May 2021
14May

Chileans drain $10 bln more from pension funds as pandemic drives withdrawals

Chileans flocked for a third time to withdraw money from their retirement funds this week, draining nearly $10 billion from the country’s privatized pension system in a move some billed as a lifeline amid a fierce second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Read also Chicago Boys’ Free-Market Pension Model Is Unraveling in Chile Chile’s Congress in late April approved a bill allowing citizens a third opportunity to withdraw 10% of savings held in privately held pension funds. Many Chileans have already...

May 14, 2021
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04May

Pension changes for South Africa under the spotlight

Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance has invited interested parties to submit written submissions on the Pensions Funds Amendment Bill. Introduced by the opposition Democratic Alliance, the bill aims to amend the Pension Funds Act to allow pension fund members to access a portion of their fund before retirement as a guarantee for a loan. The DA has described the draft bill as crucial in the fight for ‘people power over state power’ in South Africa. “Individuals should be free to choose, in...

May 4, 2021
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April 2021
28Apr

Chile’s president will sign into law third drawdown on pensions

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Tuesday abandoned his challenge to an opposition-led bill allowing citizens to draw down a third tranche of their pensions, saying he would sign it into law. Earlier in the day, the country’s Constitutional Court rejected a bid by Pinera to block the fresh drawdown on pensions, saying it would not overrule Congress, which gave final approval to the project on Friday. Read also Chile Pension Furor Grows Over Third Round of Withdrawals Pinera had also sought to...

April 28, 2021
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26Apr

Chile’s Pinera counters opposition pensions withdrawal bill with own initiative

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Sunday announced the government will launch its own bill to allow citizens to draw more from their private pensions in a last-ditch attempt to kill off a similar move led by the opposition. Pinera said his proposed rival bill would be subject to means-tested taxation and would allow for the withdrawn funds to be gradually repaid through state and employer contributions. The president said his initiative was a better option than the opposition's bill, which the...

April 26, 2021
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23Apr

Chile Pension Furor Grows Over Third Round of Withdrawals

Chile’s senate on Thursday approved legislation allowing early pension fund withdrawals, just days after President Sebastian Pinera challenged the bill’s legality in the Constitutional Court. Read also Chile begins debate on third pension withdrawal amid second wave of the pandemic Lawmakers including several Pinera allies backed the bill permitting workers to tap as much as 10% of their retirement savings for the third time since the pandemic started, with 31 votes in favor and 11 against. The proposal will return to...

April 23, 2021
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March 2021
26Mar

Chile begins debate on third pension withdrawal amid second wave of the pandemic

The Constitution Committee of the Chamber of Deputies will analyze five legislative initiatives, opposed by the Government and presented by parliamentarians and pro-government members, and will decide whether to merge them into a single one, since they have similar characteristics. Read also Colombia govt presents capital markets bill The approval of a third withdrawal is almost assured, although it has generated much debate in recent months and the Government has threatened to appeal it in courts, under the premise that close...

March 26, 2021
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25Mar

Nigeria. Workers withdrew N1.01bn pension savings in Q4 2020 –PenCom

The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) witnessed the withdrawal of N1.01 billion by 924 workers from the voluntary contributions in their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) with their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in the fourth quarter of 2020. Read also Pensions savings can fund Africa eco-plans The National Pension Commission (PenCom), disclosed this in its 2020 fourth quarter report. Read also Chile begins debate on third pension withdrawal amid second wave of the pandemic According to the guidelines on voluntary contribution under the CPS, PenCom...

March 25, 2021
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February 2021
17Feb

My word is my bond: Linking sovereign debt with national sustainability commitments

By Anderson Caputo Silva, Fiona Stewart The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths and the greatest global economic downturn in nearly a century. Public debt increased by $8.5 trillion in 2020, up to September, including by $1.4 trillion in emerging markets. At the same time, unprecedented levels of investment will be needed to fund COVID-19 stimulus and relief packages, as well as to address the challenges posed by climate change and the degradation of ecosystems that regulate the...

February 17, 2021
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05Feb

Peru court scraps law allowing withdrawals from state-run pension system

Peru's Constitutional Court on Thursday tossed out a law that would have allowed the partial withdraw of savings by citizens enrolled with state pension fund, a measure that had prompted fierce opposition from interim President Francisco Sagasti. The court said in a statement that it had voted unanimously to overturn the law, calling it "unconstitutional." The law passed by opposition members of Congress in December, intended as a lifeline for those in need amid the coronavirus crisis, would have...

February 5, 2021
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04Feb

Chile patients find relief with withdrawal of pensions

Ximena Nancumil saves Jan. 21 as a special date on her calendar. That day, her father, who was ill with prostate cancer, had not wanted to drink or eat anything, but his face changed with the news that the Chilean Senate had approved the withdrawal of pension funds for terminal patients. “The day my dad found out he was very deteriorated, he didn’t even had any water, but when he heard the news it was like a balm for...

February 4, 2021
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