Netspar on LinkedIn: Netspar is pleased to announce the next Netspar Pension Day, which will… (2024)

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• Anne-Marie Rogers

  Avon Pension Fund

  5mo

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  When I saw that pension communications were a front-page story on Saturday morning, I was keen to share the news with the person next to me. Unfortunately they were my 17 year old son, and they didn’t share my excitement. But there you have it – pension comms, and more precisely what constitutes adequate communication around key policy changes - has hit the front pages. This is courtesy of the recent ruling on the WASPI women - those women born in the 1950s affected by the increasing state pension age.Last week’s ruling considered - did the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) do enough to ensure WASPI women were informed of the upcoming changes and understood the information?The Parliamentary Ombudsman –who investigates complaints about the NHS and UK government departments-considered the government did enough initially to communicate the changes.But the DWP knew many women didn’t register the upcoming changes which would massively impact on their pension plans.If you work in a sector – maybe you’re a policy wonk, or work in pensions – you may over-estimate how much attention people pay to your communications. And judging by the dismissive look from the aforementioned teenager, what hope does the pensions industry have of cutting through the growing noise of daily communication? LGPS pension funds send members regulatory updates such asinformation about the McCloud remedy and Annual Pension Statements.But do they have a duty to ensure their members understand the information and can act on it?If the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s guidance applied to all pension communications – and not just those from the DWP – it wouldsuggest it’s not enough to just share information. You need to test understanding. And show you’ve tried to make sure those impacted fully understand the info and can act on it.And with many people adding unopened letters from their pension provider to the stack piling up on their kitchen worksurface, that’s a high bar indeed.https://lnkd.in/eK6SYhwz#WASPI #Pensions

  The WASPI pension row has highlighted important lessons for policy makers | Institute for Government instituteforgovernment.org.uk

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• Hyoson Yamanaka

  Data Scientist | Data Engineer | Risk Specialist

  3mo

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  The German pension system is broken. The gap between fund inflows and outflows has continuously increased for decades. As a result the government is forced to pay billions every year to keep pensions afloat. To put it into perspective, the 2024 federal budget for pension related expenses exceeds the total income tax revenue. This is money not going into investments that favor innovation and development such as research, education and infrastructure. Two things need to happen to prevent further escalation.1️⃣A reform of the pension system. In its current design, workers pay for the retirements of current pensioners. In a country with an ageing population this structure is not tenable. Reversing the demographic trend has no obvious solutions either; many countries have tried without success so far. As an alternative, an investment-based pension fund structure can make the system more sustainable by creating a capital stock that appreciates over time. The Nordic countries have had success in implementing such a system for a while now. Earlier this year the German government introduced a proposal to invest into the capital market to support a small portion of future pensions. This would be a step in the right direction.2️⃣Accessible wealth creation for everyone. Every future pensioner will likely have to supplement their pension income with their savings. “Altersarmut” (old-age poverty) is already a frequently used term in Germany.There are too many barriers to successful wealth creation in the financial system today, whether bureaucratic, financial, or due to lack of information. Legislation, such as tax breaks for retirement-focused investments, would encourage more wealth creation (see the 401k in the US). Some private sector solutions already exist; free financial platforms like Trade Republic enable anyone to set up fully automated savings plans. The greatest investor of all time, Warren Buffet, advises that there is nothing better a private investor can do than simply invest their money into a broad ETF.💡While the structural problem of the pension system still needs to be resolved, there are some positive societal trends: The number of young investors (aged 14-39) has doubled in the past ten years and a larger share of women are putting money into the stock market than ever before.__Sources:Deutsche Rentenversicherung, “Rentenversicherung in Zeitreihen 29. Auflage”Deutsches Aktieninstitut, “Statistisches rund um den Kapitalmarkt”Suggested reading:Larry Fink’s 2024 Annual Chairman’s Letter to Investors, https://lnkd.in/d24seJc2

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• Wilsey Asset Management

  320 followers

  4mo

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  If you receive a pension from work that was not covered by Social Security, you may see a reduction in any Social Security benefits you are entitled to which includes benefits from your own earnings or any spousal benefits you are claiming. This is caused by the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. Keep in mind, if you earned a pension from a job where you also paid into Social Security, you will not see any reduction. One of the common pension systems we see in California is CalSTRS for teachers. Teachers do not pay into Social Security so their pension will reduce their Social Security amount. One way to get around this is by taking a “refund” from the pension. This allows you to withdraw all your contributions plus interest and roll them into your own retirement account so you can invest how you would like, and you will no longer have any reduction to your social security benefits, including any spousal benefits. The reason this works is because the refund only includes your own contributions, not the contributions made by the employer. This doesn’t work with all pensions as some lump sum options include employer contributions, so the same Social Security reduction would apply. Taking a refund from CalSTRS is not appropriate for everyone. If you are close to retirement or have been part of the CalSTRS system for many years, it likely makes sense to stay with it to receive your pension and any Social Security reduction that comes along with it. However, if you are younger, have a limited earnings history with CalSTRS, or are entitled to sizable Social Security Spousal or Survivor benefits, rolling over your CalSTRS pension to a retirement account may make sense so you get the benefit of both your pension dollars and Social Security. #financialplanning #finances #pension #socialsecurity #socialsecuritybenefits #calstrs #californiateachers #retirement #retirementplanning

