Funding – Page 166
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News
Irish managed funds drop 1.9% in January
[16:55 CET 05-02] IRELAND – Irish group pension managed funds fell an average of 1.9% in January continuing the downward trend that led to a 34.8% loss in 2008, according to figures from Rubicon Investment Consulting.
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News
Bonds save severance funds falls
[16:50 CET 05-02] AUSTRIA – Mandatory severance pay funds posted a negative return of -1.8% for 2008, which could have been worse had it not been for their large bond exposure.
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News
Akzo Nobel scheme loses a fifth
[16:40 CET 05-02] NETHERLANDS - The €3.6bn Dutch pension fund of paints giant Akzo Nobel returned –20.6% on its investments in 2008, as its equity allocation plummeted in value by 42%.
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Public sector 'to cost taxpayers £335bn'
[16:55 CET 04-02] UK – The Institute of Directors (IoD) has suggested public sector workers should be switched to defined contribution (DC) pension arrangements as public sector pensions as funding shortfalls could cost taxpayers £335bn (€371bn) in employer controbutions over the next 50 years.
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State pension hit worst – German poll
[16:00 CET 04-02] GERMANY – Almost half of people interviewed in a recent poll think the current financial crisis will weaken the state pension system but only 12% fear a negative influence on occupational pensions.
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News
Pensions Board updates DB funding standard rules
[15:45 CET 04-02] IRELAND – The Irish Pensions Board has issued revised guidelines for pension schemes wanting to extend recovery periods for scheme funding past 10 years.
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News
Irish gov't unveils public pension levy
[15:30 CET 04-02] IRELAND – The Irish government has unveiled plans to cut public spending by €2.1bn, and almost €1.4bn of this will be achieved by requiring public sector workers to pay a new pension 'levy' averaging 7.5% towards their pensions.
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News
Ombudsman may file further Eq Life report
[15:15 CET 04-02] UK – Ann Abrahams, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, is considering whether to submit a follow-up report on Equitable Life detailing why she finds the government response to her report "unsatisfactory", a committee of MPs has been told.
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News
Belgian funds return -20.5% in 2008
[16:40 CET 03-02] BELGIUM – Belgian pension funds suffered a negative return of 20.5% in 2008, the Belgian Association of Pension Institutions (BVPI) has revealed.
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News
Global pension assets drop 18% in 2008
[16:30 CET 03-02] GLOBAL – Economic conditions have resulted in the largest annual decline in global pension fund assets “for many years”, as the total value of pension pots fell 18% in 2008 to $25trn (€19.6trn), according to research from International Financial Services London (IFSL).
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News
PME campaigns for bespoke recovery approach
[16:25 CET 03-02] NETHERLANDS – Hans van der Windt, director of PME, the €18.7bn pension fund for the metal and electronics sectors, wants the pension regulator to adopt a tailor-made approach that enables pension funds to recover at their individual pace.
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News
Further delay indexation label - PGB fund
[16:15 CET 03-02] NETHERLANDS - Pensioenfonds Grafische Bedrijven (PGB), the €9bn Dutch pension fund for the printing and publishing industry, has hit out against the planned introduction of an indexation label, arguing it promotes short-termism and is not informative enough.
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News
BT takes sipp for new DC scheme
[16:00 CET 03-02] UK – BT, the telecoms giant, has appointed Standard Life to provide a new corporate self-invested personal pension (CSIPP) to replace its existing defined contribution (DC) schemes.
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News
Greencore deficit hits €68m
[16:40 CET 02-02] IRELAND – Greencore, the Irish convenience food manufacturer, has reported the deficit in its defined benefit (DB) pension schemes more than doubled to €68m in 2008.
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News
Finland to set guaranteed pension level from 2011
[16:30 CET 02-02] FINLAND – The Finnish government has announced a guaranteed minimum pension for pensioners will be introduced in 2011.
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News
Cautious DNB examines recovery time
[16:00 CET 02-02] NETHERLANDS - The president of the Dutch central bank and pension regulator will decide before 1 March whether pension funds will be given more time to recover from the credit crisis, though he has stressed in advance he does not favour giving more time to repair their ...
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News
Consumer body rallies against recovery plan delay
[15:45 CET 02-02] NETHERLANDS – Consumentenbond, the large Dutch consumers’ lobbying organisation, has spoken out against calls for a more generous recovery period for underfunded pension funds.
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FeaturesBeware Japanese proverbs
The experience of Japanese pension funds in the 1990s provides an interesting lesson for Western investors, finds David White
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Features
Sovereign funds under pressure
Sovereign pension funds (SPFs) have emerged in recent years as part of governments’ moves to ensure they had enough financing to cover state pension obligations without relying on pay-as-you-go tax schemes. In recent months, however, two of Europe’s largest government schemes - Norway’s Government Pension Fund - Global and the ...
