September 2023
05Sep

Raise pension contributions to combat UK capital market decline, says think-tank

Higher minimum contributions to pension schemes and turning the regulatory screw would help plug shortfalls in retirement income and reverse shrinkage in Britain's capital market, think-tank New Financial said in a report on Tuesday. A welter of regulatory reforms to bolster London's capital market and boost the flow of money from pensions into investments is a good start, but more is needed to avoid pensioners having too little to live on, said New Financial CEO William Wright. "This isn't something that...

September 5, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

June 2023
28Jun

India. Balancing Old and New Pension Systems: Neglected Pensioners and PFRDA’s Role

The ongoing debate surrounding the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and the New Pension System (NPS) must not overlook the most affected group – the pensioners. While political parties, economists, and think tanks engage in discussions about the advantages and risks of each system, elderly individuals relying on these pensions continue to be forgotten. The OPS has a long history dating back to British Colonial Rule in India, initially introduced in 1881. It has evolved over the years, extending its coverage...

June 28, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
19Jun

US. Teacher pensions systems are increasingly underfunded, making teachers vulnerable and salaries less attractive

By Andrew G. Biggs Pensions are an important component of total compensation for most employees but particularly for public school teachers. Teachers tend to have relatively low salaries but retirement benefits that are considerably more generous than in a typical private-sector 401(k) plan. Yet the risk facing teachers is that many teacher pension plans are significantly underfunded, placing their employers under considerable financial strain, and reducing resources available for schools and for teacher pay and benefits. The funding shortfalls facing...

June 19, 2023
News, OP Ed, Op-Ed, , ,
Read more...

May 2023
05May

US. PBGC Bails Out Service, Manufacturing, Transportation Pension Funds

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. on Monday provided Special Financial Assistance totaling more than $600 million to three multiemployer plans. The plans are the Western States Office and Professional Employees Pension Plan, the United Furniture Workers Pension Fund A and the Building Material Drivers Local 436 Pension Plan. The Western States plan, based in Portland, Oregon, has 7,230 participants in the service industry. In October 2018, it cut benefits by 25% to approximately 6,000 participants under the Multiemployer Pension Reform...

May 5, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

April 2023
19Apr

UK. ‘The current pensions system is not fit for purpose’

By Stephanie Hawthorne The death knell for defined benefit pension provision has been tolled many times, even if the final 'coffin nail’ has not quite yet been hammered into its lid. Millions of ordinary workers, from journalists, railway workers to shop assistants in WH Smith, enjoyed DB pensions without appreciating just how good a perk they were, until it was almost too late. What a failure in communications. Sadly, we have almost reached a tipping point when there will be no return...

April 19, 2023
News, OP Ed, Op-Ed, ,
Read more...

January 2023
25Jan

Spain’s pension spending is approaching the point of no return (and the “baby boom” generation has not yet entered)

Pensions weigh on Spain. As much or more than most of its neighbors in the European Union. Although the bulk of the country’s boomers —born between 1957 and 1977— have not yet retired and the coverage rate of their pension system is lower than the European average, the spending that Spain allocates to them in relation to the size of its economy exceeded the simple average of the EU. If weighted measures are handled, it is already in tune...

January 25, 2023
News,
Read more...

December 2022
09Dec

President Joe Biden announces 36-billion federal aid struggling central states

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has approved $36 billion in federal assistance to shore up a massive union multiemployer pension plan facing steep cuts. Teamsters Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund, Chicago, will receive the funds under the Special Financial Assistance Program. The program, created by the American Rescue Plan Act that Democrats passed in March 2021, was designed to shore up struggling multiemployer pension plans through 2051. The PBGC estimates...

December 9, 2022
News,
Read more...
08Dec

Global Public Investor 2022

By OMFIF Most central bank reserves managers are resigned to a period of higher inflation and lower returns, according to a report published today by OMFIF. More than 75% of the central banks surveyed for the 2022 edition of Global Public Investor believe inflation will be sustainably higher or more volatile for a prolonged period. Just 20% of reserves managers think inflation will be transitory. At the same time, central banks believe the new macroeconomic environment will cause their portfolios to suffer....

December 8, 2022
Books, Books, Investment, , , , ,
Read more...
01Dec

Maintaining reform momentum is essential to strengthen pension systems, says OECD

The current financial and economic uncertainty, as well as the rising cost of living, may lead policy makers, regulators and supervisors to postpone reforms that could improve their pensions systems. However, delaying needed reforms would put at risk the well-being of current and future pensioners. Policy makers should continue to improve pension systems, according to a new OECD report. The OECD Pensions Outlook 2022 says that pension arrangements in which retirement savings are invested to accumulate assets that will finance...

December 1, 2022
News, , ,
Read more...
01Dec

China to launch commercial pension scheme in 10 regions from January

China will launch a commercial pension scheme along with insurance firms in 10 provinces and municipalities from Jan. 1, as Beijing develops its third pillar pension system to help its large ageing population. The scheme will supplement the private pension plan launched last week in 36 cities, allowing individuals to open retirement accounts with banks and buy financial products. Under the latest scheme, customers can open accounts at the insurance firms and invest in pension products offered by the companies, the...

December 1, 2022
News, ,
Read more...