April 2020

01Apr

India. Migrant Workers Need Social Protection To Overcome COVID-19 Lockdown Trauma: Health Ministry

The Health Ministry today called for providing a social protection to migrant workers, saying they are prone to social, psychological and emotional trauma in lockdown situations. Immediate concerns faced by such migrant workers relate to food, shelter, healthcare, fear of getting infected or spreading the infection, loss of wages, concerns about the family, anxiety and fear. "Sometimes, they also face harassment and negative reactions of the local community. All this calls for strong social protection," the ministry said in...

April 1, 2020
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March 2020

31Mar

Canadian pension scheme CDPQ to help coronavirus-hit firms with C$4 billion fund

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), one of Canada's biggest state pension investors, said on Monday it would create a C$4 billion fund to support companies in Québec adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Read also Financial market volatility brings Canadian pension health to lowest level in more than three years The fund would be used to address liquidity needs of companies, whether or not in CDPQ's portfolio, that meet certain criteria, including being profitable before the crisis,...

March 31, 2020
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31Mar

UK. Regulator permits three-month pension transfer freeze

The Pension Regulator had given defined benefit transfers a three month hiatus while also allowing employers to halt contributions in response to the Covid-19 crisis. The regulator published guidance on Friday (March 27) allowing DB schemes to delay member requests to transfer out of the scheme by up to three months. This is to give trustees more time to calculate cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) as due to falling markets caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is now more...

March 31, 2020
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27Mar

US Public Pensions Lose $1 Trillion from Market Crash

Moody’s says governments are in a worse position to smooth costs than during financial crises. US public pension investment losses are approaching $1 trillion as a result of the stock market crash caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which will “severely compound” the pension liability difficulties many governments are already dealing with, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service.  Read also US. Pension Plan Funding Relief Needed ASAP Moody’s said US public pension systems are on pace to see investment losses of...

March 27, 2020
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27Mar

EIOPA statement on actions to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus on the EU insurance sector

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) issued on 17 March 2020 a statement addressed to the EU insurance sector acknowledging the significant consequences for financial services that the Coronavirus/COVID 19 situation may cause and informing about the actions that should be taken by insurers and that will be taken by EIOPA to help insurers to curb the impact of CoronaVirus/COVID-19 on the insurance business and to guarantee the policyholders protection. These actions are focused on two main business aspects: Business...

March 27, 2020
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27Mar

Japan to give one-year tax grace period for virus-hit companies

Unprecedented payment delay to include corporate taxes, social insurance premiums. The Japanese government will create a special system to provide a one-year grace period for companies to pay tax and social insurance premiums due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Nikkei has learned. The period will cover the payment of corporate tax, sales tax and social insurance premiums. The government will exempt delinquent tax and will not ask companies to provide collateral. The unprecedented measure comes amid slowing economic activity after the central and...

March 27, 2020
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26Mar

Europe. Social protection pays off

If the COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world one message, it is that we are only as safe as the most vulnerable among us. Those who are unable to quarantine themselves or to get treatment endanger their own lives and the lives of others, and if one country cannot contain the virus, others are bound to be infected, or even re-infected. And yet, around the world, social-protection systems are failing miserably at safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable...

March 26, 2020
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25Mar

Kenya. Covid-19 test to our social protection system

As the world grapples with the Covid-19 global pandemic, the government has set in motion a raft of measures designed to not only arrest the spread of the coronavirus disease in Kenya but also ameliorate its negative financial and economic impact on the population. Read also Kenya’s Pezesha wins CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa 2020 bootcamp Many governments in the developed world are at different stages of deploying a variety of financial and social assistance mechanisms to help its citizens and business...

March 25, 2020
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24Mar

Fintech firms say new tech could speed recovery from COVID-19

Financial technology companies are working to improve behind-the-scenes market functions, such as exchanging securities and making lending decisions, saying the use of new technologies could help markets recover faster than they did in past financial crises. New York-based Paxos Settlement Service last month became the first firm to use blockchain technology to settle U.S. stock trades, the process by which securities are exchanged for cash after two parties agree to a trade. The settlement process is more complicated than...

March 24, 2020
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23Mar

COVID-19 puts burden on gig economy workers. But can they deliver without social protection?

The coronavirus outbreak has caused life across the world to stutter to a halt and the barricades are now quickly going up. Borders are being shut down and people are increasingly seeking to isolate themselves as restricting social contact has been touted by the scientific community as the one measure that may work to decelerate the pace of the virus’ spread. However, in order for most of society to survive the isolation comfortably, we shall find ourselves increasingly dependent...

March 23, 2020
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