October 2019

31Oct

US. MIT agrees to pay $18 million in suit over retirement plan fees

St. Louis law firm Schlichter Bogard & Denton has reached an $18.1 million settlement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a lawsuit over the university's 401(k) retirement plan. The firm, headed by Jerome Schlichter, sued the university in 2016 on behalf of employees and retirees. The suit accused MIT of paying excessive record-keeping fees to Fidelity Investments and failing to monitor the plan's investments. The lawsuit pointed out that Fidelity's chief executive was an MIT trustee, and that...

October 31, 2019
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30Oct

UK. The worst pensions firms for transfers that take up to 62 days to release cash

Meanwhile, the quickest time is offered by Aviva at just 12 days, according to research. Consolidator service PensionBee analysed almost 52,000 transfers by customers who joined the firm since 2016, with the sample size for each provider ranging from 141 to 7,914 cases. It found that apart from Mercer, the slowest pension providers were Now Pensions, taking an average of 61 days, while Capita took 45, Willis Towers Watson took 42, and Smart Pension took 36. Overall, the average...

October 30, 2019
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29Oct

US senator plans Bill to block Federal Pensions investing in China

Senator Marco Rubio plans legislation to block U.S. government pensions from investing in Chinese stocks after the board overseeing the funds put off a decision that would add exposure to China. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board on Monday addressed concerns that switching the benchmark for its $50 billion TSP I Fund to mirror an index with Chinese assets would undermine U.S. economic and national security. A decision was delayed for at least two weeks, according to Kim Weaver,...

October 29, 2019
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29Oct

Chinese government uses facial recognition app to pay out pensions

A facial recognition app, Laolai.com, is being used by China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, to ascertain pension payouts and avoid fraud. Read also US senator plans Bill to block Federal Pensions investing in China The Laolai mobile app is designed to enable elderly citizens to prove their identity in order to receive social security benefits. Some 250 million retirees now use the app, which was developed into an online platform for a wide range of services for...

October 29, 2019
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29Oct

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

Morneau Shepell (TSX: MSI) has released the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers' Pooled Funds for the third quarter of 2019. According to the report, in the third quarter of 2019, diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 1.5 per cent before management fees. Since the beginning of the year, the return has been 12.8 per cent. "In general, markets posted positive returns in the third quarter, despite higher volatility. The FTSE Canada Universe Bond...

October 29, 2019
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29Oct

What Is The Future Of Aging Populations?

Across much of the world, life expectancy is on the rise, and while this represents a tremendous achievement in science and healthcare, it also presents a significant challenge for societies as populations not only age, but for whom older people represent an ever growing proportion of society. I've written previously about the challenges of an aging society, with people such as London Business School's Lynda Gratton and Airbnb's Chip Conley among the foremost thinkers on the topic. An aging...

October 29, 2019
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29Oct

Interview with Alejandro Werner on the Latest Economic Developments in Latin America

To boost the economic recovery and create more jobs, the region will need to rely on domestic drivers of growth, like consumption and investment. In a wide-ranging interview with Alejandro Werner, the head of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, we discussed the report’s findings, the recent social unrest in the region, as well as the latest developments in Argentina and Ecuador. The Regional Economic Outlook last year looked at the evolution of inequality and poverty in the region....

October 29, 2019
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28Oct

France. Macron vows to push pension reform ‘to the end’ despite strikes

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed no let up in his drive to implement far-reaching pension reforms despite a looming winter of strikes by unions angered by the plan, in an interview broadcast on Monday. Macron told RTL radio that there would be "no complacency or weakness" in pushing through the changes, even if it risked making him more unpopular. "I want this reform to go to the end, I think it is necessary for the country so I will...

October 28, 2019
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28Oct

Thailand. Pensions need drastic reform

Becoming an aged society is a big challenge for Thailand, especially when it comes to welfare provided by existing pension schemes. According to the United Nations, a country with over 10% of its population aged 60 and older is an ageing society. When this group increases to over 20%, the country becomes classified as an aged society. In Thailand, as of 2015, 10.5 million people, or 16.2% of the 65.2 million population, were aged over 60. Siam Commercial Bank...

October 28, 2019
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28Oct

UK. Retirement income gender gap is the biggest in a decade

At first glance, the latest numbers suggest we’re all finally winning the battle for a comfortable old age. Official figures out this week from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Pension Regulator show equal numbers of men and women are now saving into a workplace pension. Even the number of employees asking to join who don’t automatically qualify – often women in part-time roles who don’t earn enough – has increased dramatically. Commenting on the figures, Guy...

October 28, 2019
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