July 2020

08Jul

Covid-19: Don’t Mess With My Retirement

We’ve heard a lot lately about how the Covid-19 pandemic is dramatically disrupting the retirement preparations of tens of millions of working Americans. Being furloughed from work or having your small business fail is causing people to dip into savings and interrupts putting money aside toward retirement. Those closest to retiring can be in the biggest bind, and many are choosing to delay retirement to fill their growing financial gap. But how is the pandemic affecting folks who are...

July 8, 2020
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June 2020

29Jun

US. Coronavirus puts company match under pressure

For the employers that suspended or reduced their matches in defined contribution plans, the coronavirus — which caused the economic havoc leading to cost-cutting — also looms over their efforts to reinstate these benefits. "If companies can bring back the match, they will," said Gregg Levinson, the Philadelphia-based senior director of retirement at Willis Towers Watson PLC. However, a new survey by his firm, conducted during the first half of June, shows that bringing back the match could take...

June 29, 2020
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29Jun

Increasing compulsory superannuation would crush consumer spending

The Grattan Institute has attacked the legislated lift in the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12%, claiming it would “leave an enormous hole in economic activity”: Legislated plans to increase the rate of compulsory superannuation contributions incrementally to 12 per cent of wages between 2021 and July 2025 would also exacerbate the economic problems caused by COVID-19, and should be abandoned. At least 80 per cent of the cost of higher compulsory super contributions comes at the cost of lower...

June 29, 2020
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24Jun

‘Alarming number’: Boomers struggle to save enough for retirement, survey finds

Many baby boomers don’t have nearly enough money to retire. The median amount they have saved for retirement is $144,000, according to a recent survey from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, a figure that should be a “call to action” for boomers, said one financial expert. “When we think about it, $144,000 to last in retirement that could be 20 or 30 years just isn’t going to go very far,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of the Transamerica...

June 24, 2020
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16Jun

Global pension assets rose to $32 trillion in 2019

According to information and data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, pension fund assets rose to $32 trillion in OECD area and $0.7 trillion in 29 other selected (non-OECD) reporting jurisdictions in 2019. A country by country analysis shows that the United States of America has the largest amount of pension fund assets in the amount of $18.8 trillion. The US is followed by the United Kingdom with pension assets of $3.6 trillion, Australia, $1.8 trillion,...

June 16, 2020
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May 2020

27May

South Africa. Odds stacked against investment industry as Covid-19 hits pension contributions

The investment industry could face one of its toughest years to date in 2020 as people are losing their jobs and cashing out their pensions to survive, while companies are giving those who remain employed options to save less for retirement. One of SA's biggest asset managers, Coronation Fund Managers, said while it is still early to assess the impact of coronavirus-related job losses on the industry, it is safe to expect that less money will be coming in....

May 27, 2020
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22May

The Shifting Ground of Pension Design: Reflections on Risks and Reporting

By Robert D. Baldwin Debates about the relative merits of defined-benefit (DB) and defined-contribution (DC) pension plans have been a prominent part of pension discourse over the past forty years. The intensity of the debate has ebbed and flowed over the years but has been more intense in recent years as there has been a shift from DB to DC plans in Canada. This shift has left the remaining members of DB plans feeling threatened and, for many, the...

May 22, 2020
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19May

How to Motivate Young Workers to Save For Retirement

For most young workers, planning for retirement typically isn’t a priority. But as the nation’s fiscal outlook darkens, the likelihood that Congress will scale back Social Security benefits in the coming years only grows. Without early planning, most simply won’t be able to maintain the standard of living they expect in retirement.  Whether you want to educate your young employees about planning for retirement or ensure a secure future for your child, here are four tips to help you...

May 19, 2020
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18May

UK. Pension savers unable to move their cash as trustees use emergency powers

Savers who want to ditch defined benefit pensions as their employers struggle to survive may find themselves trapped by trustees using emergency powers to halt transfers. Businesses facing financial hardship have been the first to see trustees of their staff pension funds block members from moving their cash for three months during the pandemic. This stops anyone wanting to transfer out of defined benefit pensions, which pay a guaranteed income in retirement, into more flexible but riskier “defined...

May 18, 2020
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07May

UK. Staggering £19bn left languishing in unclaimed pension pots

Insurance association will work with UK government to ensure people ‘are reconnected’ with assets. Many Brits are not contacting their pension provider when they move house. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) surveyed 2,000 UK adults and estimated that there are around 1.6 million pension pots worth £19.4bn ($24.2bn, €22.5bn) unclaimed. This is the equivalent of nearly £13,000 per pension pot. The survey comes several years after the government predicted that there could be as many as 50 million...

May 7, 2020
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