March 2022
08Mar

Why women’s pensions need more attention to reach equality

By Helen Morrissey International Women’s Day asks us to imagine a world free of bias and look towards a more equitable future. Equal pay and financial prospects are integral to this but remain an area where women continue to struggle as they remain significantly lower paid than men. This issue affects women throughout their working lives and leaves them retiring with a total pension income that is on average a whopping 37.9 per cent less than men. This is more than...

March 8, 2022
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February 2022
23Feb

UK. DWP confirms GMP revaluation rate reduction

The government has confirmed it will reduce the GMP fixed rate revaluation rate for early leavers from 3.5% to 3.25% per year. In response to its consultation - published last year - the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the new rate will apply to members where applicable from 6 April 2022. Where a member of a formerly contracted-out pension scheme leaves the scheme before pensionable age - an ‘early leaver' - the scheme must revalue its GMP to when...

February 23, 2022
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18Feb

39% of Canadians are confident in their retirement plan: survey

Almost two in five (39 per cent) Canadians are confident in their retirement plan, according to a survey conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights for the Bank of Montreal Financial Group. The survey, which polled 1,500 adult Canadians, found while respondents said they need $1.6 million to retire securely, just under half (44 per cent) were confident they’ll have enough money saved to retire as planned. Indeed, 42 per cent of respondents who are widowed, divorced or separated said they don’t...

February 18, 2022
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16Feb

Global retirement assets hit $56.6 trillion in 2021 – Thinking Ahead Institute

Global institutional retirement assets set a new record in 2021, reaching $56.6 trillion by the end of the year in the 22 largest markets, according to a study released Wednesday by the Thinking Ahead Institute in London. Read also US. A monumental year pushes assets up 17% In the largest markets, 54% of those assets are in defined contribution funds, the study found. Retirement asset totals by the end of 2021 were up 6.9% from a year earlier, when they first surpassed...

February 16, 2022
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10Feb

Jamaica. Tourism pension fund likely to grow faster than traditional funds – Goffe

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) indicates that, as at December 31, 2021, the value of assets managed by Sagicor Life Jamaica on behalf of the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme was approximately $506 million. At the launch of the scheme, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said he expected the fund to grow to $100 billion by 2023 and to reach $1 trillion in 10 years. The management of the assets of the scheme falls under Sagicor's managed pension portfolios which as at...

February 10, 2022
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03Feb

Target Date Funds and Portfolio Choice in 401(k) Plans

By Olivia S. Mitchell & Stephen P. Utkus Target date funds in corporate retirement plans grew from $5B in 2000 to $734B in 2018, partly because federal regulation sanctioned these as default investments in automatic enrollment plans. We show that adopters delegated pension investment decisions to fund managers selected by plan sponsors. Including these funds in retirement saving menus raised equity shares, boosted bond exposures, curtailed cash/company stock holdings, and reduced idiosyncratic risk. The adoption of low-cost target date funds...

February 3, 2022
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January 2022
31Jan

Kenya. NSSF Members to Access Pension Services Through M-Pesa App

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) members can now access pension services through the NSSF Mini App on the M-Pesa Super App. Following a NEW partnership with Safaricom, customers can register for NSSF membership, keep track of their contributions, top-up and manage their NSSF account, and make Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS) payments through the "Discover" option within the M-PESA Super App. Read also Iranian Teachers Demand Fair Pay, Pension Adjustment Anthony Omerikwa, Managing Trustee, NSSF said that the partnership is part of...

January 31, 2022
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27Jan

Ghana. Some retirees under Second Tier receiving less than what is due them – Haruna Iddrisu

Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has revealed that some retirees who are under the Second Tier pensions scheme are receiving less than what is due them at the moment. He described this as a disturbing situation that must be addressed immediately. The Second Tier is a defined contributory Occupational Pension Scheme mandatory for workers with 5% contribution made on behalf of members. The contribution is managed privately by approved Trustees. Speaking on the New Day on TV3 with Johnnie...

January 27, 2022
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10Jan

UK. Pensions largest component of household wealth – ONS

Pensions make up more than any other component of total net household wealth at 42 per cent, although inequalities remain within pension provisions, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed. The ONS noted that the proportion of pension wealth has increased over the past 14 years, likely due to the introduction of auto-enrolment, increases to state pension age, and varying defined benefit (DB) pension pot valuations. Retired households were found to be wealthier than those of working age,...

January 10, 2022
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07Jan

US. Pandemic’s impact on retirement savings varies by geography, gender and age

Nearly every American has felt the impact of the pandemic on the ability to save for retirement. “Retirement is expensive, and Americans were struggling to save enough money for it long before the pandemic,” according to a report from The Penny Hoarder on its recent survey. “The economic turmoil of the pandemic underscored some critical lessons about investing for the long term, including keeping calm during turbulent markets and using market slumps as an opportunity to invest when prices are...

January 7, 2022
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