May 2024
29May

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...

May 29, 2024
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24May

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....

May 24, 2024
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21May

Nearly 40% of savers at risk of losing track of pensions

More than one fifth (22 per cent) of savers are unsure where their pensions are held, while a further 16 per cent don’t know, research from Hargreaves Lansdown has found. The survey found that just under two thirds (62 per cent) of people know where all their pensions are held, raising concerns that some savers could be putting their retirement at risk by losing track of their pension savings altogether. The problem lessened as savers get older, as 8 per cent...

May 21, 2024
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21May

Pension De-Risking with Lump Sum Windows

Pension plans are critical components of retirement security, yet they pose significant financial and operational risks to sponsoring organizations. The volatility of funding requirements, coupled with longevity and investment risks, compels companies to seek innovative de-risking strategies. Offering a temporary lump sum window to active employees over age 59½, as facilitated by the Miners Act of 2019, has emerged as a strategic tool for de-risking pension plans. Background The Pension Protection Act of 2006 introduced the concept of phased retirement whereby pension...

May 21, 2024
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20May

US. New York City Retirement Funds Sue Fox For “Disregarding Defamation Risk” In Election Coverage

A group of New York City pension funds, along with others from the state of Oregon, have sued Fox Corp. and its officers and directors for “consciously disregarding defamation risk.” Fox News 2020 election coverage promoted “political narratives without regard for whether the underlying factual assertions were true or based on sources worthy of credit,” opening the company to litigation. “The board of directors of a Delaware-incorporated media company cannot be indifferent to the existential threat of broadcasting or publishing...

May 20, 2024
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17May

UK. Shifting longevity one of biggest risks to pension schemes

In England, 544,054 deaths were registered in 2023, which was 3,721 (0.7%) more deaths than 2022 and 25,895 (4.8%) above the five-year average; in Wales, 36,054 deaths were registered, which was 360 (1.0%) more deaths than 2022 and 1,521 (4.2%) above the five-year average. There were more male deaths registered (295,416 deaths) than female (285,947 deaths) in 2023, continuing the trend seen in 2021 and 2022. Deaths were above the five-year average in every English region in 2023; the region with...

May 17, 2024
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17May

Goldman Strikes $43 Billion Investing Deal for UPS Pension Funds

By Marion Halftermeyer, Sridhar Natarajan   Goldman Sachs Group Inc. clinched a $43 billion mandate to invest pension fund assets of parcel-delivery company UPS, in one of the largest deals of its kind. The investment mandate announced Thursday pushes Goldman, which manages some $325 billion of such pension assets, closer to its goal of surpassing rivals in the next three to five years. Those rivals include Marsh McLennan’s Mercer, BlackRock Inc. and Russell Investments. The multitrillion-dollar global business of taking on investing responsibility...

May 17, 2024
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17May

Nigerian Government Denies It’s Attempting to Illegally Access Workers’ Pension Funds

In response to circulating rumors, the Federal Government has emphatically denied any intentions to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. This clarification comes amidst concerns raised by various quarters regarding the safety and security of pension funds. The Finance Minister, Wale Edun addressed the issue, stating, “The pension industry, like most financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.” He...

May 17, 2024
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14May

US. Pending DOL Report to Consider Pension Risk Transfer Changes

Report to Congress in clearance process, EBSA chief says DOL weighing in may have chilling effect on risk transfers Large employer pensions looking to offload their funding liabilities through pension risk transfers are anticipating tougher future regulatory scrutiny as the US Labor Department prepares a report for Congress on the $45 billion de-risking market. The Employee Benefits Security Administration’s report appears likely to propose changes to a 1995 interpretive bulletin on pension risk transfers that laid out standards for employers...

May 14, 2024
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08May

Why Europe’s largest investors are building their defense war chests

As war rages on Europe’s doorstep and authorities across the region explicitly encourage institutional investors to support national security, some European pension funds are changing their investment policies to put more money to work in the defense industry. Last month, Danish pension funds told Pensions & Investments that the war in Ukraine had led to a rethink of allocations to defense assets. Some had already been investing — carefully and always with a responsible investment framework in mind — in defense and aerospace...

May 8, 2024
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