August 2017

09Aug

UK. Pensioners’ incomes rapidly catching up with workers’ after retirement earnings triple in 40 years

Retired households have tripled their incomes in the past 40 years, substantially narrowing the gap in earnings with working-age households. Back in 1977 the average pensioner household’s income was £10,500 (in 2016 prices, which account for inflation), just 52pc of the £20,200 earned by non-retired households. But by the financial year ending in 2016 those pensioners’ incomes had risen to £29,500, according to the Office for National Statistics. By contrast, non-retired households’ incomes had only doubled, rising to £41,900 on average. On average...

August 9, 2017
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09Aug

Nigeria Uncovers N5.7bn Pension Fraud in Eight Years

The Niger State government on Tuesday confirmed that after “a forensic audit of the contributory pension scheme during the period 2007-2015”, it has been established that the sum of N5.779 billion was not remitted to the Pension Board. The amount was less than the over N6.2 billion initially thought to have been siphoned. The state acting Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, disclosed this when he addressed the opening of a three-day sensitisation workshop on “Effective Pension Management and Administration in Niger State”...

August 9, 2017
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08Aug

India. Can Pensioners Be Divided Into Arbitrary Categories To Deny Rightful Pension, SC Set To Give A Ruling

The Supreme Court bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Uday Umesh Lalit, on August 1 concluded hearing the arguments and reserved its judgment in the case of United Bank of India v United Bank of India Retirees Welfare Association & Others. This is an appeal against the Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench judgment, delivered on September 26 last year. The case raises an interesting issue on whether an invidious classification can be made between employees, who retired before...

August 8, 2017
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08Aug

Surprise fall in UK inflation wipes £9bn off pension deficits

That is according to Mercer’s latest Pensions Risk Survey data, which shows that their liabilities decreased by £4bn to £865bn during that time, while asset values increased by £5bn to £743bn. This comes after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed an unexpected fall in inflation for June, which is thought to have reduced market implied inflation over July. “The trend of improvements continues during July, and was largely driven by a small reduction in market expectations for long-term inflation, which...

August 8, 2017
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08Aug

EU expresses worry over Poland reviving different retirement age for men and women

The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, is concerned that reintroducing a different retirement age for men and women in Poland could violate the bloc's equality rules, according to a letter from Brussels to Warsaw seen by Reuters. Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and President Andrzej Duda - who comes from the same political grouping - campaigned on promises to undo a 2012 reform that had been gradually raising and equalising the retirement age at 67. The government's change,...

August 8, 2017
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July 2017

31Jul

US. 34% Of Entrepreneurs Have No Retirement Savings Plan

Fully a third of small business owners don’t have a retirement savings plan, according to a recent survey by small business site Manta. Of those who don’t, 37% don’t make enough profit to save for retirement, 21% used their previous retirement savings to invest in the business, and 18% plan to sell their business to fund their retirement. “I find that small business owners, especially successful ones, are typically very driven and optimistic people,” says Kirk Licata, a financial advisor...

July 31, 2017
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28Jul

UK’s Pensions regulator fines for the first time ever a public service scheme

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) slapped the London Borough of Barnet with a £1,000 penalty for failing to submit its 2016 scheme return. TPR has been vocal in recent months over plans to get tough on pension scheme failings. It has promised to "intervene" where companies are treating schemes unfairly. Meanwhile, the government is consulting on plans to give TPR proactive, rather than reactive, powers to step in to prevent BHS-style corporate failings following large pension shortfalls. TPR issued Barnet council with a...

July 28, 2017
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28Jul

Ireland. Strong support for mandatory pension scheme

A large majority of PAYE taxpayers are in favour of a new automatic pension scheme being introduced for those who have no occupational pension. The survey from tax specialists Taxback.com found that 84pc of people would be in favour of an auto-enrolment type scheme. The Government has plans to bring in this type of scheme, with the Taoiseach recently telling the Dáil he intends to bring forward proposals for an auto-enrolment scheme. But he gave no time frame for this. Auto-enrolment involves...

July 28, 2017
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28Jul

Pension companies need to change to engage with millennials

The latest Scottish Widows Adequate Savings index highlights a number of worrying trends regarding attitudes to pension planning amongst young people. Most noticeable is that although the introduction of auto-enrolment means that 80 per cent of under 30-year-olds now make some form of retirement provision, 70 per cent of them are still not investing nearly enough into their pensions to provide for a comfortable retirement. Our data also indicates that far fewer young people have their pension pots reviewed, compared with...

July 28, 2017
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28Jul

US. Black and Latino millennials less likely to have a retirement plan

The financial forecast for Millennials, according to a new study released by the University of Chicago, shows grim times ahead, with few able to afford marriage, retirement or living comfortable lifestyles similar to their parents. The retirement forecast for Black millenials could prove catastrophic if better financial planning, saving and curbing unnecessary spending are not taken seriously. According to the GenForward survey, conducted at the University of Chicago, young White and Asian adults between 18 and 34 across the U.S....

July 28, 2017
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