September 2023
13Sep

Health, Pensions, and Electricity Sectors Are Key to Fiscal Consolidation in Guinea-Bissau

Strengthening the pension system, improving health sector outcomes, and enhancing the performance of the electricity sector are key to consolidating fiscal space in Guinea-Bissau and accelerating development. These are some of highlights of the Public Expenditure Review (PER), a new report launched by the World Bank. With a small population of around 2 million and economic activity centered on the production and sale of unprocessed cashew nuts, Guinea-Bissau is beset by political instability and high rates of extreme poverty and vulnerability....

September 13, 2023
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July 2023
07Jul

The 2021 Ageing Report: Underlying Assumptions and Projection Methodologies

By Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs & Economic Policy Committee With a view to ensuring the sustainability of public finances in the EU, the ECOFIN Council charged the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) with producing a new set of long-term budgetary projections by 2021, on the basis of new population projections to be provided by Eurostat. Safeguarding the sustainability of public finances requires that the analysis is based on reliable, comparable information on possible challenges to fiscal sustainability, including strains...

July 7, 2023
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January 2023
27Jan

Pensions Benefit More than Retirees, Says Report

Pensions obviously benefit retirees, their dependents and their beneficiaries. But while it may be less obvious, pensions also benefit society writ large — to the tune of trillions, with a T. The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) every two years updates its Pensionomics analysis that measures the economic “ripple effect” of payments from defined benefit plans. In “Pensionomics 2023: Measuring the Economic Impact of DB Pension Expenditures,” the NIRS quantifies the broader benefits of DB plans; namely, the economic...

January 27, 2023
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11Jan

Fintech Robos organises OECD pension event for MENA región

The experience and learning curve of Western and developed markets with defined contribution (DC) pension systems will be showcased one more time to the Arab world through another pension event organised by Fintech Robos, Bahrain-based savings & pensions technology provider. Fintech Robos and the OECD are partnering once again to launch “Pension Outlook 2022” Report in the MENA region. “Pensions Outlook” is one of two flagship bi-annual international pension reports and indexes produced by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation &...

January 11, 2023
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December 2022
27Dec

UAE’s Pension Authority raises awareness on incorrect contribution practices

Private sector entities that do not pay monthly contributions or provide incorrect data for their Emirati employees risk incurring additional penalties and, under certain conditions, imprisonment,' as per the federal pension and social security law. At the end of its campaign to educate insured Emiratis and the entities in which they are employed about an insured’s rights and duties in accordance to the NAFIS programme, the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) stated that charging an insured person with...

December 27, 2022
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19Dec

Top-rated retirement systems around the globe

A new report from Morningstar evaluates retirement systems in eight “highly educated and wealthy countries” often cited in independent studies as being among the best in their regions. In a recent webinar reviewing the report, authors Andy Pettit, director, policy research at Morningstar, and Lia Mitchell, senior analyst, policy research, discussed some of the more effective features that they found in the countries that they studied and some areas that would benefit from change in those countries, including the...

December 19, 2022
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November 2022
09Nov

US. Rising Interest Rates Change the Math on Pensions for Some Would-Be Retirees

Higher interest rates are good for our cash and checking accounts but are not always good for pension holders. Rising interest rates have an inverse relationship to a pension’s lump-sum value. As interest rates increase, the value of a pension holder’s lump sum could decrease. Because of this, I am seeing more pension holders who want to take a lump sum do so now vs. waiting. I am also seeing annuity rates improve with rising interest rates, pushing annuity income...

November 9, 2022
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October 2022
18Oct

How Pension Plans Evolved Out of the Great Financial Crisis

Despite the recession and subsequent loss of assets value, pensions plans continued to pay out over a trillion dollars in benefits to stakeholders over the recessionary era. Public pension funds were not spared from the carnage of the Great Financial Crisis, as assets and funding statuses eroded between December 2007 and June 2009. From 2009-2013, there was a significant dip in the aggregate percentage of required contributions paid. When the economy recovered, states and other plan sponsors normalized their contribution...

October 18, 2022
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11Oct

Iceland, Netherlands and Denmark have the best pensions in the world in 2022

Today, Mercer and the CFA Institute released its 14th annual Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (MCGPI). Iceland’s retirement income system has once again topped the list, with The Netherlands and Denmark retaining second and third places respectively in the rankings. As more employers have stepped away from defined benefit (DB) plans, the study also investigates the challenges and opportunities with the global shift towards defined contribution (DC) plans where individuals bear increased financial responsibility. The MCGPI is a comprehensive...

October 11, 2022
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August 2022
10Aug

These 7 African countries have recorded highest pension fund asset growth

A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has shown that global pension fund assets grew by over 10% to $38.5 trillion in 2021. The report focused specifically on pension fund assets in 68 countries or reporting jurisdictions, consisting of 38 OECD countries and 30 non-OECD countries in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. The report said in parts: "Overall, pension fund assets amounted to USD 38.5 trillion in a total of 68 reporting jurisdictions at end-2021. Most...

August 10, 2022
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