May 2024
30May

Pension managers back climate group after high-profile US exits

 Asset owners overseeing $4.6 trillion have signed a statement throwing their support behind the Climate Action 100+ investor group after several high-profile Wall Street investors left the global initiative. Signatories included the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) and California Public Employees Retirement System pension managers, as well as more than 40 others from countries including Britain, Canada and Sweden. In the statement on CalSTRS' website, the groups, many of which employ asset managers to invest in markets on their behalf,...

May 30, 2024
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03May

Venezuelan National Assembly Approves Pension Protection Bill

The National Assembly of Venezuela approved on Thursday in the first discussion, the Social Security Pension Protection Bill, after it was presented to that body by the executive vice president of the South American country, Delcy Rodriguez. "We wanted to bring this bill that has 13 articles that seek special protection, through contributions and contributions of private business for the protection of pensions against criminal blockade"said Rodríguez and also recalled that the country’s income from the blockade was impacted by...

May 3, 2024
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April 2024
23Apr

Living to 95 may impact the world as much as AI and climate change

You need an 'evergreen' approach to life, work and health, economics professor Andrew Scott says In the first session of his world economy class at the London Business School, economics professor Andrew Scott asked students to name the trends that will transform their lives and careers over the next several decades. Artificial intelligence and climate change sparked much discussion among his students. Meanwhile, the trend of demographic change and "more old people" was seen as a negative. In his new book, "The...

April 23, 2024
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22Apr

UK. Labour shifts poll tactics to target fearful Tory over-65s

Labour is to wage a new campaign to win over Tory-supporting pensioners in an attempt to neutralise one of the government’s last remaining electoral strengths, amid evidence the Conservatives are now performing as badly among the age group as they did under Liz Truss’s leadership. With less than a fortnight to go until local elections in England, which some Tories fear could trigger an attempt to topple Rishi Sunak, the Observer understands that Keir Starmer’s top officials are reorienting their campaign after detecting...

April 22, 2024
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15Apr

Finland intends on cutting pensions

Finance Minister Riikka Purra of Finland has emphasized the necessity of implementing pension cuts as part of the government's efforts to bolster public finances, according to an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, a local newspaper. With the aim of slashing EUR3 billion from the 2025 state budget, discussions surrounding pension reforms have taken center stage in the current political discourse. Purra acknowledged the inevitability of reducing occupational pensions as a component of the government's austerity measures. She highlighted potential strategies such...

April 15, 2024
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12Apr

Progress and priorities: reviewing sustainability in key pension systems

Pension funds are long-term investors and their ability to generate long-term returns relies on the performance of the markets and economies in which they invest. Because sustainability factors such as climate change and biodiversity loss threaten the performance of the markets and economies on which they rely for financial returns, pension funds have a responsibility to consider whether sustainability-related risks will inhibit their ability to protect long-term value and provide an adequate pension to their members or beneficiaries. Accordingly,...

April 12, 2024
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11Apr

UN PRI: U.S. pension funds face ‘mixed signals’ on sustainability

A culture of “mixed signals” in U.S. politics has contributed to an uncertain environment for pension funds when it comes to sustainability, according to a report by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. The UN PRI report followed research from 2020 and 2021 that found “policy, structural and market barriers” to sustainability in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. The latest work identified 10 separate priorities these jurisdictions needed to address when it came to sustainability. The U.S. pension fund system...

April 11, 2024
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March 2024
21Mar

UK’s Hunt Says State Pension and Benefits Are ‘Under Review’

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt indicated that reforms to the UK state pension and welfare benefits are being considered as the government scrambles to fund increases in defense spending and boost economic growth. Testifying to lawmakers in the House of Lords, Hunt said the triple lock — which guarantees that the state pension rises by the highest of inflation, average earnings or 2.5% — was “under review.” Continuation of the policy is subject to improving the government’s two goals of...

March 21, 2024
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20Mar

UK Spring Budget – Pensions proposals silent on sustainability

The UK government’s Spring Budget last week put an emphasis on investments in the UK but creates more risks for long-term savers by not sufficiently addressing sustainability risks. Pension funds and their investments have a direct influence on environmental, social, and economic outcomes. In order to secure the long-term financial interest of beneficiaries, pension funds have a responsibility to consider whether system-level sustainability risks will affect their ability to do this[1]. A key topic of the UK Spring Budget, also addressed in the...

March 20, 2024
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February 2024
02Feb

The Purpose of Pensions

By Tom Shields & Jesse Griffiths  The pensions the system needs major reform: it is not delivering decent, secure retirement incomes for all, it excludes far too many, and it is not playing a big enough role in delivering a just, green transition, or supporting an inclusive, sustainable and productive economy. This paper reviews all proposals for change, and recommends five key sets of reforms that could ensure that the pensions system works for people, the economy, and the environment. Get...

February 2, 2024
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