January 2022

US. What the Pension Protection Act has taught us about saving for retirement

They say that hindsight is 20/20. And as we look back on the Pension Protection Act, which was passed just over 15 years ago, it’s clear that our understanding of the law has, well, cleared up. Commendably, this legislation was crafted with the best of intentions — to help more Americans save for retirement — but its unintended consequences made a greater impact for too long. Among other provisions, the Pension Protection Act gave plan sponsors the power to automatically enroll...

UK. MP seeks to extend auto-enrolment to 18-year-olds

Proposals that would see working 18-year-olds and low earners automatically save into a pension are being put before parliament this week. Read also UK. Expanding auto-enrolment could cost employers more, experts warn Conservative MP Richard Holden tabled a motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday to extend auto-enrolment in this way. Read also UK. FTSE 350 DB pension deficit falls by £28bn; ‘looming risks’ ahead The proposal looks to boost the pension pots of 18 to 22-year-olds and those who either work...

December 2021

Leveraging identification to extend social insurance to the informal sector

Leveraging identification to extend social insurance to the informal sector

Providing pensions and other forms of social insurance to people requires keeping track of large numbers of individuals over long periods of time. There is little margin for error. Allocating contributions of one individual to the pension of another not only affects individual fates. It also risks undermining the trust in the entire system and without trust social insurance cannot work. In the formal economy with contractual employer-employee relationships, the identification of an individual over a long period can (at...

July 2021

India. Now, wider choice of pension funds in National Pension System

In order to make the National Pension System (NPS) more transparent, increase the subscriber base and ensure orderly growth, the pension fund regulator has taken a host of initiatives easing the process of transacting for the subscribers and the Points of Presence (PoP). The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has now issued guidelines for opening ‘on tap’ registration of pension funds on a continuous basis to manage the pension assets of NPS subscribers under central government schemes, state...

April 2021

US. DOL Issues Cybersecurity Best Practices for Retirement Plans

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on April 14 issued much-anticipated cybersecurity guidance for employee retirement plans. The essence of the guidance is that responsible plan fiduciaries have an obligation to ensure proper mitigation of cybersecurity risks. Read also Comfortable retirement still on track for most Americans despite pandemic – survey EBSA set out in the following materials on its website, although the "Online Security Tips" are directed more to plan participants than plan fiduciaries: Read also The...

February 2021

Dutch pensions federation wants auto-enrolment for self-employed

The new pensions law proposed by the Dutch government provides insufficient room for pension funds to cater for self-employed workers, the Dutch branch organisation of pension funds, Pensioenfederatie, has warned. It has called for a “significant change” to the draft legislation, including the option of auto-enrolment. Read also Investigation: Dutch, Japanese pension funds pay for Amazon deforestation Several large sector funds have voiced their interest to start trials offering pensions to self-employed workers under the new pension law which will pave...

January 2020

Dutch sector schemes active on online comms to cut costs

Several large Dutch sector schemes are actively trying to persuade their participants to pass on their email addresses in order to save on communication costs and for sustainability reasons. They are finding, however, that the process is laborious, and that they have a long way to go before they no longer need the postman and can save millions of euros through digital correspondence. Although most schemes already have an online platform and prefer digital communication, the main hurdle is...

Biometrics and digital ID in Africa: GenKey in Niger, Securiport in CAR, new reseller partner for Daon in SA

Heading into a new decade there’s a clear theme in Africa’s digital ID sphere: looming deadlines. First up is Tanzania’s already extended biometric SIM card registration deadline of January 20 then its analogue passport deadline of January 31, the same day Ghana’s pensioners have to have their biometrics registered by in order to keep receiving their pensions. There is also plenty of supplier news: GenKey is embarking on a World Bank project in Niger, Securiport is setting up in...