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January 2024

Money managers divided over Chinese equities

Global money managers are split as to whether buy signals are flashing for China stocks right now, even as they agree the equity market does look cheap. The gap between Chinese company market capitalizations and the U.S. stock market was $42.5 trillion as of market close Jan. 23, based on Pensions & Investments' calculations using Bloomberg data. Bloomberg reported Jan. 23 that Chinese stocks have lost more than $6.3 trillion in value from a February 2021 peak, vs. a $5.3 trillion...

US. IRS Announces Modest Changes To Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

In response to the current inflationary environment, the Internal Revenue Service announced a modest increase in the maximum contribution limits for 401(k)s and Individual Retirement Accounts for 2024. This year, 401(k) savers can contribute a maximum of $23,000, marking an increase of over 2% from the $22,500 limit set for 2023. The new contribution limit, effective from January 1, 2024, applies to 401(k) plans, along with 403(b) plans, most 457 plans, and the Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees. Despite being less...

U.S. insurers willing to take on more risk in 2024 — survey

U.S. insurers are willing to take on more risk in 2024 with their outsourced investment management, with more than half expecting to allocate at least 20% to private assets in the next two years, according to a new survey from Conning. In Conning's third annual survey conducted with more than 300 insurance executives in November, 62% of respondents said their risk tolerance will increase in 2024 (down from 64% that replied that for 2023) despite concerns about inflation, volatility, fiscal...

US. ‘Too few’ public pension funds address climate in proxy voting — report

"Too few" public pension funds are addressing climate-related financial risk when it comes to proxy voting, according to a report released Jan. 23 by nonprofit organizations Sierra Club, Stand.earth and Stop the Money Pipeline. The report, "The Hidden Risk in State Pensions: Analyzing State Pensions' Responses to the Climate Crisis in Proxy Voting," looked at 24 public pension funds with a collective $2 trillion in assets, including the $241.7 billion New York City Retirement Systems and state pension funds in California,...

US. 5 Gen Xers share what it’s really like to plan for retirement: ‘My generation is going to have a harder time than boomers’

The oldest Gen Xers, born in 1965, are just a few years away from traditional retirement age. But many don’t feel nearly ready enough for that next chapter. Fortune received hundreds of emails from Gen Xers who say they are worried about what the future holds in store for them and their retirement readiness. “I’ve followed my dreams, as my generation was told to do, but found that some dreams cost more to follow than others,” writes one Gen Xer. “My savings...

Pension Funding Index January 2024

By Zorast Wadia The funded status of the country’s 100 largest corporate pension plans, as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI), experienced a modest improvement in 2023, driven by annual investment returns of 9.94%. Declining discount rates, particularly in the fourth quarter, and the corresponding liability (i.e., the projected benefit obligation) increase of 8.33% served to partially offset the asset gains, resulting in a funded status improvement of $4 billion for the year. This gain paled in...

US Corporate Pension Plans Ended 2023 at Record Funding Levels

The funded status of the largest U.S. corporate pension funds hit an all-time high at the end of 2023, with many trackers finding U.S. plans fully funded. In December, pension trackers shared mixed results on funded status increases in corporate defined benefit plans, but most trended upward. WTW According to analysis by WTW, funded status for the largest U.S. corporate pension plans will end 2023 at 100%. WTW’s tracker, which tracks 358 Fortune 500 companies that sponsor U.S. defined benefits plans,...

UK. Six key pensions issues and trends in 2024: How many will affect you?

Here are our thoughts on the key issues and trends for pension scheme employers and trustees in 2024. The year ahead will see some major changes to pensions law, with the abolition of the pensions lifetime allowance from 6 April 2024 as well as the introduction of a new funding regime for defined benefit schemes. We also consider the broader market trends we are seeing in relation to scheme surpluses, buy-outs, and a focus on the "end game" for...

US. Pension Plans in ’23: Glass Half Full—and Half Empty

“Best condition this century.” Or, “improved” but “fragile.” Both characterizations of the state of pensions in 2023. Which applies depends on which pension system one is talking about. Better, But… State and local pension plans saw improvement in 2023, but there is still plenty of room for more, according to Anthony Randazzo and Jonathan Moody in Equable’s research brief “The State of Pensions 2023,” which looks at how public pensions fared in the year that was. Randazzo and Moody write that the...

Most US Public Pension Funds Are Distressed, per Equable Report

Most state and municipal public pension funds are distressed or fragile, with funded ratios of less than 90%, according to the Equable Institute’s State of Pensions 2023 report, a year-end update. The report used the last reported data available from public pension funds. The report noted that at least 33 funds have not released year-end fiscal 2022 data. The report tracked 232 pension funds in the U.S. “Funding improvement in 2023 is both welcome and disappointing,” said the Equable Institute’s executive...