February 2023

China. Legislative steps being taken to protect elderly

China's legislature has accelerated the creation of legislation aimed at the elderly over the past few years in a bid to bolster protection and respond to a rapidly aging population. The latest National Bureau of Statistics data showed that by the end of last year, China's population aged 60 and above exceeded 280 million, making up 19.8 percent of the national total. The National Health Commission estimates that this figure will grow to over 400 million by 2035, accounting for more...

UK. New Funding Code could affect how pension schemes are run

UK pension schemes are expecting the Defined Benefit (DB) Funding Code, currently in consultation, to affect the way they are run in the future, a recent poll by Aon has found. At a recent Aon webinar on the funding code consultation, almost 250 attendees were asked how material they thought the new funding regime would be to the way their schemes are run, with 42% of respondents indicating that they thought it would have either a moderate or a significant...

U.S. Anti-ESG bill could cut this State pension returns by $6.7 bln

Proposed legislation to limit the use of sustainable investment factors by fund managers of the U.S. state of Indiana could cut $6.7 billion from the investment returns of a public pension system there over a decade, a fiscal analysis shows. One such bill proposed in Indiana requires public pension system officials to act only in the fiduciary interests of participants and beneficiaries. According to a Feb. 4 "fiscal impact statement" prepared by the Indiana Legislative Services Agency, which advises lawmakers in...

Early Pension Withdrawals in Chile During the Pandemic

By Olga Fuentes, Olivia S. Mitchell & Félix Villatoro Chile, with one of the largest and best funded defined contribution programs in Latin America, held over USD $200 bn in assets at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, or more than 80% of GDP. Reacting to populist pressures during the pandemic, however, the government gave non-retired participants three separate opportunities to tap into their retirement accounts, leaving some 4.2 million participants with zero retirement savings and draining around $50 bn...

U.K. Regulators Are Urged to Address Pension Risks After Last Year’s Crisis

British regulators failed to properly monitor the risks created by the derivatives-based investment strategy that upended the U.K.’s pension sector last year, an investment approach that poses a continuing risk to companies if changes aren’t made, according to a U.K. legislative panel. Liability-driven investments, known as LDIs, invest in derivatives that are tied to U.K. government bonds known as gilts. They help pensions match long-term liabilities they have to retirees with less capital than they would need had they owned...

Ghana. Employment Minister now in-charge of pensions

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, as the Minister in charge of Pensions. The appointment, which took effect from Monday, January 30, 2023, was in accordance with section 211 of the National Pensions Act 2008 (ACT 766). This mandates the Minister to steer the affairs of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust. Mr Baffour Awuah made this known when he appeared before the...

Trade Unions In Bangladesh Win Universal Pensions

The ITUC welcomes a new law passed in the Bangladesh parliament which establishes a framework for universal pensions. This new law represents a breakthrough following intensive advocacy from trade unions, as well as civil society groups, within the Bangladesh Social Protection Advocacy Network (BSPAN) to extend social protection in the country. The new law will provide, for the first time, the possibility for all Bangladeshi workers to benefit from income security in retirement. Previously, the pension system in Bangladesh was...

U.K. Department of Work and Pensions launches collective defined contribution consultation

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a public consultation on a policy framework for broadening collective defined contribution (CDC) provision in pension schemes. The consultation was launched to get views from the public on policy proposals for broadening CDC provision beyond single or connected employer schemes, to accommodate multi-employer schemes. It has also asked for opinions on the role of CDC in decumulation, including how products of this kind might work in practice, and whether there is a significant...

Enhancing Investors’ Trust

By CFA Institute Investor Trust Study Investors must have confidence in the financial system overall, and trust is especially important for investment management, since client outcomes manifest only over a future horizon. Industry leaders must understand the drivers of investor trust so they can deliver the most value. In the 2022 CFA Institute Investor Trust Study, the fifth in our biennial series, we found that trust levels in financial services among retail and institutional investors have increased significantly since 2020....

January 2023

US. SECURE 2.0 to expand auto enrollment

A new law will expand automatic enrollment to all newly formed 401(k) and 403(b) plans, which experts say could significantly boost enrollment in retirement plans. The provision is one of more than 90 in the retirement security package, known as SECURE 2.0, which passed Congress in December and will change the future of the retirement landscape in a myriad of ways. Starting in 2025, all new 401(k) and 403(b) plans will be required to automatically enroll new employees in their plan,...