April 2020

06Apr

UK. Wakefield man who failed to claim pension gets £140k payout

He mistakenly thought he was not allowed to claim a state pension because he had continued to work long after reaching retirement age. He is now set to receive more than a decade's worth of payments in one lump sum. The error only came to light after Wakefield Council made inquiries on the man's behalf. In a report, councillor Michael Graham said: "To help our residents get more money in their pocket, we are using information we hold to...

April 6, 2020
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03Apr

Pension Policy in Europe and the United States – Towards a New Public-Private Pension Mix

By Onorato Castellino, Elsa Fornero, Christina Benita Wilke Pension reform has occupied and will continue to occupy an important place in the welfare state reform agenda on both sides of the Atlantic. In both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) demographic forces in the form of an aging population and low fertility pose significant long-run fiscal challenges to traditional public pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems. In addition, the pace of pension reforms in most EU countries has accelerated...

April 3, 2020
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02Apr

Dutch pension funds invest in coronavirus bond

Dutch pension funds invested a total €36 million ($38 million) in a new bond aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic. Pension funds managed by APG and PGGM have invested in the Nordic Investment Bank's €1 billion Response Bond, which matures in April 2023. Proceeds of the bond will finance projects that help to alleviate the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic in NIB's eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. APG has...

April 2, 2020
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01Apr

British Gov’t Delays Levy Hike On Pension Schemes

Pensions schemes will not have to face a planned 10% hike on their general levies due to the financial stress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the U.K. government has said. The government said Friday that it will hold off on the planned 10% increase on the General Levy on Occupational and Personal Pension schemes, which was scheduled to take effect on April 1. Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion Guy Opperman said the government wants to support businesses through...

April 1, 2020
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March 2020

31Mar

Swedish pension giant splits investment efforts and names new leaders

Swedish pension giant AP7 has restructured its investment team to split it into three new units, the Stockholm-based group has announced. A spokesperson for the institutional investor, which has $50bn (SEK 525bn) in assets under management, confirmed to Citywire Selector that its investment capabilities are now split as follows: risk management and asset allocation; alternative investments; and, fixed income and forex segments. According to AP7’s chief investment officer, Ingrid Albinsson, the split was implemented to strengthen the capabilities of...

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

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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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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26Mar

UK. PFS pushes for grace period on PI amid ‘evidence of serious impact’

The Personal Finance Society has called for a four-month grace period for advisers whose professional indemnity insurance is due for renewal during the coronavirus lockdown. In a letter sent to the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury this week the professional body asked for regulatory concessions to help advisers at at time when "demand for their help has never been greater, yet pressure on their own resources are stretched". This included a call for advisers to be granted...

March 26, 2020
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25Mar

UK. Parliament pension fund cuts fossil fuel investments

Parliament’s pension fund has made record investments in renewable energy and cut its exposure to fossil fuel companies to bring MPs’ pensions in line with the government’s climate action targets. A report from the £700m pension fund showed that almost a third is now being invested in low carbon and environmentally sustainable funds following calls from hundreds of MPs to align the fund with the government’s legally binding climate commitments. Read also Swedish Pension AP1 Divests From Fossil Fuels ...

March 25, 2020
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