September 2018

07Sep

India. RINL unions flay move to cut contribution to pension fund

Various staff unions of the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) on Wednesday criticised the management’s move to contribute just two percent towards the pension fund for the non-executive employees. ‘Agreement violated’ In a memorandum to RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director P. Raychaudhury on Wednesday, the unions including the recognised ones said the move was in contrary with the terms of the National Joint Committee on Steel Agreement reached in July 2014 wherein it was decided to contribute six percent of salary by the...

September 7, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
06Sep

UK. Industry comment on Pensions Dashboard announcement

Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London said: “This announcement is a huge breakthrough after a period of uncertainty. There is much that the industry can do to deliver a dashboard, but only the government can supply vitally important state pension data and only the government can legislate to make sure that the dashboard’s coverage is comprehensive. Backed by this renewed commitment by the government, the whole pension industry now needs to work together to drive forward this...

September 6, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
06Sep

What are the retirement ages around the world?

Retirement ages, or the age when some sort of government pension can be received, varies around the world. The OECD average for a normal pension age is currently 64.3 years for men and 63.7 years for women. While life expectancy has risen in many countries and governments grapple with ageing populations, any attempts to make people wait longer to collect benefits are usually met with fierce opposition, as Russia and Australia found out recently. Read more sbs

September 6, 2018
News, Slider, , , , , , , , , , ,
Read more...
06Sep

Pensions and insurers give new impetus to Asia’s ETFs

Yield-chasing has been a persistent theme among Asian insurers. “As low interest rates reduce the income-generating ability of fixed-income investments, insurers are looking to diversify their return sources,” says Brian Roberts, senior vice‑president and head of exchange-traded products at HKEX. “Investors can’t control market returns, but can control fees that eat away at their returns. The low-cost, tax-efficient nature of ETFs is one of the reasons we’re seeing stronger interest among insurers.” According to data compiled by research provider ETFGI,...

September 6, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
06Sep

South Africa. PFA decisions can now be appealed with the Financial Services Tribunal

Until recently PFA determinations could only be taken on appeal to the High Court - at great cost - within six weeks of the decision. The Financial Sector Regulation Act, 9 of 2017 (“FSR Act”) considers the Pension Funds Adjudicator as a “decision-maker” and his/her decisions are “decisions” as respectively defined in paragraphs (e) and (d) of section 218 thereof. This section came into effect on 1 April 2018 along with the FSR Act. Thus, the tribunal is now in a...

September 6, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
05Sep

Australia. Scott Morrison scraps Government plans to raise pension age to 70

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dumped the plan to raise the pension age to 70, announcing the decision on breakfast television even before Cabinet has formally agreed to it. It was one of the issues on which Labor had repeatedly attacked the Government, especially highlighting the impact for people with physically difficult jobs. Former treasurer Joe Hockey announced the plan to lift the pension age from 67 to 70 in his controversial 2014 budget in a bid to help fund the...

September 5, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
05Sep

Russia. Why Putin’s Pension Plans For Russia Could Put His Own Happy Retirement At Risk

He is a leader who has built his entire political image on being a decisive, strong man of action -- yet, early in his fourth term as Russian president, the passage of time presents Vladimir Putin with challenges he has not previously faced. Firstly, there is a time limit on Mr Putin's own career. The Russian constitution only permits a president to serve two terms. Mr Putin did this between 2000 and 2008, at which point the constitution was interpreted...

September 5, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
05Sep

UK. Pensions dashboard run by industry gets green light from government

Work and pensions secretary approves the introduction of the pensions dashboard, provided the financial services industry runs it Pension savers will be pleased to hear that the government has finally committed to the so-called pensions dashboard. This is a technological initiative to allow pension savers to see all of their savings pots in one place. State pension entitlement data was set to form the cornerstone of the pensions dashboard. Doubts have been cast about whether the platform would prove useful without the...

September 5, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
04Sep

UK. Fracking investments by council pension funds ‘unlawful’

More than £600m was provided by council pension funds to firms with fracking operations overseas in 2016-17. Campaigners argued the situation appeared "to fly in the face of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act". Council leaders said "great consideration" was given to making responsible investments. The Welsh Government is currently consulting on its position not to grant new licences for fracking in Wales, having had a moratorium on the practice in place since 2015. In October it is set to receive control over...

September 4, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
04Sep

Swiss youth worry more about pensions than immigration: survey

A total of 53 percent of Swiss youth surveyed claimed they are worried about their pensions, compared with 41 percent last year, the barometer has found. Immigration, which preoccupied almost half those surveyed last year, only registered as a concern among 29 percent surveyed this year. Swiss youngsters are more optimistic when it comes to the job market. Only 34 percent felt their job would disappear due to the threat posed by digitization compared with almost three out of four young people...

September 4, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...