August 2020

US. Beleaguered Public Pension Funds Make Record Gains in Second Quarter

Public pension funds set a 22-year performance record in the second quarter, recovering some but not all of their losses from the first quarter. Double-digit stock gains pushed pension returns to a median 11.1% for the second quarter, according to Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service. Even with the rebound, median annual returns for the public pensions whose fiscal years ended June 30 were 3.2%, far short of the funds’ long-term investment-return target of around 7%. “That’s the funny thing...

Women Are Leading Latin America’s Fintech Revolution

Finance services is an industry that has been particularly male-dominated, with women holding less than 10 percent of senior positions. Despite predictions that the fintech industry could disrupt the gender balance in the traditional finance sector, female leadership in fintech remains low in most of the world. Read also How to Improve Women’s Retirement Savings: Brookings In Latin America, however, women are stepping up as fintech leaders, with five times as many female-founded fintechs as the global average. The Latin...

Ranked: The Best and Worst Pension Plans, by Country

The global population is aging—by 2050, one in six people will be over the age of 65. As our aging population nears retirement and gets closer to cashing in their pensions, countries need to ensure their pension systems can withstand the extra strain. This graphic uses data from the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (MMGPI) to showcase which countries are best equipped to support their older citizens, and which ones aren’t. The Breakdown Each country’s pension system has been shaped...

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Is Delaying Retirement Due to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge financial impact since cases first started multiplying rapidly back in March. Now, almost five months later, unemployment is still rampant and the economy is stuck deep in recession territory. Read aslo US. Beleaguered Public Pension Funds Make Record Gains in Second Quarter All of this is causing Americans to rethink their near-term and long-term financial plans, so it's not surprising to learn that 19% of U.S. adults now intend to push back their...

Young Australians are raiding their super. What does this mean for their future?

Australians are dipping into their super funds like Winnie the Pooh sticks his paw in a jar of honey. The Australian government decided to let us take out up to $20,000 in two bites. Millions of people didn’t need to be asked twice. The official estimate for the amount removed from Australia’s retirement savings system is now a whopping $42 billion. According to ME Bank — a bank owned by super funds — the group most likely to raid...

India. Panel on labour suggests social protection for informal workers

The panel called for a framework of a model composite scheme to bring greater uniformity among states The committee sought the creation of a social security fund for unorganized sector workers The parliamentary panel on labour has batted for universal social protection for unorganized sector workers and has proposed a blueprint for the Centre to include gig-economy workers, while acknowledging rapid changes in the labour market. The parliamentary panel, which submitted its report to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla...

Canadian pension fund pursues global growth

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) is shifting to an integrated structure for international activities in order to have a global view when managing its presence in different regions. "After building multidisciplinary teams in Asia, Latin America, the United States and Europe, and increasing our international exposure by over $140 billion (AUD$146.4 billion) in five years, moving toward a more integrated structure is the natural next step in our evolution," the fund said. To drive the strategy,...

July 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic to Intensify Risks for Insurers: EU Regulator

Insurers in the European Union are confronted with risks on several fronts that are intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, and could face lengthy legal battles from claims relating to lockdowns, the bloc’s insurance watchdog said on Thursday. Read also Jamaica. COVID Economic Task Force Favours Lifting Pension Investment Limits Insurers and reinsurers had a “solid and comfortable” capital buffer going into the crisis, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) said in a Financial Stability Report. However, a high...

A global study on creating inclusive environments for ageing populations Shifting demographics

By The Economist Intelligence Unit People today are typically living to increasingly older ages. This, however, has created challenges in providing health and social services for burgeoning older populations and governments across the globe have been slow to react. What counts now is how societies can maximise this opportunity and provide efective, inclusive environments in which to age.1 This report from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is based on findings from the “Scaling Healthy ageing, Inclusive environments and...

Healthy Ageing & Financial Security

By The Economist Intelligence Unit. A 2020 Economist intelligence Unit Study considers policy efforts to addres active and Inclusive ageing in the 19 countries of the G20, based on a custom index that benchmarks each country´s performance across different aspects, including healthy ageing, inclusive environments and fi nance security practices and policies. Source: Ageing Shift