September 2017

14Sep

UK’s pension investment advisers to face full competition probe

Britain’s competition regulator has launched an investigation into investment consultants following concerns about conflicts of interest in an industry advising on the management of over 1.6 trillion pounds ($2 trillion) of pension and other funds. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday it has referred its concerns to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full investigation, the first time it has referred a case to the CMA as part of a broader effort to improve value for money and...

September 14, 2017
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14Sep

Polls show Swiss pension reform hangs in the balance

According to a survey by 20 Minutes publisher Tamedia, the reform will be narrowly rejected, with only 48 percent in favour of the plan and 49 percent against it. Three percent said they had not decided. However a second survey by research institute gfs.bern showed the reverse, with 51 percent in favour of the reforms, a slight decrease from the 53 percent who expressed support for the plan during the institute’s first survey in August. The vote takes place on...

September 14, 2017
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14Sep

US. Wiles: Why you shouldn’t tap into your retirement plan after disasters

In the wake of a disaster like Hurricanes Harvey or Irma, a job loss or other financial trauma, it's natural to look to 401(k)-style retirement plans or Individual Retirement Accounts for help. Retirement plans are among the largest sources of fairly liquid, non-housing money available to millions of Americans. They are tempting sources of ready cash. The Internal Revenue Service recently acknowledged as much, reminding Harvey victims with 401(k) accounts that they could tap these plans in a pinch. In fact, the IRS is relaxing certain retirement rules, making it easier...

September 14, 2017
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13Sep

US. IRS Allows Easier Access to Retirement Plan Funds for Hurricane Irma Victims

We previously posted regarding the retirement plan relief provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for victims of Hurricane Harvey pursuant to Announcement 2017-11. The IRS extended the same relief to victims of Hurricane Irma in Announcement 2017-13. The relief relaxes the rules that normally apply to restrict a plan participant’s access to qualified retirement plan funds. The relief is available to a plan participant who, on Sept. 4, 2017, had a principal residence or work location (or whose...

September 13, 2017
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13Sep

Zimbabwe. Rhodesian pensioners in SA ‘turn destitute’ as Mugabe govt ‘scraps payouts’

Zimbabwean pensioners who served under the Rhodesian government before relocating to South Africa have reportedly turned destitute after President Robert Mugabe's government "scrapped their payouts without explanation". According to NewsDay, an organisation set up to keep track of the affected pensioners and their welfare, Flame Lily Foundation, said its 300 members aged between 78 and 101 had been "dumped" by the Zimbabwean government. The pensioners were said to have relocated to South Africa at independence in 1980. "We established a project to...

September 13, 2017
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13Sep

UK. Judge attacks Department for Work and Pensions for failing to tackle benefits cheats

A judge has attacked the Department for Work and Pensions for failing to tackle benefits cheats and said he thinks they should be forced to pay back money sooner. Judge Nicholas Dean QC said long delays made it harder to send fraudsters to prison as prosecutions take several years to reach court. The wait means offenders are able to dispose of money and assets which could be seized by the Government and used to make up for the fraudulent payments,...

September 13, 2017
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13Sep

South Africa. Sweating pensions in the post-retirement phase

Only 6% of South Africans (about 3.4 million) are over the age of 65. On the other hand, in the United States 15% (46 million) are over the age of 65 and in the UK, 18% of the population (nearly 12 million) are over 65. Our political focus is quite rightly focussed on the needs of the youth. In developed countries relentlessly aging populations have forced governments to change the political agenda away from an exclusive focus on youth to...

September 13, 2017
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12Sep

Tata Steel UK’s pensions deal approved by regulator

Steel firm Tata's bid to separate its UK pension scheme from the business has been approved by the pensions regulator. The £15bn British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) has been a significant barrier to any potential merger between Tata and German steel producer ThyssenKrupp. The deal affects thousands of current and former workers, with 130,000 members across the UK. All members of the BSPS will now be invited to transfer to a new scheme. It would have lower future annual increases for...

September 12, 2017
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12Sep

Why the presidency should save PenCom from politics

The Nigerian constitution reposes a lot of powers on the Office of the President. For the most part, the incumbent rightly exercises these powers powerfully and seamlessly. At other times, the office encounters challenges, confrontations, and contestations in exercising these rights. The latter scenario usually attracts divergent views as to the propriety or otherwise of presidential powers, as enshrined in the constitution. The recent tussle between the senate and the presidency with regards to the confirmation of Mr Magu, as...

September 12, 2017
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12Sep

UK. NEST withdraws investment from low carbon laggards

NEST, the workplace pension scheme set up by the UK government, will today urge investment managers to push for higher environmental and corporate governance standards as it announces further progress against the green investment strategy deployed across its £2bn portfolio. The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), which provides 5.4 million UK workers with pensions under the government's auto-enrolment scheme, revealed it has withdrawn £27.2m of investments in the past year from companies it said were not making sufficient progress towards...

September 12, 2017
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