Pension funds have come to play an increasingly important role within the new economy. According to Statistics Canada, in 2006, trusteed pension funds in Canada had $836 billion of assets and represented the savings of 4.6 million Canadian workers. Pensions at Work is a unique collection of papers that uses a labour perspective to deal with the socially responsible investment of pension funds. Featuring leading Canadian and international scholars, it builds on existing scholarship on socially responsible investment and on the growing interest of the Canadian labour movement in joint trusteeship. What is unique about this collection is that it synthesizes three distinct themes - socially responsible investment, pension funds, and labour studies. The contributors address an array of critical issues such as gaps in the education of union trustees of pension funds, the impact of human capital criteria on shareholder returns, the influence of corporate engagement upon corporate performance, and the nature of public-private partnerships (PPPs). Although the essays in Pensions at Work all address the nexus between socially responsible investment, pension funds, and unions, each looks at a particular manifestation of that relationship through a different disciplinary lens. This collection moves the discussion to pension funds in which union representatives are also trustees, a relatively new approach that will be of great interest to institutional investors, the labour movement, and instructors in labour studies programs.

WINNER of Business Book Awards 2019 "Exceptional Book by a Woman" Women - your financial future is in your hands - you can create it. Power Property Investing for Women is for any woman who wants to control their financial future. There is a property investing strategy for everyone regardless of financial or personal circumstances. Award-winning Property Developer and Mentor Bindar Dosanjh, with over 20 years' experience, shows you how to: * Get on the property ladder * Create your desired income from property investing * Write your own pay cheques * Profit from distressed properties * Fund your deals using other people's money * Systemise your property business * Create your own financial independence plan and much more... This book provides the necessary guidance, tools, strategies and support. Bindar teaches a safe and secure way to start property investing, turning the fearful novice into a fiercely confident property investor.

Caroline Garnham, a former leading private client lawyer was head of Simmons &Simmons private client practice for fifteen years. She was nominated as one of the top five leading private client lawyers in 2011 and was a contributor for the Financial Times for twelve years on tax and trusts. Caroline pioneered the area of law now known as Family Governance. This book draws on her extensive knowledge and intimate experience in working for some of the world's wealthiest families. Pulling together scores of examples, she looks at the relationship between the UHNW community and their advisors from both perspectives. She believes that by understanding each other they can work together more productively. "Working as a private client lawyer for more than twenty years I developed a sympathy for you, the Super-Rich community. It is a community people find hard to feel sorry for - you do not have to worry about the mortgage being paid or where the next meal is coming from but your concerns nevertheless can keep you awake at night. You contribute significantly in taxes which benefits us all. In Great Britain, the top 1% pay 30% of our income tax; you spend in our shops and oil the wheels of our economy - and yet in general you are poorly served and often despised. As wealthy individuals I understand you are being fingered for money ALL THE TIME. It is hardly surprising therefore that you fly off the handle when you are being fleeced for yet more. Being pestered for money is a way of life for you which most of you hate which is why you want to preserve your privacy." This book is designed for you, the super-rich and those aspiring to be super rich. This book will tell you how to manage your advisors, your wealth and how to enjoy it all.

Caroline Garnham, a former leading private client lawyer and head of Simmons & Simmons private client practice for fifteen years, was nominated as one of the top five leading private client lawyers by The Lawyer in 2011. She was a contributor for the Financial Times from 1986 to 1998, pioneered the area of law now known as Family Governance and proposed and drafted the Executive Entity Act for the Bahamas, which became law in December 2011. This book draws on her extensive knowledge and intimate experience in working for some of the world's wealthiest families. Pulling together scores of examples, she looks at the relationship of the UHNW community and their advisors from both perspectives. She believes that by understanding each other, they can work together more productively. Caroline had a break from practicing law in December 2011 to focus her attention on making investment opportunities, exclusive luxury products and relevant information more available to the UHNW community. She designed a digital platform which she now runs as a joint venture enterprise www.bconnectclub.com. It provides a safe and secure neutral website, where UHNWIs can find investment opportunities, luxury products and services and where subscribers can promote their case studies, news and views to this hard to reach market. Caroline is actively advising clients. She is passionate about the need for UHNW families to use teams of trusted advisers on a regular basis. They cannot hope to know the detail of what risks lie in wait for them and need a team of advisers - which she calls a `Ring of Confidence' - to keep them fully informed.

