July 2024
29Jul

Japanese pension funds tiptoe into moonshot tech investments

Tokyo-based Beyond Next Ventures’ latest startup fund is 56% bigger than its predecessor, thanks to growing interest from the country’s traditionally risk-averse pension funds. Of the ¥25.7 billion ($160 million) the company raised for bets on cutting-edge tech and research startups, 20% came from trustees handling annuities and other long-term investments, according to the company. It’s one of the first signs that a trickle of money from the aging economy’s $$3.3 trillion’ worth of pension assets is going into the...

July 29, 2024
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12Jul

Retirement Decisions in the Age of Covid-19 are Older Employees in Digital Occupations Working Longer?

By Giovanni Gallo & Amparo Nagore This paper investigates the retirement response to the pandemic and to the resulting acceleration in the adoption of new technologies. Using the European Union Statistics of Income and Living Conditions datasets and making use of the natural experiment of many workers being forced to work from home in Europe during the lockdown, we compare the retirement response of older workers in digital occupations (i.e. more exposed to digital technology) versus non-digital occupations to detect...

July 12, 2024
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June 2024
25Jun

Transforming UK Pensions Landscape – The role of QPDS under the Pension Dashboard Program

As per the latest survey, one in four people has lost track of at least one pension in the UK, with almost three million pension pots left unclaimed. The estimated combined value of these unclaimed pensions is a staggering £26.6 billion1. Thus, a pressing need was long felt by the authorities and pension holders in the UK for a program that helps consolidate and simplify access to pension information across multiple pension providers, helping individuals better manage and plan...

June 25, 2024
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13Jun

South Africa. Government pension fund systems offline for months after ransomware attack

The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) suffered a cyberattack in February 2024, and it only expects to restore its self-service functionality by 21 June 2024. A notice published on the GEPF’s social media pages says the self-service functionality on its web platform and app was still offline due to the data breach at the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA). “The GPAA has determined that a total rebuild of the platforms is necessary to ensure a stronger platform,” it said. It is expected...

June 13, 2024
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07Jun

Investigation into the Pensions Dashboards Programme

By National Audit Office Pensions dashboards are intended to allow people to view information about their pensions – including their State Pension – online, securely and in one place. The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) expects that pensions dashboards will deliver significant benefits by supporting people to plan better for retirement, make more informed financial decisions and connect with ‘lost’ pension pots. Get the report here

June 7, 2024
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May 2024
30May

Generational AI: Digital inclusion for aging populations

As artificial intelligence (AI) applications become ubiquitous in products and services, it is more important than ever to ensure that they are appropriately aligned for positive use and avoid exacerbating social exclusions for an aging population. Based on discussions with leaders in equity, AI, and aging, and additional research, Generational AI: Digital inclusion for aging populations outlines the unique considerations for older adults within the AI lifecycle, barriers to digital inclusion that older adults experience regarding AI and suggested near- and...

May 30, 2024
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10May

UK government’s Pensions Dashboards Programme delayed

The UK government’s high-profile Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) is behind schedule due to ineffective governance and a lack of people with the right skills and experience, a National Audit Office (NAO) report has revealed. This has contributed to pushing the date for the new platform to be connected to providers to October 31, 2026, a year later than planned. Costs have also risen from £235 million ($295 million) in 2020 to £289 million in 2023, an increase of 23%. The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP)...

May 10, 2024
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April 2024
30Apr

UK. ‘Shocking’ tech leaves pensions industry in precarious position

The pensions industry has built up a ‘technical debt’ that must be addressed if it is to engage and educate savers, experts have warned. Delegates at the Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa) conference in the City of London were told pensions technology was at least “10 years behind” other industries. Paul Sturgess, director of Pasa said: “I fear that the time frame [for keeping up with available technology in other industries] has got bigger than the heady days of 2000.” Paul Leandro,...

April 30, 2024
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18Apr

The Future of a Hyper-Aging Society Navigated by Well-Being Technology

Today, humanity is experiencing a paradigm shift and transitioning to a new era. We live in a world where every person’s well-being - the happiness of the body and mind - is impacted by social environments born of numerous changes, including an aging and increasingly diverse society, changes to how and where we work, and outbreaks of emerging diseases. This changing panorama is raising people’s interest in well-being technology, as well as its value and importance. “Well-being technology” describes...

April 18, 2024
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March 2024
06Mar

How caregivers are using smart tech to help aging parents

As my mother reached her 90s, although she was relatively healthy and active, I realized that she was starting to experience some physical limitations and memory issues. And while I didn’t live far away, I knew that I needed to find a way to help her live on her own comfortably and safely despite her increased dependence. More traditional technologies, such as wearable alert systems, could only do so much (especially when she refused to wear them). So I...

March 6, 2024
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