September 2020

21Sep

UK. Platform giants join firms in pension switching call

latform giants Hargreaves Lansdown and Aegon are among 67 firms to join an initiative calling for greater standards in pension switching. The partnership between Criterion and TeX, under the brand of Star, is working on a transfers & re-registration initiative which it hopes will shape "recognised, industry-wide standards to promote good practice in transfers". Fidelity and Standard Life have also petitioned their fund groups to support the campaign. Andrew Marker, chairman of the Star steering group and...

September 21, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
21Sep

Romania. The Evolution of the Private Pensions Market in the First Six Months of the Year 2020

The value of the total assets under management, at the level of the entire private pensions system, has reached the amount of 68.57 billion RON, at the date of 30.06.2020, exceeding in Euro equivalent the value of 14 billion, increasing by 6.31%, as compared to December, 2019. Moreover, the share of private pensions in the Gross Domestic Product[1], at the end of June, 2020, was of 6.39%, above the level of December, 2019. 'The economic context in the first...

September 21, 2020
News, ,
Read more...
18Sep

India. More pension fund managers by December, expense ratio to be relooked: PFRDA

Soon, National Pension System (NPS) subscribers could have a longer list of fund managers to choose from for managing their voluntary retirement contributions. “We will be coming out with our RFP (request for proposal) in another 2-2.5 months. So, by December, the RFP should be out. Everyone is welcome to come and manage it. It will not be restrictive (in terms of numbers), but there will be entry barriers to ensure only serious players come in,” said Supratim Bandyopadhyay,...

September 18, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
18Sep

California Mandates Cannabis Companies to Provide Retirement Plans by September 30th

Yikes! Who knew?! Soon, ALMOST ALL California cannabis companies will have to offer a retirement plan of sorts (for ease of reference, the author refers to a 401(k) plan, but there are other types of plans). Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10 § 10001. In fact, the deadline for cannabis companies with more than 100 employees is September 30, 2020. For cannabis employers with more than 50 employees, the deadline is June 30, 2021; for cannabis employers with five or...

September 18, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
18Sep

Revised Mercer U.S. Pension Buyout Index Methodology Shows That Costs of Annuity Buyouts Could Be Less Than Accounting Liability

Mercer, a global leader in redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being, and a business of Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC), announces that the costs associated with annuity buyouts may be increasingly attractive, as Mercer data indicates that a hypothetical retiree buy-out transaction may cost 97.7% of the plan’s accounting obligations1. The discovery comes following enhancements introduced by Mercer to its U.S. Pension Buyout Index (the “Index”). Originally launched in...

September 18, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
18Sep

Ghana. Government to develop micro-pensions policy for informal sector

Government is considering the development of a micro-pensions policy to guide efforts at improving informal sector coverage to unlock its huge potential. Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, disclosing this, said since 2017, government had been creating awareness on the Third-Tier pension scheme for occupational groups, which had whipped up the interest of informal sector workers not covered by any pension scheme. Addressing a “press briefing” in Accra , he said effective January next year,...

September 18, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
18Sep

Canada pension plan’s fossil-fuel investments raise climate risks, study says

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which manages the pensions of 20 million Canadians, is investing billions of dollars in fossil fuel companies, exposing it to significant climate-related risks, research by two universities said on Thursday. The study was done by Canada Climate Law Initiative (CCLI), a project of the University of British Columbia and Toronto’s York University. The research acknowledged the progress made by Canada’s biggest pension fund, including the doubling of its renewable energy holdings, but found...

September 18, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
17Sep

UK. Small pension schemes face winding up or consolidation if they can’t demonstrate value

Getting a good return on the money you put aside in your pension is crucial if you want to enjoy a comfortable retirement. And new rules from the Government should make that just a little bit easier. The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has published new draft rules, which aim to force defined contribution pension schemes to prove they offer value to savers or else face being wound up. Trustees of pension schemes will be expected to...

September 17, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
17Sep

UK. Has your state pension been underpaid? Pressure grows on government to tackle issue

State pension: Campaigners have launched the next stage in their campaign, as they call on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to use their records to track down all the women who are missing out and receiving underpaid state pension payments. Pressure on the Government when it comes to the issue of women who have been underpaid via their state pension payments has risen, following the tabling of a new petition on Parliament's website. The petition has ben...

September 17, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
17Sep

US. DOL Issues Guidance for Including Lifetime Income Disclosures in Defined Contribution Benefit Plan Statements

As required by the SECURE Act of 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an interim final rule requiring plan administrators of individual account plans (including 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans and other defined contribution plans) to express a participant’s current account balance as both a single life annuity and a qualified joint and survivor annuity income stream. These new disclosures are intended to help participants better understand how the amount of money they saved so far converts into...

September 17, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...