selfish, instead entertaining the possibility that some of the agents in the economy...

November 20, 2017
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20Nov

South Africa. SAA: no pension money for bail-out

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) will go on a national strike if funds from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) are used to bail out the ailing SAA, parliament heard on Friday. The federation was presenting its submission to the Standing Committee on Appropriations, detailing its concerns about the airline and its 10 000 workers. Last month, the PIC said it was not ruling out the possibility of bailing out the embattled SAA, after it received cash injections from the...

November 20, 2017
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17Nov

Norway’s $1 trillion pension fund wants out of oil stocks

Norway used oil revenue to build its national pension fund into a $1 trillion behemoth. Now, the fund is planning to dump oil and gas stocks. The fund's managers recommended Thursday that oil and gas investments worth roughly $37 billion be sold in order to protect the country against a permanent drop in energy prices. "This advice is based exclusively on financial arguments and analyses of the government's total oil and gas exposure," said fund manager Egil Matsen. Matsen said...

November 17, 2017
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17Nov

Factbox: Where Chile’s top presidential candidates stand on reforms

Conservative frontrunner Sebastian Pinera and center-left Alejandro Guillier lead a crowded field of candidates in Chile’s presidential election on Sunday, widely seen as a referendum on the reforms of outgoing President Michelle Bachelet. The following are the main policies supported by Pinera and Guillier: SEBASTIAN PINERA - A billionaire businessman who served as president from 2010 to 2014, Pinera has promised to make Chile the first country in Latin America to achieve “developed nation” status in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and...

November 17, 2017
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17Nov

South Africa. Thousands of Transnet pensioners pin hopes on Constitutional Court

About 60‚000 Transnet pensioners have pinned their hopes on the Constitutional Court as they seek to proceed with a class action to seek billions from two pension funds. On Thursday‚ the court heard their appeal against a Pretoria High Court order from last year. Transnet pension fund recipients brought a lawsuit against the Transport Pension Fund and the Transnet Second Defined Benefit Fund and Transnet in the High Court last year. The pensioners wanted the High Court to declare that the...

November 17, 2017
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16Nov

UK. FCA targets pension scammers in Welsh steelworks

Britain’s markets watchdog is sending supervisors to Wales to make sure that 15 billion pounds in steelworker pensions does not become a “honey pot” for crooks. The move -- made public at a parliamentary committee meeting on Wednesday -- is part of a broader crackdown by the Financial Conduct Authority to avert pension scams across Britain following changes in the law. Since 2015, Britain has made it possible for people to cash in their pension pots rather than waiting until...

November 16, 2017
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16Nov

Romania should stay the course – funded private pensions the key to sustainable future, PensionsEurope warns

After the Romanian government has decided to cut the contributions to pillar II to 3.75% (instead of raising to 6% from the actual 5.1% as mentioned in the initial draft bill), people in Romania are now facing a significant risk of suffering a decrease in their future retirement income, PensionsEurope warns. "Funded pension are vital for future pensions as public pension come increasingly under pressure. Romania has been able to build excellent private pensions and should not start to dismantle...

November 16, 2017
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16Nov

There’s A Big Shake Up Coming to Turkey’s Pension Industry

A looming shake up of Turkey’s pension savings industry that the government says is aimed at increasing competition and improving returns has some money managers fretting the steps will backfire as reduced fees erode service levels. Starting Jan. 1, Turkey’s 50 asset managers, which are permitted to oversee 100 percent of any pension fund company’s portfolio, will see that proportion slashed to 40 percent. Allianz AG and Aviva Plc are among 18 private pension companies who as of Nov. 3...

November 16, 2017
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