July 2017

25Jul

Canada. Morneau Shepell releases the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers’ Pooled Funds

According to the report, in the second quarter of 2017, diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 0.7 per cent before management fees. "In the second quarter, the Canadian stock market underperformed by 1.6 per cent, while global stock markets posted positive returns. The rise in the Canadian dollar versus several foreign currencies had a negative impact on Canadian investors. For the second quarter in a row, emerging market equities dominated with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index returning...

July 25, 2017
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25Jul

US. Women’s Retirement Income Literacy Is Lower Than Men’s

Women at retirement age, those between the ages of 60 and 75, understand the components of retirement income far less well than men of the same age, although even men don’t grasp the topic very well, the RICP Retirement Income Literacy Survey from The American College of Financial Services found. Only 18% of women passed the quiz, compared to 35% of men. A mere 16% of women answered questions about annuity products in retirement correctly, compared to 24% of men....

July 25, 2017
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24Jul

Zambia. Retirement should be a happy time

RETIREMENT is for every worker, whether in full-time employment or otherwise, because one comes to the end of their strength and they have to rest. The end of work, for most workers, means their assured source of income – the salary – also ceases to come. That is why Government put in place pension schemes so that employees can have some sound financial stability during and after work life. We have seen how some pension schemes have enabled employees, as contributors, to...

July 24, 2017
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24Jul

US. To fix pensions, first change constitution

With a statewide pension shortfall totaling $7.7 billion, the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) has long been on the receiving end of reform measures. And if a group of Arizona mayors is successful, more reforms will be coming. From the 2011 attempt by the State Legislature to increase the employee contribution rate, to 2016’s elimination of the costly Permanent Benefit Increase (PBI) program, state and local officials have tried through the years to make the system more sustainable. Now, support appears...

July 24, 2017
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24Jul

Malta. Reviewing the pensions paradigm: a disruptive opportunity?

In 1889, the first system of State pension provision was introduced by German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck. At its inception the system afforded a pension to all those who attained 70 years of age, although the average life ex­pectancy was of around 37 years of age. With time, came advancements in medical and sanitary standards, but it also brought with it the challenges of people’s longevity and the sustainability of the pension system and the economy as a whole. Today...

July 24, 2017
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24Jul

UK. State pension changes will cost 7 million people £10,000 each

More than 7 million people will lose just under £10,000 each because of new government plans to increase the state pension age earlier than planned. Last week the government announced it would raise the state pension age to 68 for those now in their late 30s and early 40s. The change will affect Britons born between 1970 and 1978, who will now have to wait another year to receive their state pensions, a move which the government found would save...

July 24, 2017
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21Jul

Japan’s defined-benefit pension funds boost exposure to alternatives

Japan’s defined-benefit (DB) pension funds are rebalancing their portfolios to raise exposure to alternatives and reduce the weighting of domestic bonds in the current negative interest rate environment, according to a survey by JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM). The domestic bond holdings of Japanese DB pension funds fell to an eight-year low of 27.9% in the 2016 fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, from 29.8% in the previous year, JPMAM says in a July 19 statement on the survey findings. Meanwhile,...

July 21, 2017
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21Jul

China. Principal links up CCB to design Pension Plan

Global financial investment management company Principal Financial Group Inc has partnered with China Construction Bank to seek opportunities in the country's huge but developing pensions market, which is currently worth more than $700 billion. Daniel Houston, chairman and CEO of Principal Financial Group, said his company had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CCB for a potential pension partnership in China and the two sides would assess what role the Iowa-based company would play. "We have great confidence in the nation's...

July 21, 2017
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20Jul

The US is losing ground when it comes to retirement security

All your retirement dreams can come true, just maybe not in the U.S. Among the leading nations for retirement security, the United States didn't even crack the top 15, according to the 2017 Global Retirement Index by Natixis Global Asset Management. Europe, however, continued to dominate the top spots, with Norway at No. 1 for the second year in a row, followed by Switzerland and Iceland. Sweden ranked No. 4 and New Zealand rounded out the top 5, Natixis reported. With more...

July 20, 2017
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20Jul

Have Americans’ Retirement Benefits Been Slashed?

Ben Steverman of Bloomberg reports that “Employers cut their contributions to workers' retirements by a quarter from 2001 to 2015…The biggest driver: the decline of traditional defined-benefit pensions, replaced by stingier, 401(k)-style, defined-contribution plans.” According to a survey by the firm Willis Towers Watson, employer contributions to retirement plans fell from 9.1 percent of worker pay in 2001 to just 6.8 percent in 2015. Just another day in the ongoing retirement crisis, right? In fact, federal government data show...

July 20, 2017
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