July 2020

14Jul

Faced with COVID-19, highest number of Australians tap retirement funds since April

Some 511,000 Australians applied to pull up to A$10,000 each from their retirement savings in the first week of the new financial year, government data showed, the highest number of people to do so since the first week the scheme was in operation in April. Australia announced the six-month emergency scheme, which allows workers to take up to A$20,000 of their superannuation savings over two financial years, in March as part of a broader stimulus package. The figures take...

July 14, 2020
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14Jul

UK. Proposed Legislation for Losses from COVID-19 and Limitations on the Retroactive Impairment of Contracts

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused most businesses to temporarily close and, as a result, sustain significant losses. Various states are contemplating the passage of legislation to require carriers to cover claims arising from COVID-19, but case law regarding the constitutionality of such legislation is conflicting. Depending on the facts surrounding retroactive legislation, states may be able to pass an enforceable law leading to coverage. Pennsylvania’s Proposed Legislation for Business Interruption Losses Pennsylvania is one of many states that has...

July 14, 2020
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13Jul

Australia. Low income earners get further support

Millions of Australians on pensions and low incomes are about to get cash hits from the government, which it hopes will give another boost to the coronavirus-hit economy. The second round of $750 payments for pensioners, veterans and carers will start going into people's bank accounts from Monday. It goes to about five million Australians at a cost of $3.8 billion. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg anticipates many will spend the money on everyday expenses like groceries, rent and bills. "This...

July 13, 2020
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13Jul

US. Public pension funds in an era of low rates and COVID-19

What is the most prudent strategy for state and local governments confronting low returns on pension investments, aging workforces, and pressure to build portfolios large enough to cover promised future benefits at the same time that these governments face other pressing demands? Presentations at the 2020 Municipal Finance Conference provide contrasting answers to this question. Louise Sheiner and Finn Schuele of the Hutchins Center at Brookings with co-authors Byron Lutz of the Federal Reserve Board and...

July 13, 2020
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09Jul

Trump’s Plan to Block Pensions From ESG Won’t Help Fossil Fuels

The U.S. Department of Labor is concerned that America’s pension fund managers don’t know what they’re doing. Read also US. Public Pensions and the COVID-19 Fiscal Dilemma That’s the rationale, at least, for the department’s newly proposed rule restricting the use of environmental, social, and governance considerations in investment decision-making. The language reaffirms the standard interpretation of fiduciary guidelines that only financial risks and returns can be considered in the management of U.S. employer-provided pension funds; “non-pecuniary goals,” for...

July 9, 2020
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09Jul

PRTs could help plug UK infrastructure ‘mega-gap’ – L&G

Insurers and other pension risk transfer (PRT) providers are "ready" to invest up to £190bn of pension money into UK infrastructure over the next decade, analysis by Legal & General (L&G) has found. This would plug almost a fifth of the UK’s infrastructure funding “mega-gap”, which, according to the firm, is likely to be as much as £1trn as regions across the UK "call out for greater investment to support our society’s needs”. The report, The power of pensions:...

July 9, 2020
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08Jul

Coronavirus Risks Manageable for Canadian Pension Funds

The 11 largest pension funds in Canada, which managed CAD1.7 trillion of net assets at year-end 2019, are expected to withstand market downturns within their respective ratings given their long-term investment horizons, ability to adjust contribution rates and the captive nature of inflows, Fitch Ratings says. However, near-term valuations and returns are expected to be pressured from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, given the breadth and global nature of its impact. Fund performance will depend on asset...

July 8, 2020
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08Jul

Covid-19: Don’t Mess With My Retirement

We’ve heard a lot lately about how the Covid-19 pandemic is dramatically disrupting the retirement preparations of tens of millions of working Americans. Being furloughed from work or having your small business fail is causing people to dip into savings and interrupts putting money aside toward retirement. Those closest to retiring can be in the biggest bind, and many are choosing to delay retirement to fill their growing financial gap. But how is the pandemic affecting folks who are...

July 8, 2020
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08Jul

Pakistan caps pensions and salaries on brink of Covid-19 financial collapse

Pakistan’s financial woes are going from bad to worse as the national fiscal deficit surges to over 7% of gross domestic product (GDP) and could breach 9-10% as state revenues dry up amid Covid-19 economic devastation. That’s raising questions among analysts and business executives of whether the country is headed towards a budgetary blowout-induced financial collapse. Approved by the National Assembly on June 29, Pakistan’s 2020-21 budget is notable for a 3.4 trillion rupees (US$20.7 billion) fiscal gap that...

July 8, 2020
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07Jul

US. Public Pensions and the COVID-19 Fiscal Dilemma

We've just passed an annual day of reckoning in public finance: Most states and many local governments close their books for the fiscal year on June 30, and public pension funds typically report their quarterly portfolio balances shortly thereafter. With the Senate still dithering over federal stimulus aid to state and local governments, after its majority leader suggested that state bankruptcies would be a better solution and that it's all the fault of public pensions, it's time to reality-check...

July 7, 2020
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