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• Allan Nixon

  Former Chief of Staff and Government Advisor | Head of Science and Technology at Onward | Cambridge EMBA Candidate, 2025

  10mo

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  Delighted to publish Onward's latest science & tech report today.Written by Zachary Spiro, edited by me, endorsed by Former Chancellor Sajid Javid & with a foreword by new pensions minister Paul Maynard, ”Pension Power” shows how we can finance UK innovation by unlocking tens of billions of pounds.In this report we argue that Britain needs a Science Superpower Fund using small and local government pension funds to invest £6bn in British start-ups and increase the average lifetime pension pot by almost £98k.This new report lays out a plan to leverage £20bn of investment to close the funding gap facing innovators and turbocharge workers’ pension pots.Risk-averse pensions aren't working for savers. Compared to the USA, Canada and Australia, the return on UK pensions is a third lower. Onward's proposals would close this gap.But to deliver generous pensions, the Government needs to reform the fragmented, short-sighted industry. Pensions only make up 10% of the country's venture capital funding compared to 72% in the USA. The largest British pension fund invests 15 times less in start-ups than Canada's biggest pension schemes, 9 times less than the USA's and nearly 4 times less than Australia's.We need to:- Creating a Science Superpower Fund, acting as a vehicle for local government and other smaller pension schemes to invest in UK science and technology firms via the British Business Bank- Double the Chancellor's Mansion House ambition, so the largest pension firms invest 10% of their funds in growth capital for start-ups.- Invest £3 billion a year to help pay for public sector pensions over the next decade with a fifth in growth capital, cutting the taxpayer bill for these schemes in the future and replicating the success of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.Read the full report here:https://lnkd.in/eABS_r3a

  Pension Power https://www.ukonward.com

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• Celine Chiovitti

  Chief Pension Officer

  6mo

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  The Benefits and Pensions Monitor’s article on a recent study by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis highlights not only OMERS economic contributions, but also the important role that defined benefit (DB) pension plans play in the broader Canadian economy.On a fundamental level, beyond the secure retirement income that members can rely on as they age, DB pension plans can be seen as tools that enable the health and well-being of members.When the economic impact of OMERS is combined with social and health benefits for both members and the wider community, we start to see why it’s important to think of DB pension plans as social infrastructure.https://lnkd.in/gkUk4CWB

  Understanding OMERS’ contribution to Ontario’s economy benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com

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• Chase Wilsey

  Vice President at Wilsey Asset Management

  4mo

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  If you receive a pension from work that was not covered by Social Security, you may see a reduction in any Social Security benefits you are entitled to which includes benefits from your own earnings or any spousal benefits you are claiming. This is caused by the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. Keep in mind, if you earned a pension from a job where you also paid into Social Security, you will not see any reduction. One of the common pension systems we see in California is CalSTRS for teachers. Teachers do not pay into Social Security so their pension will reduce their Social Security amount. One way to get around this is by taking a “refund” from the pension. This allows you to withdraw all your contributions plus interest and roll them into your own retirement account so you can invest how you would like, and you will no longer have any reduction to your social security benefits, including any spousal benefits. The reason this works is because the refund only includes your own contributions, not the contributions made by the employer. This doesn’t work with all pensions as some lump sum options include employer contributions, so the same Social Security reduction would apply. Taking a refund from CalSTRS is not appropriate for everyone. If you are close to retirement or have been part of the CalSTRS system for many years, it likely makes sense to stay with it to receive your pension and any Social Security reduction that comes along with it. However, if you are younger, have a limited earnings history with CalSTRS, or are entitled to sizable Social Security Spousal or Survivor benefits, rolling over your CalSTRS pension to a retirement account may make sense so you get the benefit of both your pension dollars and Social Security. #financialplanning #finances #pension #socialsecurity #socialsecuritybenefits #calstrs #californiateachers #retirement #retirementplanning

