February 2021

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...

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...

January 2021

Coronavirus throwing retirement systems into a deepening hole

By Douglas Appell, Paulina Pielichata Emerging markets policymakers' uphill battle to ensure a comfortable retirement for their fast-aging populations became considerably more daunting last year as the coronavirus ripped through the global economy. Read also Australia’s pension assets fall for first time since 2009- regulator Creative approaches to asset allocation and structural changes to keep retirement systems from morphing into rainy day funds are topics policymakers could find themselves grappling with as they look to move forward again after a year...

December 2020

Chilean lawmakers approve second pensions withdrawal

Chilean lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that allows citizens to make a second withdrawal from pension funds so they can cope with the economic havoc wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic. The bill, which passed its last legislative hurdle with a Senate vote late on Thursday, allows for another 10% withdrawal from Chile’s privately managed pension funds. The measure was introduced by conservative President Sebastian Pinera’s government two weeks ago to head off a more comprehensive...

October 2020

Nigeria. Workers withdraw N2.56 billion in 25% early pension withdrawal

This is in line with the provisions of the Pension Reforms Act 2014, which allows pension fund contributors to withdraw 25% of their contributions if they lose their jobs and have not found any in 4 months. Read also Government unlikely to target South Africa’s retirement funds This was confirmed by the Pension Commission in its second quarter report published on its website. According to the data, about 4,688 Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders were disengaged from work but unable...

UK. Warning sounded as 42% of pensions raided at ‘unsustainable’ levels

Savers have been warned they could face trouble in the future as the regulator found 42 per cent were taking more than 8 per cent from their pensions each year. Read also UK. PensionBee and Plaid team up to call for ‘open pensions’ Latest data on the retirement income market from the Financial Conduct Authority, published yesterday (September 29), found savers with smaller pension pots, typically worth between £10,000 and £100,000, were particularly susceptible to high withdrawal rates. Read also...

August 2020

What Are The 5 Biggest Retirement Planning Mistakes?

Well, the biggest blunder is not saving enough money. No one wants to outlive their nest egg. The rest of the list is more subtle. According to Certified Financial Planner Darren Zaragola, common mistakes include: Mistake #1: Believing it is Too Late to Start Planning and Saving It is never too late to develop good habits and start saving for retirement. You do not have to “go without” to save. Every little bit helps, especially if you can take...

Young Australians are raiding their super. What does this mean for their future?

Australians are dipping into their super funds like Winnie the Pooh sticks his paw in a jar of honey. The Australian government decided to let us take out up to $20,000 in two bites. Millions of people didn’t need to be asked twice. The official estimate for the amount removed from Australia’s retirement savings system is now a whopping $42 billion. According to ME Bank — a bank owned by super funds — the group most likely to raid...

July 2020

More than 3 million Chileans seek to withdraw pensions amid pandemic

Updates with new totals from Chile´s Superintendent of Pensions More than 3 million Chileans on Thursday asked to withdraw a portion of their pension funds as a controversial law took effect allowing citizens to tap into retirement savings to buffer the economic impacts of the coronavirus. Read also ‘We’re Going for More’ Say Chileans After Pensions Reform Crosses Free Market Rubicon Long lines formed in Santiago outside the offices of Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) as Chileans sought to take...

Latin America Eyes Pension Billions as Welfare Alternative

Colombia is the latest Latin American country considering a plan to let workers to tap private pension savings, a move intended to soften the slump in consumer spending but which risks worsening some of the world’s deepest stock market slumps. A bill sent to congress this week would allow some Colombians to tap as much as 10% of their retirement savings. Read also Australians likely to withdraw $30 billion from pensions to weather coronavirus Chile passed a similar measure this...