October 2021

Pension, health costs to dwarf COVID debt legacy in long term -OECD

The costs of repaying debt raised to help households and businesses through the COVID-19 crisis will be dwarfed by those from long-term trends like funding pensions and health services as societies age, the OECD said in a report on Tuesday. Read also  Canada. Uber drivers, gig workers pressure Ontario government for employee status Examining the economic outlook out to 2060, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said governments will increasingly have to contend with the costs associated with aging populations...

They Fought Apartheid in South Africa. Now They Want Veterans’ Benefits.

Lesley Kgogo was 17 years old when he traded a school uniform for military fatigues and joined the armed wing of the African National Congress in the fight to overthrow the apartheid regime in South Africa. He was among thousands who trained and slept in bush camps in other countries and then returned to join the insurgency that ultimately helped to topple the repressive white-minority government. Read also South Africa. Millennials hardest hit financially in 2020, study shows More than 40 years...

US. Allianz, Calpers to Cut Portfolio Emissions by Up to 30% by 2025

By 2025, 29 of the world’s biggest pension funds and investment firms, including Allianz SE and the  California Public Employees’ Retirement System, intend to have cut the emissions of their portfolio holdings by at least 25%. The targets, which cover publicly-traded equities, corporate bonds and real estate portfolios, were announced in a statement Wednesday by the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, which was convened by the United Nations. Other firms that are part of the group and have also made such  a commitment include  Aviva Plc and Swiss Re AG. Eliminating emissions generated from their holdings has...

Bahrain’s MPs urged to fast-track pensions debate

Pensioners are demanding that Bahrain’s MPs fast-track a government bill granting a three per cent increment to them, starting this year. Many of the pensioners, interviewed by our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej, have expressed their dismay at the delay in the discussion of a draft law on pension funds referred by the government to the council in March. The law includes granting pensioners an annual increment of 3pc beginning from this year. Postponements and procrastination rob pensioners of the badly-needed increment,...

Avoiding a pensions disaster at UK universities

After two years of pandemic-induced disruption, students at UK universities were hoping this term that things were slowly returning to normal. But life may soon get much worse again and this time it has nothing to do with Covid-19. Ballots on strike action by lecturers have been called at UK universities. The issue is pensions; more precisely, whether the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) — the largest pension scheme in the UK with 470,000 members and £85bn in assets — has sufficient...

El sistema de pensiones contributivas y no contributivas en México. Un análisis desde la perspectiva de género y derechos al 2021

Por Angélica Paola González Lozada El sistema de pensiones, en sus esquemas contributivo y no contributivo, no considera las diferencias en la vida laboral entre hombres y mujeres marcadas principalmente por la división sexual del trabajo, la cual obliga a las mujeres a hacerse cargo del trabajo reproductivo en materia de cuidados (directos, indirectos y de gestión). La consecuencia de esto se ve reflejada en las constantes interrupciones que tiene la trayectoria laboral de las mujeres por atender dichos mandatos y,...

2021 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index

By Mercer & CFA Institute The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the well-being of millions of individuals around the world. Its effects, however, are not confined to the health systems or those who contract the virus. There are broader economic effects with higher government debt and restricted economic activity in many countries. While it would be easy for governments to concentrate on these short term challenges, it would be a mistake to do so. With ageing populations,...

Los sistemas latinoamericanos en el ranking de Pensiones de Melbourne Mercer 2021

El año pasado el sistema de pensiones de Chile bajó del top 10 mundial, y este año cayó del top 15. Eso es lo que revela la decimotercera versión del Índice Mundial de Pensiones de Melbourne Mercer 2021, donde el país bajó del lugar 12 al 16, dentro de un ranking que considera a 43 naciones. Pese a lo anterior, Chile sigue liderando en Latinoamérica y su puntaje se mantuvo igual que en la edición anterior, en 67 puntos, ya...

These Are the World’s Best (And Worst) Pension Systems in 2021

Iceland has the best pension system in the world, according to a global study that shines a light on how nations are preparing their aging populations for retirement. The country took the top spot in the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index published Tuesday, drawing praise for being well governed and providing strong benefits to retirees, including a generous state pension. The Netherlands and Denmark came in second and third respectively after holding the top spots for the past decade. Read...

Canada. Why more retirees are looking to green their retirement portfolios

Many greying Canadians are adding a green hue to their investment portfolios to make money, manage risk and leave a better world for their children and grandchildren. Responsible investing – which considers both financial returns and social/environmental good – has long been on the radar of baby boomers and Gen Xers, with ethical mutual funds being widely available since the 1990s. Still, it was often seen as a niche strategy that potentially added risk to an investment portfolio. Consequently, considering only...