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• Arun Muralidhar

  6mo Edited

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  The latest report from National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (h/t Pension Policy International) paints a pretty dire picture of public #pensionfunds in the #us with a funded status of 79.4% (and I am assuming that this is based on discounting liabilities at the expected rate of return, which was on average 6.91%, and not a market interest rate and stale marks on private assets). The interesting thing is that Insight Investment reports that US #corporatepensions are over funded at 108%. If public pensions had been regulated by the De Nederlandsche Bank, the following would have happened some time back (none of them good except 3): (1) benefits would have been cut; (2) contributions would have been increased; (3) asset allocations and risk management would have been reviewed and improved; and (4) Board members and consultants potentially removed. Hank Kim; Jim M. Gina Sanchez Gerald Alain P. Chen-Young – how do we alter this path as it is not sustainable and will require higher taxes = kill #defined benefits offerings in favor of risky #definedcontribution pensions? This is why I wrote A Nobel Retirement. (https://lnkd.in/g5FswunT)International Centre for Pension Managementhttps://lnkd.in/gSxjWN5A

  U.S. public pension plans’ average funding ratio declines to 75.4% in 2023: survey - Pension Policy International https://www.pensionpolicyinternational.com

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• Adrianus Vugs

  Financial Sector Expert, Actuary and International Consultant

  3mo

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  This argument of early access to your retirement savings has been going on for quite some time.While there is some merit to having early access to (part) of your pension savings, anecdotal evidence suggests that more often than not, such access is used to purchase luxuries or similar, and almost never spent on productive assets. The simple fact that there are pension savings in the economy shows that the current (voluntary) pension system is working - it would be a shame to destroy it.However, with a National Pension Fund provided for in the SSC Act, we do have the possibility for smart reform and can make provision for:1. Mandatory contributions - increasing pension savings;2. Pre-retirement access pension savings in prescribed circ*mstances;3. Enabling funding for housing/other essential goods and services; and4. Still providing for retirement funding.What is certain is that the old age grant is insufficient in old age and supplementary pensions are necessary - this should be the primary political consideration.This story of successfully self-investing your pension money, while theoretically possible, is unlikely. And once money is gone, it’s gone.Instead, we need a proper and orderly transition to a well thought through reformed pension and savings system.

  Lawmakers push for early pension https://www.namibian.com.na

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• Brent Wilsey

  Financial Advisor | RIA

  4mo

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  If you receive a pension from work that was not covered by Social Security, you may see a reduction in any Social Security benefits you are entitled to which includes benefits from your own earnings or any spousal benefits you are claiming. This is caused by the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. Keep in mind, if you earned a pension from a job where you also paid into Social Security, you will not see any reduction. One of the common pension systems we see in California is CalSTRS for teachers. Teachers do not pay into Social Security so their pension will reduce their Social Security amount. One way to get around this is by taking a “refund” from the pension. This allows you to withdraw all your contributions plus interest and roll them into your own retirement account so you can invest how you would like, and you will no longer have any reduction to your social security benefits, including any spousal benefits. The reason this works is because the refund only includes your own contributions, not the contributions made by the employer. This doesn’t work with all pensions as some lump sum options include employer contributions, so the same Social Security reduction would apply. Taking a refund from CalSTRS is not appropriate for everyone. If you are close to retirement or have been part of the CalSTRS system for many years, it likely makes sense to stay with it to receive your pension and any Social Security reduction that comes along with it. However, if you are younger, have a limited earnings history with CalSTRS, or are entitled to sizable Social Security Spousal or Survivor benefits, rolling over your CalSTRS pension to a retirement account may make sense so you get the benefit of both your pension dollars and Social Security. #financialplanning #finances #pension #socialsecurity #socialsecuritybenefits #calstrs #californiateachers #retirement #retirementplanning

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• Age Pension Assistance

  3mo

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  Increase of Age Pension Income and Assets ThresholdsIndexation from 1st of July 2024From 1st July, Centrelink will index the Income and Asset thresholds.This means that the amount of income you can earn and the amount of assets that you can have to be eligible for a full or part pension is increasing.This also means that pensioners could be be eligible for a small increase to their payment.People on a part pension due to assets will see an increase of up to $36 per fortnight (single homeowners) or up to $27 each (partnered homeowners) per fortnight.For non homeowners the increases will be up to $66 per fortnight (single) and $42 each per fortnight (partnered). Those on a part pension due to income will have an increase of approximately $4 per fortnight (single) or $3each per fortnight (partnered) These increases assume all other factors remain the same (asset balance, income amounts). Full pensioners will not have an increase in payment amounts until after 20th September.This also means that some people who were not previously eligible for the Age Pension due to income or assets thresholds, may be able to apply after 1st July, and although the pension payment may be minimal, they could now access the Pensioner concession card which can in itself be worth thousands of dollars a year in some cases.The new Income and Assets limits that take effect July 1 are in the attached image

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