March 2022

SEC proposes climate-related disclosures for public companies
22Mar

US. SEC proposes climate-related disclosures for public companies

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday proposed rule amendments to require public companies to disclose climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions. The commission approved the rule amendments in a 3-1 vote, with its lone Republican, Hester M. Peirce, dissenting. Under the proposal, public companies would be required to disclose a host of climate-related information in their registration statements and periodic reports, including: The oversight and governance of climate-related risks by the registrant's board and management. How any climate-related risks identified...

March 22, 2022
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18Mar

A Sustainable, Variable Lifetime Retirement Income Solution for the Chilean Pension System

By Olga Fuentes, Richard K. Fullmer & Manuel Enrique Garcia Huitron There is a need in pension systems to significantly improve the level and stability of pension payments as pensioners age. Solutions to address increased longevity and longevity risk should be not limited to increasing the take-up rate of annuities – explicit guarantees are costly in a low-interest rate environment, and lock-in of savings may not be in line with members' preferences. Our proposal is to develop a Sustainable, Variable...

March 18, 2022
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09Mar

UK. Pension Protection Fund pulls out of Russia

The Pension Protection Fund will eliminate its negligible exposure to Russian assets when liquidity in the market improves, it has announced. Pension schemes have raced to freeze investments and divest from Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February, drawing international condemnation and widespread boycotts. Schemes, for the time being, appear limited to stating an intention to move out of Russia, given a complete lack of liquidity in Russian assets. The Moscow Stock Exchange closed on February 28, while the Russian government has...

March 9, 2022
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February 2022
09Feb

US. Pension risk transfer market posts record-breaking 2021

The U.S. pension risk transfer market had a record-breaking year in 2021, with an estimated total volume of between $38 billion and $40 billion, according to a report from Legal & General Group. Read also US. New York’s public pension fund to divest from 21 companies over transition risk In the insurer's latest Pension Risk Transfer Monitor, issued Tuesday , the U.S. PRT market's volume for the year well exceeded the total of $27 billion for 2020, and also exceeded the...

February 9, 2022
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09Feb

UK. Climate change a ‘fundamental risk’ to scheme longevity

Climate change is severely impacting on the covenants of a range of employers sponsoring UK defined benefit (DB) schemes, the Employer Covenant Practitioners Association (ECPA) says. In a paper published today (8 February), the ECPA said climate change is "progressively impacting" the covenant of many sponsors, from impacting upon cashflows to representing a "fundamental risk" to scheme longevity. It argues that DB schemes should consider the impacts of climate change through sectoral analysis, including regulation and technological evolution, to best consider...

February 9, 2022
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03Feb

Do pensions have real teeth? Evidence from the state government borrowing costs

By Sumit Agarwal, Chunlin Liu, Qiyuan Peng, Qun Wu & Ting Zhang Yes, they do. State governments with risky defined benefit pension plans have higher borrowing costs, as measured by larger bond offering yield spreads. To control for the potential endogenous issue, we utilize the instruments of actuarial firms’ reputation, and direct flight between the state capital and actuarial firm headquarter. We further identify the relation between pension plan investment risks and borrowing costs using two quasi-experimental shocks: the introduction...

February 3, 2022
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03Feb

UK. Alternatives could give DC pensions higher returns at no extra risk, PPI says

Alternative assets could present defined contribution schemes with a means to increase value for members without taking on any extra risk, the Pensions Policy Institute has found. The PPI's report, published yesterday (February 2), stated DC default funds could better serve the needs of members by expanding the range of asset classes they invest in, putting more focus on better returns and lower volatility. Those who would benefit from an increased focus on returns include those working beyond the state pension...

February 3, 2022
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January 2022
25Jan

UK. Pension transfer activity hits lowest level since 2018

An annualised rate of 50 members out of every 10,000 transferred their pensions in December according to the XPS Pensions Group's transfer activity index — the lowest rate since XPS started tracking this activity four years ago. Head of member options Mark Barlow said a "slump" in transfer activity was common over the festive period. "But this is the lowest rate of transfers we have seen since we started the index in 2018," he said. "Although it's unlikely to be affecting...

January 25, 2022
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18Jan

UK. Lack of guidance for pension savers risks freedoms ‘failure’, MPs warn

A Work and Pensions Committee report calls on Government and regulators to play more active role in supporting savers to make better decisions about their money. The Government should commit to trial of automatic Pension Wise guidance appointments and set a target of at least 60% needed to boost uptake of pensions guidance and advice Automatic appointments with the Pension Wise service should be trialled as part of a renewed commitment from the Government to support people to make better decisions...

January 18, 2022
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14Jan

Development an optimization plan for redistributing pension assets applying information technologies

By Svitlana Achkasova & Yevheniia Malyshko The issue of the significance of the role of information technologies in the pension system was highlighted. The information and communication model of the state regulation of financial support of the pension system in the market of non-banking financial services was considered. The essence of information and communication support of the risk-oriented approach to the system of accumulative pension provision, which involves preventing the information and technological probability of risks, was explored. The issues...

January 14, 2022
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