Why has old-age security become less solidaristic and increasingly tied to risky capitalist markets? Drawing on rich archival data that covers more than fifty years of American history, Michael A. McCarthy argues that the critical driver was policymakers' reactions to capitalist crises and their political imperative to promote capitalist growth.Pension development has followed three paths of marketization in America since the New Deal, each distinct but converging: occupational pension plans were adopted as an alternative to real increases in Social Security benefits after World War II, private pension assets were then financialized and invested into the stock market, and, since the 1970s, traditional pension plans have come to be replaced with riskier 401(k) retirement plans. Comparing each episode of change, Dismantling Solidarity mounts a forceful challenge to common understandings of America's private pension system and offers an alternative political economy of the welfare state. McCarthy weaves together a theoretical framework that helps to explain pension marketization with structural mechanisms that push policymakers to intervene to promote capitalist growth and avoid capitalist crises and contingent historical factors that both drive them to intervene in the particular ways they do and shape how their interventions bear on welfare change. By emphasizing the capitalist context in which policymaking occurs, McCarthy turns our attention to the structural factors that drive policy change. Dismantling Solidarity is both theoretically and historically detailed and superbly argued, urging the reader to reconsider how capitalism itself constrains policymaking. It will be of interest to sociologists, political scientists, historians, and those curious about the relationship between capitalism and democracy.

Why has old-age security become less solidaristic and increasingly tied to risky capitalist markets? Drawing on rich archival data that covers more than fifty years of American history, Michael A. McCarthy argues that the critical driver was policymakers' reactions to capitalist crises and their political imperative to promote capitalist growth.Pension development has followed three paths of marketization in America since the New Deal, each distinct but converging: occupational pension plans were adopted as an alternative to real increases in Social Security benefits after World War II, private pension assets were then financialized and invested into the stock market, and, since the 1970s, traditional pension plans have come to be replaced with riskier 401(k) retirement plans. Comparing each episode of change, Dismantling Solidarity mounts a forceful challenge to common understandings of America's private pension system and offers an alternative political economy of the welfare state. McCarthy weaves together a theoretical framework that helps to explain pension marketization with structural mechanisms that push policymakers to intervene to promote capitalist growth and avoid capitalist crises and contingent historical factors that both drive them to intervene in the particular ways they do and shape how their interventions bear on welfare change. By emphasizing the capitalist context in which policymaking occurs, McCarthy turns our attention to the structural factors that drive policy change. Dismantling Solidarity is both theoretically and historically detailed and superbly argued, urging the reader to reconsider how capitalism itself constrains policymaking. It will be of interest to sociologists, political scientists, historians, and those curious about the relationship between capitalism and democracy.

Surveys show that financial literacy levels are typically low around the world, despite the widening access to financial services and the increasing financial risks borne by households in many countries. This suggests that there will be mounting challenges for households and SMEs to invest wisely and effectively as societies age and governments shift away from defined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes. Individuals will increasingly have to make complex financial decisions to plan for their retirement and for a range of foreseen and unforeseen expenditures. All of these developments suggest that financial education should be part of a lifetime process that starts at an early age and is pursued throughout adulthood.The contributions in this book came from a symposium titled, Promoting Better Lifetime Planning through Financial Education, organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Bank of Japan, the Japan Financial Services Agency, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, held on 22-23 January 2015 in Tokyo.Amongst the topics discussed were: effective pension management, financial education curricula in schools, training for teachers of financial education, internationally comparable data on financial literacy and the evaluation of the effectiveness of financial education programs. There are also case studies on financial inclusion, regulation, and education in Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Viet Nam, Thailand, and Japan.

The ongoing global financial crisis, coupled with the continued dramatic increases in life expectancy, have escalated the concerns countries have regarding the sustainability of their pension systems and how these retirement schemes will be financed. From 1998 to 2008, close to 30 countries embarked on privatising reforms to their pension programs. Some of these countries introduced new pension reforms directed at private individual accounts while reducing the size of the state social security system. The focus of other reforms during this period varied but was primarily aimed at strengthening basic protection for economically at-risk older individuals, increasing benefit coverage and/or improving the overall fiscal sustainability of these systems. However, the move towards greater coverage and sustainability was interrupted by the world-wide financial meltdown. This has led to a reassessment of pension systems and reform approaches. This volume was assembled to review the status of pension reforms globally and to gain a glimpse of the trends emerging as countries adjust to the new age of macroeconomic world-wide uncertainty. The chapters in this volume provide concise, clear and dispassionate discussions on these trends and reforms as well as frank appraisals of the consequences of alternative policies. Experts from Europe, the United States and the emerging economies of Brazil, China and India approach pension reform and reassessment from different perspectives; however, each provide forthright analyses and assessment of the consequences of the "new normal".

