June 2023
20Jun

5 Better Ways for States to Promote Retirement Savings

Nobody plans to be broke when they retire, but American culture promotes consumption over thrift, and saving for retirement is particularly difficult for low-income workers. With Social Security so deeply underfunded that skinnier benefits and heftier taxes seem likely in the coming decade, the reluctance of many workers to save for their retirement is a mounting challenge that many states are taking upon themselves by prodding private-sector employers to provide retirement savings plans. But as it’s said about leading a...

June 20, 2023
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19Jun

US. Teacher pensions systems are increasingly underfunded, making teachers vulnerable and salaries less attractive

By Andrew G. Biggs Pensions are an important component of total compensation for most employees but particularly for public school teachers. Teachers tend to have relatively low salaries but retirement benefits that are considerably more generous than in a typical private-sector 401(k) plan. Yet the risk facing teachers is that many teacher pension plans are significantly underfunded, placing their employers under considerable financial strain, and reducing resources available for schools and for teacher pay and benefits. The funding shortfalls facing...

June 19, 2023
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16Jun

US. DOL working on updated fiduciary rule, SECURE 2.0 provisions

The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration is aiming to release a rule proposal on fiduciary investment advice in the coming months and is working on a host of rules related to SECURE 2.0, according to its latest semiannual regulatory agenda. The agenda outlines EBSA's short-term and long-term priorities and notes it's working on seven items in the pre-rule stage, 10 in the proposed rule stage and three in the final rule stage. EBSA agendas in recent years have indicated...

June 16, 2023
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15Jun

Jamaica. Opposition concerned about pensions fraud probe launched at labour ministry

Opposition Spokesperson on Labour and Social Security, Dr Angela Brown Burke, has expressed deep concern over recent allegations regarding a pension fraud probe at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in which hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money have gone missing. Reports are that internal audits at the ministry revealed that money paid out under the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is more than twice the amount which should have been paid based on the pension order books issued by...

June 15, 2023
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01Jun

US. Closing the retirement savings gap: Employer offerings vs. workers’ needs

Employees working for larger companies may have several advantages when it comes to saving for retirement, as larger companies tend to provide more robust retirement benefit offerings than small companies. However, experts hope provisions of SECURE Act 2.0 will help level the playing field among companies of all sizes. According to a new study, Stepping into the Future: Employers, Workers, and the Multigenerational Workforce, by nonprofit Transamerica Institute and its Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, total household retirement savings is...

June 1, 2023
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01Jun

Uganda’s pension sector witnesses impressive growth in assets and benefit payments

In the wake of Covid-19 lockdown measures and with rising demand for short-term access to pension money, growth in assets, investment portfolios, and benefit payments defined the health of Uganda's pension market. The total assets of the sector climbed from Ush17.8 trillion ($4.8 billion) in 2020–2021 to Ush19.9 trillion ($5.2 billion) in 2021–2022 according to the most recent statistics provided by the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority. Private fund managers controlled assets worth less than Ush3 trillion ($801 million), while the...

June 1, 2023
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May 2023
30May

Early pension bonanza hits Zambia’s finances

Zambia’s decision to allow citizens to cash out part of their pensions early is having an unintended consequence: it’s hitting a key source of government financing as the squeeze from a long-delayed debt restructuring continues to tighten. New legislation enabling people to access 20% of their pension savings has seen the National Pension Scheme Authority, or Napsa, so far pay out 5.8 billion kwacha ($300 million) since it was signed into law April 17, spokesman Cephas Sinyangwe said on state...

May 30, 2023
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29May

Bangladesh. Govt to pilot universal pension from July

The government is set to launch a pilot programme for a universal pension system this July with separate products for expatriates, private sector employees, those engaged in the informal sector, and individuals covered by the social safety net. The initiative is aimed at bringing people from all walks of life under pension coverage in a gradual process. But no specific authority has yet been established to oversee the universal pension system and the pension products have not yet been specified...

May 29, 2023
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29May

Namibia: Contractors Urged to Adhere to Mandatory Pension Benefits

The Construction Industries Federation (CIF) of Namibia said it is mandatory for construction sector employers to register their most vulnerable workers with a pension fund, and assist with contributions. CIF chief executive officer Bärbel Kirchner said in a statement that the provision applies to all contractors, as per the collective agreement between CIF and the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (Manwu). "We are aware that some companies have not registered their workers as per the categories listed in the gazetted...

May 29, 2023
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26May

A zoom into Asia’s pension reform journey: different perspectives of a multi-pillar approach

By Calvin Chiu & Elvin Tharm Pension reform in Asia is progressing as the region faces numerous challenges: ageing populations, rising life expectancy and the erosion of traditional family and community support for the elderly. While the traditional state-provided pension may provide one potential source of retirement income, Manulife Investment Management believes that a comprehensive multi-pillar approach, such as that outlined by the World Bank, should be the best way forward. In this initial paper of a new series on...

May 26, 2023
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