November 2022
18Nov

Make pension schemes attractive: a call for Kenyan pension funds

Pension funds in Kenya are not attracting enough savers from both the formal and informal sector because of low penetration, experts say. A publication of the Zamara Kenya Pensions Watch 2022, shows coverage of the current pension in Kenya is at around 17.7 per cent of the total employed population. About 83.2 per cent of employed Kenyans in the informal sector have no access to any form of pension savings. Speaking at a Pension Trustee Seminar, organised by Zamara, former education CS...

November 18, 2022
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16Nov

Age for starting savings for pension drops in China

The average age for starting saving for a pension dropped sharply in China from 38 to 35, according to a survey on the prospect of China's elderly care released by Fidelity International and Ant Fortune on Tuesday, the Paper reported. Perceptions on and behaviors for retirement planning continue to improve when China's personal pension policy landed as a third pillar to support the country's pension system with the basic endowment insurance as the first pillar, and the enterprise annuity as...

November 16, 2022
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14Nov

South Africa. Unions and SOEs that fail to pay employee benefits are facing few to no consequences

Retirement, medical and other contributions deducted from employees’ salaries are not being paid to the relevant funds and schemes by some SOEs and unions. In a tough economic environment, unions and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are starting to default on employee benefits such as retirement fund and medical scheme contributions. And there are apparently few to no consequences for this behaviour. Earlier this week, Pension Funds Adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane issued a ruling against the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu)...

November 14, 2022
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01Nov

US. Some workers halt 401(k) plan contributions to cope with inflation

More than half of American workers have cut or stopped contributing to their retirement savings plans to cope with soaring prices and 40-year-high inflation rates. The findings come from a third-quarter market perceptions study by Allianz Life Insurance of North America. The September survey of 1,004 workers found that 54% halted or reduced their 401k and other retirement savings between July and September. Perhaps more alarming, 43% admitted dipping into retirement nest eggs to cope with the higher cost of gas, utilities,...

November 1, 2022
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October 2022
31Oct

US. SECURE 2.0 could pass before new Congress

The upcoming midterm elections could change the trajectory on many congressional priorities, but strengthening retirement security has remained a bipartisan issue. Congressional leaders and their staffs are currently working to pass another retirement security package, referred to as SECURE 2.0, that could pass before a new Congress starts. There are three bipartisan bills that House and Senate members are discussing behind the scenes, attempting to reconcile any differences between the bills and put forth a package aimed at bolstering Americans' retirement...

October 31, 2022
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31Oct

UK. Increased pension engagement could trigger ‘unintended consequences’

Successfully engaging people with their pensions could result in “unintended consequences”, particularly given the current economic environment, Aon has said. Although Aon highlighted UK Pensions Awareness Week as an “opportunity” for the financial industry to connect with people and encourage active engagement with retirement savings, it acknowledged the difficulties presented by to the current cost-of-living issues. Among the issues highlighted by Aon was the possibility that individuals could be more inclined to cease their contributions or request early access to their...

October 31, 2022
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24Oct

US. IRA Limits Are Rising in 2023. Here’s What Retirement Savers Need to Know.

You have an even greater opportunity to build yourself a strong nest egg. Building a nest egg is an important thing to do if you want to retire in a comfortable manner. Sure, you can tell yourself you'll just fall back on Social Security -- but doing so might lead to a serious income shortfall down the line. Now when it comes to saving for retirement, you have options. If your employer sponsors a 401(k) plan, it could pay to contribute....

October 24, 2022
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21Oct

P&I Research Center. Pension Risk Transfer

By Valerie Ge Over the past 12 months through June, $57.4 billion in liabilities were involved in pension risk transfer deals. Pension buyout transactions reached $25.3 billion, or 44.1% of the total, followed by buy-ins of $23.2 billion, 40.4%, and longevity swaps of $7.5 billion, or 13.1% of the total. Buyout transactions increased 93.3% from $2.9 billion in the fi rst quarter but buy-in transactions declined to $2.4 billion from $7.3 billion. Source: @s3 prod pionline 274 views

October 21, 2022
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21Oct

Kenya. Pension-backed housing starts dimly amid calls for its overhaul

Access to affordable housing is a challenge to many public and private sector employees who retire without a home, despite having worked and saved towards a pension. One of the initiatives by the government to increase access to housing was by amending the Retirement Benefits Act (RBA) to allow pension funds to be used as collateral for the purchase of a home. The move was billed as a silver bullet in enabling civil servants and workers to own homes. And two years...

October 21, 2022
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19Oct

A leisurely retirement is further out of reach for most South Africans

Retirement. What does the word mean to you? For the enviable few who have built up a decent nest egg, retirement represents a life of leisure as compensation for years worked. But that is not the reality for most South Africans. When 10X Investments published its first South African Retirement Reality Report in 2018, it highlighted how poorly prepared working South Africans were for retirement. Subsequent reports, including the latest, released recently, have shown that the outlook is worsening by...

October 19, 2022
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