Pension systems in Europe and Central Asia are facing unprecedented challenges. While many of the countries in the region have undertaken reforms when their economies encounter diffi cult times, these reforms are frequently reversed as soon as the situation improves. However, the demographic trends in the region require new, sustained efforts toward changing the pension system to provide adequate yet sustainable benefi ts. The Inverting Pyramid documents the progressive generosity of pension systems in Europe since inception, with current popular expectations based on recent generous promises, which are neither based on historically customary practice nor affordable over time. The increased generosity in the past was driven by the assumption of a demographic pyramid with an ever expanding base of young people, but the last decades have revealed that the pyramid is beginning to invert in some countries, with fewer young people at the bottom and many more elderly people on top, making that generosity no longer affordable. Returning to the generosity of the pension system of the 1970s will go a long way toward providing adequate and sustainable benefi ts in the future. However, a more sustainable system will also require labor market reforms, improvements in savings mechanisms, and in many cases additional public resources. The extent to which a country can undertake reforms in labor markets, savings, and public fi nances can infl uence the extent to which its pension system will need to change, with different solutions possible for different countries. But in all cases, the changes that need to be made have to be widely discussed and publicly accepted to prevent painful reversals. The book hopes to stimulate widespread public discussion of the issue so that countries can make sustainable choices with gradual plementation, before they face such daunting challenges that they have to undertake sudden harsh measures.

The use of matching contributions to enhance the participation and level of savings in pensions system has now been in use for nearly three decades in a number of high income countries. Increasingly, countries across the full range of economic development are looking to the design as a means of addressing the low rates of participation in formal pension and other retirement savings systems. A number of countries have recently introduced innovations in their pension systems that significantly rely on contributions matches and related types of direct subsidies to provide incentives for groups that mandates and other indirect methods such as preferential tax treatment have been unsuccessful in reaching. There is particular interest among developing countries in utilizing this design to extend coverage to informal sector and low income workers that typically do not pay income related taxes. This volume provides descriptions and analysis of the design, experience and outcomes achieved in the high income countries where there information about the dynamics and outcomes that this approach has achieved is not beginning to emerge. It also reviews new efforts to use the design in a number of other settings in which the matching contributions have been included as a significant element in reform of the pension system. The review of the experience with matching contribution across this full range of settings provides important observations and some initial lessons for policy makers and analysts who may be considering or evaluating the use of this approach to increase pension coverage.

Millions of retired Americans rely on defined benefit pension plans for their financial well-being. Recent reports have noted that some plans are investing in 'alternative' investments such as hedge funds and private equity funds. To better understand this trend and its implications, this book examines the extent to which plans invest in hedge funds and private equity, the potential benefits and challenges of hedge fund investments, the potential benefits and challenges of private equity investments and what mechanisms regulate and monitor pension plan investments in hedge funds and private equity. Moreover, this book examines common 401(k) plan features and challenges sponsors face in fulfilling their fiduciary obligations when overseeing plan operations. In addition, the ageing of the American population has made retirement income an issue of increasing concern to the Congress and the public. This book summarises recent trends in pension sponsorship, labour force participation and social security issues. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.

This book discusses the retirement system in the U.S. beyond Social Security. The Education and Labor Committee is exploring the shortcomings in our nation's retirement system and looking at solutions so that Americans can enjoy a safe and secure retirement. The current economic crisis has exposed deep flaws in our nation's retirement system. These flaws were mostly hidden when the market was doing well. Since the beginning of the crisis, trillions of dollars have evaporated from workers' 401(k) accounts. Millions of workers have seen a significant portion of their retirement balance vanish in just a few short months. The decline has forced many workers to consider postponing retirement or rejoining the workforce if they have already retired. For many retirees coping with rising costs for health care and other basic expenses, this loss in income is simply devastating. While fully restoring the lost wealth of the baby boom cohorts may not prove feasible, Congress can take effective steps to create a better retirement system for future generations. This can done at no cost to taxpayers, simply by having the government assume market risk by averaging returns over time. There are no economic or administrative obstacles to going this route, it is simply a question of political will. In any case, the message is that we need more organised retirement savings. A declining Social Security system and fragile 401(k) plans will not be enough for future retirees.

