November 2019

25Nov

Negative Rates Can Do a Lot More Damage Yet: Nordic Warning

After half a decade of negative interest rates, one of the biggest Nordic pension funds is wondering whether this is just the beginning. The head of investments at Finland’s Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co. says his industry is “just starting to see what kind of new challenges [negative rates] will cause.” That means “we are just taking the first steps” in portfolio adjustments, Mikko Mursula said in an interview in Helsinki. He says reality hit after the summer, when...

November 25, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
25Nov

UK. University staff strike over pensions and pay

Students across the UK face disruption as lecturers and support staff in 60 universities start an eight-day strike. Members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) are taking action in two separate disputes, one on pensions and one on pay and conditions. The strikes will affect almost half of all UK universities. The universities say strikes are not the way forward and promise to do all they can to minimise the impact of industrial action on students. In addition...

November 25, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
25Nov

Leveraging AI To Accelerate Precision Health For Longevity

People over 50 are the fastest growing demographic group worldwide. This creates both opportunities and challenges for the global economy and healthcare systems. The Longevity Industry, which provides products and services for those aged over 50 is becoming a multi-trillion-dollar industry. There are currently 260 companies, 250 investors, 10 non-profits, and 10 research labs in the Longevity Industry in the UK alone. In the next decade, Longevity policies enacted by governments, and changes in the financial industry will transform...

November 25, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
22Nov

Essentials of Pension Economics

By Sergio Nisticò This Palgrave Pivot provides a concise overview of pension systems which, whether paid by governments or by private companies, are the sole source of income for millions of people around the world. By 2050, two billion elderly people will have to be ensured some form of income while, at the same time, the prospect facing younger generations is of a gloomy future. This book breaks down the jargon, investigates different designs and analyses these designs'...

November 22, 2019
Aging, Books, System Sustainability,
Read more...
22Nov

Fiscal Incidence in Moldova: A Commitment to Equity Analysis

By Alexandru Cojocaru, Mikhail Matytsin, Valeriu Prohnitchi This paper uses methods developed by the Commitment to Equity Institute and data from the Household Budget Survey to assess the effects of government taxation and social spending on poverty and inequality in Moldova. The paper presents the first detailed distributional analysis of the tax and expenditure sides of the fiscal system, examining in particular the contribution of different taxes and transfers to poverty and inequality reduction in Moldova, as well as...

November 22, 2019
Adequacy, Articles, Pension design, , , ,
Read more...
22Nov

Kenya. Pension crisis as 50,000 government staff retire

The retirement of about 50,000 civil servants is burdening taxpayers after the pension bill jumped by 63.03 percent or Sh10 billion in the first four months to October as the Treasury raised the red flag over the rising expense. Read also Less than 10pc Kenyans to retire comfortably on pension Treasury data shows that public pension expenses stood at Sh27.8 billion in the four months to October compared to Sh17.06 billion a year earlier — making it the fifth largest...

November 22, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
22Nov

Why millennials should care about government pensions even if they don’t have one

Public pensions are not exactly a burning issue for millennials. In their minds, they won’t be retiring for decades, and pensions won’t affect their lives anytime soon. That line of thinking couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s currently a public pension crisis that doesn’t just affect retired government employees, but also young people in the workforce — both in terms of their future retirement plans and current salaries. Millennials, tune in. Most local and state retirement plans use...

November 22, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
22Nov

Australia. Super tax breaks outweigh pension payments

Superannuation tax concessions provide higher income earners with greater taxpayer assistance than those on low incomes who rely on the age pension, according to a paper released by the government's review into retirement incomes. The consultation paper, which outlines the starting point for the review and the principles that will guide it, says the overall level of public support provided by the retirement income system "should be targeted to those who need it most''. But modelling provided by the...

November 22, 2019
News, , ,
Read more...
22Nov

Can fintech bridge the inequality gap

We know Silicon Valley likes to think it is making the world a better place. So it is no surprise that Facebook wanted to ram home the message that Libra, its digital stablecoin, is going to help the world’s poor. From the White Paper: Our journey is just beginning, and we are asking the community to help. If you believe in what Libra could do for billions of people around the world, share your perspective and join in....

November 22, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
22Nov

Impact investing is about more than saving the world

“It’s not up to us to save the world.” This was the response I received from a trustee of one of the UK’s largest pension schemes recently to my pitch for impact investment. The reaction was familiar. The paucity of data showing that you can “do well by doing good” makes it easy for schemes to ignore commentators who insist upon it. Yet for all the myths that have grown up discouraging this type of investing, institutional investors who...

November 22, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...