September 2018

Malaysia’s second largest pension fund to restructure

Malaysia’s second largest pension fund is to undergo a revamp that will include the creation of a deputy chief executive officer (CEO) position and the appointment of a new chief investment officer (CIO), according to its top executive. The move comes after CIO Nik Amlizan Mohamed recently left Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), a pension fund for civil servants, to head Malaysia’s Armed Forces Fund board. The restructuring may take “a couple of months” to complete, KWAP CEO Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad...

Zimbabwe’s Insurance And Pensions Commission (IPEC) Eyes Blockchain For Solutions

The Zimbabwean Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPC) is urging local insurance companies to make use of the ever-growing blockchain technology. Most industries are facing problems that can be solved by the blockchain technology. According to IPC, the technology will offer several advantages to the sectors. Some of the benefits are that the technology will make it easier for the companies to deal with the issues of low insurance and pensions penetration. IPC’s chairlady Mrs. Lynn Mukonoweshuro suggests that financial inclusion and...

Ireland. Health agencies face potential insolvency over pensions

Key health providers face possible insolvency in a dispute over pension liabilities in a confrontation that health officials warn could have adverse implications for Minister for Health Simon Harris. The State’s corporate watchdog, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, is pursuing a number of agencies that are funded by the Department of Health to provide services on behalf of the HSE over the manner in which they account for the pensions of their employees. The voluntary not-for-profit organisations –...

Japan crosses new aging milestone, with 20% now 70 or older

Abe signals shift in priorities to easing labor shortages TOKYO -- As new estimates put the number of people in Japan age 70 or older at more than a fifth of the population for the first time, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is signaling a renewed focus on contending with the economic impact of an aging labor force. The 70-and-over segment of the population grew to an estimated 26.18 million, or 20.7%, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported Sunday. That marks an...

2018 Global Retirement Index: An in-depth assessment of welfare in retirement around the world

From Natixis Retirement security is arguably at the crossroads of history. On one side is the three-pillar funding model that’s been the basis of retirement systems across the globe for the better part of a century. On the other is the reality of 21st century demographics, fiscal imbalances, and monetary policies that are straining the resources of governments, employers and individuals worldwide. In the balance is our ability as a society to provide individuals with the opportunities and resources that...

Medium-Run Implications of Changing Demographic Structures for the Macro-Economy

By Yunus Aksoy (Birkbeck, University of London),Henrique S. Basso (Birkbeck College, University of London) & Ron Smith (Birkbeck College) In the decade since the onset of the financial crisis, the disappointing recovery has sparked renewed concern about the medium-run outlook for advanced economies. Rather than returning to the pre-crisis trend, output has continued to diverge from it. It is difficult to know whether this is a cyclical phenomenon, a slow recovery towards steady state, or a secular change in the...

The Crisis in Public Sector Pension Plans: A Blueprint for Reform in New Jersey

By Eileen Norcross (George Mason University - Mercatus Center) & Andrew G. Biggs (American Enterprise Institute) In this study, we consider the case of New Jersey, which operates five defined benefit pension plans for state employees. The New Jersey Senate unanimously passed legislation in February 2010 that would put a question on the November ballot to constitutionally require the state to begin to make its full annual payment to the state’s pension system. The bill requires the state to catch...

Pensions and living with your kids

By Markus Goldstein When a government implements a policy, there is often a question about how it will interact and/or displace existing informal practices. For example, awhile back there was a lot of discussion around how government provided insurance would displace (or not) informal risk sharing arrangements that may have been doing a good job of protecting some people from risk. But it’s hard to address this kind of question deeply in a randomized control trial. A lot of the informal...

US. NYC doubling pension fund dollars in ‘climate solutions’

New York City plans to double the share of its pension fund invested in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other industries that aim to combat global warming. Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Comptroller Scott Stringer announced the new goal Thursday. Now, about $2 billion of the city's $195 billion in pension funds is invested in what are sometimes called climate solutions. The new plan would raise that investment to $4 billion over the next three years. The mayor and comptroller, both...

British Airways discharges £4.4bn in pension liabilities

Legal & General takes over responsibilities for 22,000 pensioners as airline tries to protect itself from higher costs in future British Airways has offloaded £4.4bn in pension liabilities to an insurance company in a bid to cap its pension responsibilities. Legal & General will effectively take over the liabilities for 22,000 British Airways pensioners in the largest deal of its kind in the UK. The aim of the “bulk annuity” deal is to protect British Airways from higher pension costs in...