Each year the Trustees of the Social Security trust fund report on the current and projected financial status of the program. This book discusses these reports, Social Security's history and its long-term projections. Social Security's annual surpluses of tax income over expenditures are expected to fall sharply this year and to stay about constant in 2010 because of the economic recession, and to rise only briefly before declining and turning to cash flow deficits beginning in 2016 that grow as the baby-boom generation retires. The book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.

A straightforward guide focused on life cycle investing-namely aging, retirement, and pensions

Life cycle investing and the implications of aging, retirement, and pensions continues to grow in importance. With people living longer, the relative and absolute number of retirees is growing while the number of workers contributing to pension funds is declining.

This reliable resource develops a detailed economic analysis-at the micro (individual) and macro (economy wide) levels-which addresses issues regarding the economics of an aging population. Topics touched upon include retirement and the associated health care funding of the aged as well as social security and the asset classes that are considered asset-liability choices over time.The probability of achieving adequate return patterns from various investment strategies and asset classes is reviewedShares rich insights on the aging, retirement, and pensions dilemmaAn assessment of the resources the real economy will be able to commit to non-workers is provided

The three pillars of retirement are social security, company pensions, and private savings. Each of these pillars is confronted with a variety of asset-liability problems, and this book will addresses them.

Countries throughout the world are increasingly relying on individual pension savings accounts to provide income replacement in old age for their citizens. Although these have now been in place for several decades, the metrics for the measurement of their performance has not always meaningful from the perspective the long term objectives of pension funds. The recent financial crisis has highlighted the need to establish meaningful performance measures that consider pension funds in relation to the ability to effectively provide income replacement at retirement age. The book discusses the theoretical basis and a number of implementation issues related to the emerging view that at meaningful evaluation of the investment performance of pension funds requires the design of life-cycle benchmarks against which performance can be evaluated. The composition of these benchmarks would depend on a number of factors, including the presence of other sources of retirement income; the age of individuals; the rate of contributions; the target replacement rate; the expected density of contributions; the type of retirement income in the payout phase, and the risk aversion of policymakers and individuals. This book provides an evaluation of the financial performance of funded pension systems within the standard mean variance framework. It then provides a discussion of the limitations inherent to applying these methods to pension funds and proceeds to review the many other issues that should be addressed in developing more useful and meaningful performance measures through the formulation of pension specific benchmark portfolios. Evaluating the Financial Performance of Pension Funds concludes with commentary and observations about the need for and application of this new approach to performance measurement and the impact of the recent global financial crisis on the pension funds.

"Building Wealth in the Stock Market" provides a complete model for investing successfully and safely in bull and bear markets. Experienced investor and teacher Colin Nicholson shares with readers his very own investment plan -- one that has been honed over 40 years and that has seen him consistently beat the market and his target rate of return.

Everything in Nicholson's investing method is fully disclosed simply and with a minimum of market jargon. The central idea is how to manage risk in order to grow capital and secure a stream of dividends. The various risks to be managed are explained, along with strategies for managing them. Aspects also covered include: how to improve your decision-making skills, modelled on the way the best investors think what is needed to succeed and why having an investment plan is crucial for success how to select stocks, using charting and fundamental ratios in combination to achieve a margin of safety how to manage your portfolio -- when to buy, how to build a position, when to cut losses and when to take profits.

The methods are brought to life through case studies based on real investments and the sharing of insights gained from years of experience and research. This book will change the way you think about the stock market forever.

In high-income countries, the percent of the population covered under mandatory old-age pension programs is typically high but often incomplete; in low- and middle-income countries, coverage is low and even stagnant. At the same time, older people are less able to rely on family and community support as a result of growing urbanization and migration. And low-income workers and the poor simply cannot save enough to prepare for their old age. As a response, many countries are considering or have already implemented various forms of retirement income transfers aiming to guarantee a minimum level of income during old age. Despite the growing popularity of these programs, research assessing their success has been limited. 'Closing the Coverage Gap: The Role of Social Pensions and Other Retirement Income Transfers' brings together a group of renowned academics, policy analysts, and policy makers working in the area of pensions and public policy. They discuss how social pensions and other retirement income transfers can be used to close the coverage gap of mandatory pension systems: how they operate, when they can be appropriate, and how to make them work. The book reviews the experiences of low-, middle-, and high-income countries with the design and implementation of retirement income transfers. The book analyzes design issues related to financing, incentives, targeting mechanisms, and administration, and also identifies the role of promising instruments such as matching contributions to reach parts of the informal sector.

