L’OCDE souhaite recueillir l’avis des parties prenantes aux régimes de pensions privées – pouvoirs publics, organismes de contrôle des pensions privées, associations nationales de promoteurs de régimes de pension, associations nationales de fonds de pension, sociétés-conseil pour les prestations, associations actuarielles, institutions financières internationales qui gèrent ou proposent des prestations de retraite, et les ONG qui traitent de questions relatives aux pensions privées – sur le projet de texte des Lignes directrices de l’OCDE sur la capitalisation et la sécurité des prestations pour les plans de pension professionnels. Tous les types de commentaires sont les bienvenus – d’une évaluation générale ne comportant que quelques lignes à des observations détaillées point par point. Les commentaires requis seront examinés lors de la prochaine réunion du Groupe de travail sur les pensions privées.
Lignes directrices sur la capitalisation et la sécurité des prestations
International
UK: Employers remain strongly committed to pensions
UK companies remain committed to providing pensions for staff despite the continuing high costs, according to a major new survey published by the CBI and Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The survey shows that the burgeoning level of contributions companies are making to Defined Benefit (DB) pensions is having a significant impact on the money businesses have available to invest for the future and is hitting profits.
CBI Press Release
UK: Pension funds see black but for how long?
Official figures this week show Britain’s employers are shovelling cash into their defined-benefit schemes in unprecedented dollops. Partly this is due to regulatory chivvying. Under the new regime, employers normally have to put in place plans to plug their deficits within ten years. Partly, it is due to the lashings of cash thrown off by many blue chips. Without a murmur, HSBC has been able to find £1 billion to boost its pension fund, Royal Bank of Scotland £750 million and Lloyds TSB £200 million. But the real force behind shrinking deficits has been the rising yield on corporate bonds, a key figure used to put a present-day value on future liabilities. This figure has grown by half a per cent since the start of the year, which in rough terms shrinks future liabilities by a colossal 10 per cent.
Times Online
Stern: So wird meine Rente sicher
Der stern erklärt, was jeder tun kann, damit die Rente später einmal stimmt. Ein Vorsorgeplan in sechs Schritten – und eine Anleitung zum Selberrechnen.
Altersvorsorge: So wird meine Rente sicher – stern.de
Österreich ist bei Firmenpensionen Nachzügler
Nur jeder fünfte Arbeitnehmer bekommt eine Firmenpension. Viele wissen nicht einmal, was das ist.
Die Presse.com
NYT: Those Incredible Vanishing Pension Plans
That, basically, is the problem with the nation’s pension system (and a big reason for the troubles at General Motors that led to all those buyouts): those old promises are coming due, and often the money just isn’t there, partly because the math was fuzzy, too.
So it is no surprise that companies are falling over one another to scrap pension plans. The consulting firm Watson Wyatt says the number of Fortune 1000 companies with plans that have been frozen (workers stop earning pension credits) or terminated (workers are paid off) soared to 113 last year from 71 in 2004.
Times: Pension fund exodus spells low returns
How often we find that some course of action that may seem sensible if one person does it becomes cretinous if everyone does it at the same time. Britain’s pension fund managers tend to do things at the same time, mainly because they are told what to do by the same investment banks and, importantly, the same pension advisers.
Pension fund exodus spells low returns – Times Online
Eindrückliche Zahlen in der Liechtensteiner Vorsorge
In den letzten Jahren haben sich die Liechtensteinischen Pensionskassen rasant entwickelt. Beiträge und Vermögen haben zugelegt. Ein neues Gesetz stärkt das Fürstentum als Standort für die betriebliche Altersvorsorge zusätzlich, schreibt das Liechtensteiner "Vaterland".
In der zweiten Säule sind in Liechtenstein über 30’000 Erwerbstätige versichert. Das Obligatorium der Pensionskasse besteht seit 1989, und seit dem 1. Januar 2006 ist eine überarbeitete Version des Gesetzes über die betriebliche Personalvorsorge mitsamt der dazugehörigen Verordnung in Kraft. Insgesamt haben Arbeitnehmer und Arbeitgeber im Jahr 2004 208,3 Mio. Franken an Beiträgen eingezahlt. Davon beliefen sich die Beiträge der Arbeitnehmer auf 90,94 Mio. Franken und die Beiträge der Arbeitgeber auf 117,35 Mio. Franken. Das Vermögen der Vorsorgeeinrichtungen (total der Aktiven) betrug per 31. Dezember 2004 insgesamt 2,81 Mrd. Franken und dürfte Ende 2005 über 3 Mrd. Franken betragen. In diesen Zahlen sind die Daten der Pensionsversicherung für das Staatspersonal nicht enthalten. Der Deckungsgrad (Kapitalanlagen in Prozent der technischen Rückstellungen) liegt bei 24 Vorsorgeeinrichtungen bei über 100 Prozent, bei sechs Vorsorgeeinrichtungen unter 100 Prozent.
