March 2021
18Mar

Too much, or not enough: the risks of drawdown

For many people approaching retirement, there is a sense of dread when it comes to navigating the rules about accessing their pensions. Pension drawdown has grown in popularity since 2015. It enables savers to take a tax-free lump sum from their defined contribution pension, but keep the remainder of the money invested to provide an income during retirement. Currently, three times the number of savers are opting for drawdown plans than those who are buying annuities, according to the Financial Conduct...

March 18, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
17Mar

Virus exacts toll on women’s retirement savings, workplace diversity efforts – panel

The issues facing women in saving for retirement dominated discussions at Pensions & Investments' Defined Contribution Spring Virtual Series held March 8-11. With the pandemic bringing those issues into sharp relief, talk centered on the "shecession," a reference to the COVID-19-triggered exodus of women from the workforce as they wrestled with the lack of child care options. During a panel discussion on the first day of the conference, which coincided with International Women's Day, speakers lamented the departure of women from...

March 17, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
11Mar

Pension Trends for Executives in FTSE 350 & SmallCap Companies 2020

By e-reward.co.uk In this research, we outline: How contribution rates vary across the UK’s three main indices. The level of contribution rates paid to the majority of staff in the UK’s largest companies. Some of the approaches that individual companies have followed to reduce the pensions of their new and existing directors. Our data is sourced from over 1,200 annual reports published between September 2017 and 2020 from companies listed on the FTSE 100, mid-250 and SmallCap indices. This data represents...

March 11, 2021
Books, Pension design, Pension Management, , , ,
Read more...
11Mar

Pension Information and Women’s Awareness

By Marta Angelici, Daniela Del Boca, Noemi Oggero, Paola Profeta, Maria Christina Rossi, Claudia Villosio We explore the role of financial and pension information in increasing women’s knowledge and awareness of their future pension status, and consequently, in reducing the gender pension gap. A representative sample of 1249 Italian working women were interviewed to assess their knowledge about pensions and financial issues and about their own savings and personal wealth planned for retirement. The responses showed that their knowledge and...

March 11, 2021
Adequacy, Articles, Pension design, , ,
Read more...
09Mar

Taking a workforce break to raise children hurts retirement savings – economist

By Margarida Correia Taking time off from the workforce to take care of children can put a serious dent in workers’ long-term retirement savings. That was one of the central points that Michael Madowitz, an economist with the Center for American Progress, made as the keynote speaker Monday at Pensions & Investments' 2021 Defined Contribution Virtual Conference. A 29-year-old woman earning $44,000 who decides to take two years off for raising a child would not simply lose $88,000 for the two years she...

March 9, 2021
News, OP Ed, Slider, , ,
Read more...
05Mar

US. Stimulus Bill Freezes Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

What You Need to Know The freeze would take effect in 2031. It is intended to reduce a tax deferment that favors the highest earners, Democrats say. Retirement plan lobbyists are working to get the provision stripped from the Senate version of the bill. The $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package, which passed the House on Feb. 27, freezes retirement plan contribution limits starting in 2031. The bill, H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, would freeze the annual cost-of-living...

March 5, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
03Mar

South Africa. The battle for pension savings: Between secure retirement and survival

The retirement savings industry keenly follows Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's speech every year, if not for anything else, to advise savers how to maximise their tax benefits when tax rates and bracket adjustments are announced. The 2021 Budget speech, however, had a lot of game changers for the industry. The automatic enrolment of workers into retirement plans that the sector has long been advocating for, and the annuitisation of provident fund benefits – which has been delayed over and over...

March 3, 2021
News, Slider, , , , ,
Read more...

February 2021
25Feb

Germany. Vantik and Mastercard simplify saving for retirement with new debit card

Financial security in retirement is one of the most urgent issues in Germany and Europe. In order to offer people a simple access to savings for retirement, the Berlin-based Fintech Vantik announces a partnership with Mastercard and the banking-as-a-service-platform Vodeno. The heart of the cooperation is the combination of a free debit Mastercard with long-term savings: users of the Vantikcard receive 1% cashback on every purchase, which are automatically invested into a sustainable pension fund. Saving for retirement is thus...

February 25, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
24Feb

US. Women’s Retirement Savings Especially Affected by the Pandemic

By Amanda Umpierrez The pandemic has aggravated financial insecurity for millions of American workers, but data shows it’s affected women more severely than men. A study by Nationwide found that among 297 women with investable assets of $100,000 or more, 72% believe the pandemic had a negative impact on their retirement savings. Additionally, women listed losses from the pandemic as their top financial concern last year. Other worries involved protecting assets, health care costs and longevity risk during retirement. “With women, when...

February 24, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
23Feb

US. 3 Retirement Myths, Debunked: Social Security, The Stock Market And Savings

Retirement should inspire thoughts of mixed drinks on the beach and long afternoons with the grandkids. But for many people, just mentioning the word spurs anxiety. Younger Americans are waiting too long to put money away, middle-aged workers rarely make up for lost time and people approaching retirement hope to hold onto their jobs long enough to save just a few dollars more. Most people know they should be doing more to save for retirement, yet too few of us are...

February 23, 2021
News, Slider, , , , ,
Read more...