All articles by Barbara Ottawa – Page 63
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Country Report
Germany: A pan-German conundrum
Greater subsidiarity for the 16 German provinces could lead to a multitude of pensionprovision regulations for civil servants and significant mobility problems, finds Barbara Ottawa
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Country Report
Austria: Domestic headwinds buffet Pensionskassen
Second pillar pension losses during the financial crisis have strengthened the arguments of critics of Austria’s funded pension system. Barbara Ottawa reports
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Country Report
Austria’s equity puzzle
Barbara Ottawa finds Austrian pension funds focused on the here-and-now, especially when it comes to risk management. The equity returns of 2009 are no future panacea
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News
Multinationals 'unaware of overseas pension costs' – Allianz
GLOBAL – Multi-national companies are forfeiting up to 15% of the risk premium by not coordinating the various employee benefits plans of their overseas subsidiaries, according to Dirk Hellmuth, head of Allianz International Employee Benefits Network (All Net).
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News
Swiss Migros sticks to DB but changes pension parameters
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss retailer Migros has decided to maintain a defined benefit scheme in its Pensionskasse but increase the retirement age.
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NewsECJ-triggered Riester changes passed
GERMANY – The German parliament has passed a government bill which will ensure that discrimination against migrant workers receiving Riester subsidies is eliminated and that employee share-ownership becomes more attractive.
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News
German SMEs see declining pension interest
GERMANY – Only half of German employees show some or considerable interest in occupational pensions, a Standard Life survey of 270 companies has found. The number is down from 64% last year.
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News
Swiss fund BLPK returns 9.5%
SWITZERLAND – Despite a 9.5% return for 2009 the Pensionskasse for the canton surrounding the city of Basel, BLPK, is still far from its 2007 near full funding level.
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News
Structured products regain trust with German pension funds
GERMANY – Retirement vehicles in Germany are showing increased interest in structured products, hedge funds and infrastructure as well as LDI and SRI, a recent survey by IPE Institutional Investment reveals.
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News
German DAX firms paid 30% more into pensions in 2009
GERMANY – DAX 30 companies' pension payments reached €9bn in 2009, compared to €6.5bn the year before, Towers Watson has calculated. Overall funding funding levels remained the same.
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News
Swiss pension funds to name managers under tighter disclosure
SWITZERLAND – Pension funds will in future be required to name their asset managers and advisers in their annual reports, as part of a range of structural governance reforms of the mandatory Swiss second pillar pensions regime.
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News
Market upturn failed to increase DAX-related pensions' funding levels
GERMANY – The funding levels of pension schemes at Germany’s top stock market-listed companies have not improved despite last year’s market rally, consultancy firm Mercer has found.
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News
Swiss default fund restructures admin
SWITZERLAND – The CHF6bn (€4.1bn) 'safety net' fund, AEIS, has finished a major administration restructuring and remains “comfortably funded” at 105% per year-end 2009, according to its CEO, Markus Stieger.
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News
UBS reports net institutional outflows
SWITZERLAND – Swiss bank UBS saw institutional net outflows of CHF12.7bn (€8.72bn) last year while former managers received bonus payments, partly in form of additional pension fund contributions.
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NewsHungarian growth funds return almost 26%
HUNGARY – The growth portfolios of the 19 mandatory Hungarian pension funds returned 25.95% over the last year with the average performance of all funds standing at 18.6%.
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NewsSwiss PKBS gets another CHF800m injection
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Pensionskasse for the city of Basel, PKBS, will receive another CHF795m (€544m) from the city but other public funds will be granted the right to remain underfunded.
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News
Austrian severance pay fund finally gains licence
AUSTRIA – After a two year’s wait the tenth severance pay fund fair-finance could announce its licensing today.
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News
BNY Mellon becomes second largest custodian in Germany
GERMANY – BNY Mellon has agreed to acquire German custodian BHF Asset Servicing and its fully-owned fund administration affiliate Frankfurter Service Kapitalanlage-Gesellschaft.
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News
Swiss Post and PKBS deliver below average returns
SWITZERLAND – The Pensionskasse of the Swiss postal service (PK Post) as well as the one of the city of Basel (PKBS) returned 9.43% and 10.4% respectively last year - less than other pensionskassen because of their lower risk strategies.
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News
IMF maintains pension reform pressure on Czechs
CZECH REPUBLIC – The 10 funds in the Czech second pillar pensions regime posted an average return of 1.46% in 2009. And the IMF and a pensions reform committee are now discussing reform plans.