Liechtensteiner Vaterland
Observateur OCDE: Fonds de pension
Les fonds de pension se sont rapidement développés dans l’OCDE ces dix dernières années, passant de 5 900 à 15 600 milliards de dollars US, soit un taux de croissance composé de 10,2 % par an.
Observateur OCDE: Fonds de pension
La bombe à retardement des retraites
Menacés d’implosion, les régimes européens de retraite ne paraissent plus être en mesure d’assurer aux générations présentes et futures des revenus décents. Confrontés à cette crise, les gouvernements portugais, polonais et allemand ont décidé de réagir.
La bombe
Norwegian Government Pension Fund Dumps Wal-Mart and Freeport on Ethical Exclusions
The $230 billion global fund–one of the largest pension funds in the world–cited Wal-Mart for systematic human rights violations and Freeport for serious environmental damage.
Norwegian Government Pension Fund Dumps Wal-Mart and Freeport
Pension funds suing companies on options
Big pension funds in the United States, Europe and Australia are suing dozens of companies over the timing of stock options grants to their top executives.
Pension funds suing companies on options
China: Pension fund seeks deals with global asset firms
China’s social welfare fund is busy seeking partnership accords with investment benchmarks and overseas partners to smooth its pending trade in foreign securities as it tries to boost returns amid an estimated pension shortfall. China’s National Council of Social Security Fund, the pension fund’s manager, signed deals last month with Standard & Poor’s and Xinhua FTSE to use their indexes as benchmarks for its US and Hong Kong equity portfolios. The agreements, which are expected to be followed by a slew of partnership deals with global asset managers, were seen by analysts as a signal that authorities were ready to launch overseas investments but might still prefer to be cautious as these are initial steps. "It is anticipated that the S&P 500 will be used by SSF as the tracking index for a passive index fund," the S&P said in a release, noting the gauge covers nearly 80 percent of US equities, making it a proxy of the broader market.
Pension fund seeks deals with global asset firms
UK: Retirement age will rise to 68
The state pension age is set to increase to 68 by 2050 with anyone aged less than 47 facing a longer working life, the work and pensions secretary, John Hutton, said today. Only those born before 1959 will be unaffected by plans to phase in a higher retirement age over three decades, outlined in the government’s white paper on pension reforms. Starting in 2024, the age at which the state pension is paid will be increased in line with life expectancy, so that individuals continue to receive the state pension for the same proportion of their life. The state retirement age, which is set to be 65 for men and women by 2020, will rise to 66 between 2024 and 2026, to 67 between 2034 and 2036 and to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
The pensions white paper has been broadly welcomed by business groups and trade bodies, but pensioner organisations said it failed to do enough for today’s retirees. The Association of British Insurers said the reforms pointed policy "firmly in the right direction". Stephen Haddrill, its director-general, said the proposals would create a solid platform for a new savings culture in Britain. "Now the hard work really begins, for the pensions and insurance industry as much as for the government," he said.
Guardian Unlimited | Retirement age will rise to 68
White Paper
UK unveils national pensions scheme
The UK government today unveiled its long-awaited response to the Pensions Commission in a White Paper. Among the key elements were the launch of a new national pension savings scheme based on personal accounts and the extension of the Financial Assistance Scheme, the BBC said. The new accounts, from 2012, would see employers contribute 3% of salaries, employees 4% and the government 1%. The employer contribution would be phased in over three years. Employees will be automatically enrolled but may opt out.
The UK’s pension industry appears split over the government’s proposed national pensions savings schemes. Investment providers have welcomed the idea but consulting firms have warned of higher costs and unintended consequences. The government White Paper, following up on the Pensions Commission proposals, said it would introduce a new low cost savings scheme in which employees will be automatically enrolled. It said: “This will create a new savings culture in Britain; up to 10m people will be saving in these personal accounts and most of the money paid in will be new pension saving. By retirement, their pension funds could be worth up to around 25% more because of lower charges.”
Investment & Pensions Europe – IPE.com