November 2017

16Nov

One unexpected problem with retirement savings: knowing how to spend it

Not only do Americans need to save more for their retirement but they need to learn how to spend that money wisely when they get there. Spending down retirement assets is one of the many challenges Americans face when it comes to retirement planning, according to the Government Accountability Office’s recent report on the state of American’s retirement savings — along with actively putting away money, which influences how much they can put towards other financial goals and lifestyle choices,...

November 16, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
15Nov

Malaysia’s $30bln pension fund to allocate more money

Malaysia´s Retirement Fund Inc aims to lift the overseas portion of its investment portfolio to as much as 15 percent from 12, as the $30 billion pension fund looks to boost performance while domestic returns slow, its chief executive told Reuters. Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) - the fund´s local name - will review its asset allocation strategy in the new year, Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad said at Reuters Global Investment 2018 Outlook Summit. Its current international investments include U.S. ride-hailing firm...

November 15, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
15Nov

Kenya. CMA plans study on Fintech platforms for adoption in sector

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is planning a study on financial technology (Fintech) innovations to help open up the sector for tech intermediaries. The proposed regulatory sandbox will allow Fintech start-ups to test and experiment innovations before they are approved as platforms of trade in the market. This is part of the CMA’s 10-year master plan seeking to promote innovations as a way of growing participants and volumes of trade in the capital markets. The baseline diagnostic survey, set for first...

November 15, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
15Nov

South Africa. Government pension fund says it is ‘over-exposed’ to country’s economy

The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) is “over-exposed” to the South African economy and this needs to be addressed, says Abel Sithole, the fund’s principal executive officer. The GEPF has had an exposure of close to R500bn in local bonds issued by government and state-owned entities (SOEs), as at the end of March 2017, Parliament heard on Tuesday. According to a written reply to questions posed by members of the standing committee on finance, the GEPF said as at the end...

November 15, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
15Nov

Largest U.S. pension fund may slash exposure to stocks

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension fund, is considering more than doubling its bond allocation to reduce risk and volatility as the stock bull market approaches nine years. Calpers is looking at a menu of options for its fixed-income target ranging from the current 19 percent to as much as 44 percent, according to a presentation for a board workshop in Sacramento coming up Monday. Equities could be cut to as little as 34 percent from...

November 15, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
14Nov

UK. Pensions regulator seeks first criminal charges for dodging auto-enrolment

The Pensions Regulator has for the first time charged an employer for deliberately failing to provide a workplace pension to its staff. Bus company Stotts Tours and its managing director Alan Stott pleaded guilty to 16 offences of failing to comply with the law on workplace pensions, TPR says. The regulator found 36 staff were not provided with a workplace pension and didn’t get paid contributions from June 2015 onwards. TPR director of automatic enrolment Darren Ryder says: “Dozens of staff...

November 14, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
14Nov

Puerto Rico Governor Signs Executive Order Authorizing Rules for Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions in the Wake of Recent Natural Disasters

On November 8, 2017, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed Executive Order No. 2017-067 (“EO 2017-067”) authorizing the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury (the “PR Treasury”) to establish tax rules for distributions from qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts following Hurricane María and other natural disasters. Under EO 2017-067, the PR Treasury must create: Tax rules applicable to distributions from qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) that are disbursed following Hurricane María or any...

November 14, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
13Nov

UK and US ‘must learn from poor countries’ to solve ageing crisis

The ageing crisis facing Britain, the US and other wealthier nations could be partly addressed by adopting initiatives being developed in poorer countries, experts say. Low- and middle-income countries have been forced to be “innovative and ingenious” in finding low-cost and effective solutions for their growing elderly populations. Some of the initiatives include: Devoting an entire city in Chile to experimenting with elderly care. Increasing involvement of older people in democracy through old people’s councils in Brazil. Training armies of volunteers in elderly...

November 13, 2017
News, Slider,
Read more...
13Nov

The State of the Nation: Filling the gaps in Malaysia’s pensions framework

MALAYSIAN employers can do more to help their employees prepare for retirement and play a larger role in building up a more sustainable pension programme here, says global human resources consultancy Mercer. While the existing pension infrastructure has solid foundations, there are gaps to address to ensure the longer-term sustainability of the system moving forward, according to Hash Piperdy, CEO of Mercer Malaysia. “While it feels like some of these problems are many years in the future, there are decisions we...

November 13, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
13Nov

US. The Constitution can’t protect underfunded public pensions

Government-employee unions won in a landslide last week, defeating New York’s ballot question to update the state constitution by 78 percent to 16 percent. Public-sector groups were worried that any changes would imperil their pensions, which the constitution guarantees. But public-sector workers should worry less about words and more about numbers. Whenever anyone writes that public-sector pensions are unsustainable, New York union leaders have a rejoinder: The constitution guarantees them. Such benefits, according to the document, “shall be a contractual...

November 13, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...