November 2023
21Nov

What do we know about China’s new financial watchdog?

China's Central Financial Commission (CFC), a new regulator with Premier Li Qiang as its head, held a meeting on Monday (Nov 20) and urged stronger supervision of risks in the financial sector as Beijing accelerates efforts to become a "major financial power". The setting up of the CFC underscores how the ruling Chinese Communist Party is tightening grip on the country's $61 trillion financial sector amid a destabilising property and local government debt crisis that has weighed on the economic...

November 21, 2023
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21Nov

Britain to launch growth funds to attract pension pot cash

The British Business Bank (BBB) will set up a new fund for pension schemes and asset managers to invest in growth companies, part of wider reforms to unlock savers' cash to boost the economy, the UK finance ministry said on Tuesday. Britain wants to encourage pension schemes to switch from a heavy focus on bonds and global blue chips to putting a portion of their cash in UK growth companies, a step it says would help improve returns for investors. The...

November 21, 2023
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21Nov

German government to make pension funds join dashboard

The German government is preparing an ordinance to make pension funds exchange data with the pension dashboard – Digitale Rentenübersicht – by the end of next year, said Imke Petersen, head of the Zentralen Stelle für die Digitale Rentenübersicht (ZfDR), the unit within the first pillar manager Deutsche Rentenversicherung responsible for designing the platform. “On 31 December 2024 all pension funds will have not only to be registered with us, but also will be able to deliver [data],” Petersen said,...

November 21, 2023
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16Nov

UK pension regulator outlines challenges and plans for scheme transformation

Louise Davey from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) addressed the complex issue of pension decumulation during an ABI webinar Today. She outlined TPR's strategy to transform UK pension schemes into full-service providers that support savers from the accumulation phase through to retirement. Davey highlighted the limitations of current trust-based pension schemes and underscored TPR's support for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) proposal to mandate these schemes to offer decumulation products and services. She emphasized the evolution of the UK...

November 16, 2023
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16Nov

German government drafts law to reform second pillar pension system

The German government has drafted the law to reform the second pillar occupational pension system, Rolf Schmachtenberg, state secretary for the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry, announced during the Handelsblatt conference on occupational pensions yesterday. The 24-point draft law – called Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz 2024 – deals with the difficult topic of opening up the social partner model to third parties not bound by collective bargaining agreements, the state secretary said, adding that the ministry is examining the legal aspects of such change...

November 16, 2023
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15Nov

U.K. names new pensions minister

Paul Maynard was named U.K. pensions minister following a reshuffling of the government. Maynard was appointed Nov. 13 as parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department for Work and Pensions, according to a notice on the government's website. Read also UK pension funds step in to build affordable homes His previous ministerial role was as parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department for Transport, a role he held between July 2019 and February 2020. Maynard is member of parliament for Blackpool North and...

November 15, 2023
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09Nov

Public Retirement Systems Need Sustainable Policies to Navigate Volatile Financial Markets

Over the past decade, policy reforms and increased financial contributions have dramatically improved the cash flow situation of some of the nation’s most troubled state pension plans. Thanks to these changes, which include reforms to benefit designs, a commitment to fiscal discipline, and greater monitoring of the financial health of public retirement systems, no state is at risk of pension plan insolvency. Nevertheless, many states still have more to do to ensure the long-term sustainability of pension promises. As recently...

November 9, 2023
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09Nov

UK pensions minister urged to encourage schemes to invest in sustainability

LCP and Pensions for Purpose have written an open letter to UK pensions minister Laura Trott calling for investment in social and environmental sustainability and for intergenerational inequality to be at the heart of planned pension reforms. In July’s Mansion House speech, the chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt introduced a number of measures aimed at unlocking the growth potential of UK defined benefit (DB) schemes. LCP and Pensions for Purpose are urging the government to encourage pension schemes to invest more in areas...

November 9, 2023
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08Nov

U.S. Treasury to propose rule to ban investment on China’s tech

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said Nov. 7 the Treasury Department hopes to propose a rule "in the coming weeks" to implement the president's executive order prohibiting investments in certain Chinese technology sectors. "I think the president and his counterparts across the G7 have made very clear that our goal is not to decouple but rather to derisk the relationship with China," Adeyemo said at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's annual meeting. 2 House lawmakers ask Treasury to 'urgently'...

November 8, 2023
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08Nov

UK. Pensions notably excluded from King’s Speech

Speaking at the 2023 State Opening of Parliament this morning, the King did not mention any new pensions legislation to build on chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Mansion House reforms announced earlier this year. Reforms included the creation of the Mansion House Compact, alongside several consultations on issues such as defined benefit (DB) superfunds, deferred small pots, collective defined contribution and a value money for money framework. ‘Disappointed' The pensions industry has aired its disappointment over the lack of mention of pensions in the monarch's first King's Speech. Aegon pensions director Steven Cameron...

November 8, 2023
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