International
NEST is the U.K.'s experiment with a government-sponsored, portable defined contribution plan for low- and middle-income workers at small companies. Most NEST participants are still far from retirement, but...
A Policy Dynamo Touts ‘Dynamic Pensions’
Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, an actuary and retirement policy expert at Canada's National Institute on Aging, claims that a non-guaranteed lifetime income tool could generate more income than any annuities. Tontines,...
Private assets may be coming to Britain’s DC plans (at a price)
Buyout firms say they might reduce their usual 2% management fees if they can keep their performance-related payouts, which are contingent on meeting return targets.
Look to China for investment growth: Cerulli
Cerulli, the global research firm, expects Asia ex-Japan retirement funds to continue to lead in terms of growth, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9% between...
This British fintech plans to invade US DC biz
Over the past few years, Smart has secured funding from Natixis IM, JP Morgan, LGIM and Australian administrator Link Group to secure a 'rapid international expansion.'
The Big Sick Leave: How Bad Will The Economy Get?
Economists don't expect the crisis to resolve before the summer. Assuming that no effective vaccine or treatment appears suddenly, we’re probably in for a long campaign.
IPO Signals Strategic Shift at Jackson National
Jackson's UK parent, Prudential plc, seeks an equity capital infusion--to fuel its diversified growth strategy and to mollify mega-shareholder Dan Loeb.
Wide variation seen in British target date funds
Here’s another instance--along with coverage ratios, fiduciary duties of advisors, and the decline of pensions--where the British and American retirement industries share certain challenges.
Wages are rising, but so is productivity
'Consumer debt in relation to income remains low. Interest rates remain low and the Fed has now ceased its series of rate hikes. We anticipate GDP growth of 2.7%...
Trade Tantrum
'Thus, the rather impressive widening of the trade gap last year subtracted a mere 0.2% from GDP growth. It is hard to conclude that the wider trade gap had...
Ireland to auto-enroll workers into retirement plans
Ireland's plan also calls for auto-escalation. By 2028, the total contribution for each member would be 12% of salary a year. The government will add 2%, for a total...
A Mixed Economic Bag in 2019
Seven factors will shape the global economy this year, writes our guest columnist, a professor at New York University.
In Austria, earlier retirement was associated with earlier death
An additional year in early retirement increased a man’s probability of death before age 73 by 1.85 percentage points and reduced the age at death by an average of...
Numbernomics’ Forecast for 2019
'The stock market will climb to a record high level during 2019. But for this to happen, investment spending must continue to grow rapidly, and productivity must sustain a...
Britain’s DB plans roiled by gender equalization
The DB schemes of the UK’s 350 biggest listed companies showed a combined estimated deficit of £36bn (€41bn) on October 31, down from a £3bn aggregate surplus on September...
Trump’s Policies Will Displace the Dollar
Donald Trump’s 'profligate fiscal policies and reckless trade and sanctions policies will undermine America’s economy and the role of the dollar in global finance,' writes our guest columnist, an...
Investors keeping selling US equity funds
TrimTabs says U.S. equity funds lost a net $63.3 billion in 1Q2018, the second-highest quarterly outflow on record, while global equity funds received a net $63.9 billion. ...
Poland unveils retirement system overhaul
Poland is preparing to use auto-enrollment to move workers into a new kind of employer-based defined contribution plan, with mandatory employer and employee contributions. The 20-year-old system of diverting...
Spain Looks for New Ways to Save
Spain plans to reduce the fiscal burden of its national pension by dropping cost-of-living increases. Retirees will need to offset the loss of purchasing power with other savings. But...
Spain’s Pension Outlook: Sunny with a Chance of Austerity
To study the Spanish retirement system, RIJ has temporarily relocated to Seville. We start with a look at the public pension system (a contributory, pay-as-you-go system like Social Security...