June 2024

Ghana. Organised Labour demands complete restructuring of SSNIT

Organised Labour is demanding an amicable resolution to the usage of workers’ funds by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). According to Organised Labour, the recent actions and inaction of SSNIT leave much to be deserved. The Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), Dr. Isaac Bampoe-Addo, said Organized Labour will be in a better position to manage its pensions than SSNIT. “We are not convinced, and we tell them [SSNIT] in plain language...

May 2024

Pension managers back climate group after high-profile US exits

 Asset owners overseeing $4.6 trillion have signed a statement throwing their support behind the Climate Action 100+ investor group after several high-profile Wall Street investors left the global initiative. Signatories included the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) and California Public Employees Retirement System pension managers, as well as more than 40 others from countries including Britain, Canada and Sweden. In the statement on CalSTRS' website, the groups, many of which employ asset managers to invest in markets on their behalf,...

Entergy to Transfer $1.2B in Pension Liabilities

In a busy year for pension risk transfer transactions, energy provider Entergy will transfer $1.157 billion in pension liabilities to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Entergy announced in an 8-K SEC filing on May 24. Entergy, which provides electricity to roughly three million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, entered the agreement with MetLife on May 23, which will cover 3,447 retirees and other beneficiates who received benefit payments on or before March 1, 2024. Entergy’s retirees and beneficiaries will continue to receive...

US. Pension risk transfer premiums rise in April — Milliman

U.S. pension risk transfer premiums among the most competitive bidding processes rose in April, a study by actuarial and consulting firm Milliman showed. The estimated average premium among the most competitive rates was 100.9% as of April 30, up from 100.3% a month earlier, according to a report about the Milliman Pension Buyout index. Milliman said the jump in competitive rates came from average accounting discount rates that increased by 45 basis points, while annuity purchase rates increased by 36 basis...

The world’s largest pension fund may be running dry

A population equaling the size of the entire U.S. will retire from China's workforce by 2035, and the country isn't reproducing sufficiently to mend its fraying social safety net Fifty-eight-year-old Li Zhong, a traditional-Chinese-medicine salesman, retires in two years and doesn't fret about his pension. It's his daughter he is worried about. He recently took out a mortgage to help her buy a house in a Shanghai suburb. China's housing bubble burst in 2021, and prices are at their lowest levels...

UK Pension Fund Market Expected to Reach USD 5.22 Trillion by 2029

The "UK Pension Fund - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts 2020 - 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The UK Pension Fund Market size in terms of assets under management value is expected to grow from USD 4.25 trillion in 2024 to USD 5.22 trillion by 2029, at a CAGR of 4.22% during the forecast period (2024-2029). UK Pension Fund Market Trends Ageing population rate in United Kingdom affecting United Kingdom Pension Funds Market As a country's population grows, there is...

Rethinking the route to retirement investing

At any time in an economic cycle, keeping watch on how retirement portfolios are positioned is good practice. On the back of the relentless swings in asset prices, which investors have endured for so many months, it is vital. Recent market sentiment, as well as fund flows and performance, can attest to this. Take China and Hong Kong equities, for instance. In April, the Hong Kong and Greater China equity markets were the only asset classes posting positive returns, with...

US. Pension Risk Transfer Market Sets Q1 Record

The first quarter of this year marked was the largest first quarter on record, as estimated $15 billion in pension risk transfers closed in the period. According to Legal & General Retirement America, the activity significantly outperformed the previous record of $6.3 billion in 2023 and nearly triple the 2022 amount of $5.3 billion. LGRA found that jumbo transactions continue to be the driving force behind the market’s strong performance, as two transactions that closed in Q1 totaled $11 billion....

How South Korea’s giant pension funds fell prey to $395m NDIS housing scam

James Charisiou was no novice at corporate finance. At KPMG, the Melburnian advised banks on big deals. On Friday, he was sentenced to 12 years in jail for the deal of his life – securing $395 million from South Korean investors to build specialist accommodation for use in the National Disability Insurance Scheme. If only any of it was real. The elaborate fraud rocked Australia’s property industry. Charisiou even used the names of some of the sector’s most prominent executives...

US. NYC Pension to Invest $60 Million to Preserve Cheap Housing

New York City’s $86 billion pension fund for civil employees is investing in a nonprofit-led partnership that took on property loans tied to rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartment buildings from the failed Signature Bank. New York City Employees’ Retirement System, or NYCERS, will invest as much as $60 million in a partnership, led by the Community Preservation Corp., that will preserve nearly 35,000 rent-stabilized units affected by the Signature Bank’s sudden collapse last March, city Comptroller Brad Lander said Tuesday. The...