All countries in the former transition economies of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe have undertaken public pension reforms of varying depth and orientation, often with the support of the World Bank. Although the reformed public pension schemes provide broad benefit adequacy, in most cases additional measures are needed to achieve fiscal sustainability in an aging society. 'Adequacy of Retirement Income after Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe: Eight Country Studies' assesses the benefit adequacy of the reformed pension systems for eight countries Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia to identify policy gaps and options. The authors identify the motivations for reform against the backdrop of the trend toward multi-pillar arrangements, document key provisions, and compare them in the context of the World Bank's five-pillar paradigm for pension reform. They then evaluate the sustainability and adequacy of reformed pension systems and provide recommendations to address gaps and take advantage of opportunities for further reforms. The case studies and summary suggest the following broad policy conclusions: Fiscal sustainability has improved in most study countries, but few are fully prepared for the inevitability of population aging. The linkage between contributions and benefits has been strengthened, and pension system designs are better suited to market conditions Levels of income replacement are generally adequate for all but some categories of workers (including those with intermittent formal sector employment or low lifetime wages), and addressing their needs requires initiatives that go beyond pension policy. Further reforms should focus on extending labor force participation by the elderly to avoid benefit cuts that could undermine adequacy and very high contribution rates that could discourage formal sector employment. More decisive financial market reforms are needed for funded provisions to deliver on the expectations of participants and keep funded pensions safe. This book will be of interest to policy makers, researchers, and everyone interested in the topic of pensions in the region, and beyond."

Population aging is placing enormous pressures on the pension benefits governments are able to provide. The former transition economies of the countries of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (CESE) face unique challenges. The growth of their aging populations outpaces other European countries, while the growth of their financial markets (essential to fund pension provisions) lags behind. With support and direction from the ERSTE Foundation, an Austrian group focused on Central European policy issues, a World Bank team investigated the challenges faced by these countries against the background of international experience from the OECD countries and Latin America. ""Aging Population, Pension Funds, and Financial Markets: Regional Perspectives and Global Challenges for Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe"" examines how well the financial systems in the CESE economies were prepared for the challenges of multipillar pension reform, how ready they are for the approaching payout of benefits to the first participants, whether returns from pension funds can be sustained in an aging population, and how determined policy actions might be implemented to complete financial market development.

In No Small Change, Tessa Hebb examines the ability of pension funds, now the largest single driver of financial markets around the world, to use their ownership position to change corporate practices for the sake of the bottom line and, perhaps, change the world for the better in the process.

Pension funds are not the new moral conscience of the twenty-first century, but they are significant owners of today's corporations. Because pension funds have to pay out benefits over many decades, they are increasingly concerned about the long-term value of the stocks they hold in their portfolios. Risks posed by climate change can have a huge impact on future returns. To lower the risks associated with an uncertain future, pension funds are engaging corporations and using their influence to raise the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards of companies.

At its best, Hebb finds, corporate engagement offers a long-term view of value that both promotes higher ESG standards and adds share value, thus providing long-term benefits to future pension beneficiaries. At its worst it may divert the attention of pension fund officials from their primary responsibility of ensuring the retirement benefits of their members. This book weighs the influence of corporate engagement on firms in an effort to see how the potential from this newly emerging force is being realized.

The past decade has brought an increasing recognition to the importance of pension systems to the economic stability of nations and the security of their aging populations. During this time, the World Bank has taken a leading role in addressing this challenge through its support for pension reforms around the world. 'Old-Age Income Support in the 21st Century' attempts to explain current policy thinking and update the World Bank's perspective on pension reform. The Bank has been involved in pension reforms in nearly 60 countries, and the demand for its support continues to grow. This book incorporates lessons learned from recent Bank experiences and research that have significantly increased knowledge and insight regarding how best to proceed in the future. The book has a comprehensive introduction and two main parts. Part I presents the conceptual underpinnings for the Bank's thinking on pension systems and reforms, including structure of Bank lending in this area. Part II highlights key design and implementation issues where it signals areas of confidence and areas for further research and experience, and includes a section on regional reform experiences, including Latin American and Europe and Central Asia. This book will be of interest to Bank clients, the international community, and anyone interested in pension systems and reform.

The ultimate reference on compensation for small business owners

Beyond 401(k)s for Small Business Owners presents strategies for reducing taxes, planning for your retirement, and rewarding high-performing employees. Expert advice from attorney and CPA Jean Sifleet will help small business owners maximize their own rewards and create an environment in which employees know that their hard work will mean a better future for themselves.

In clear, simple language this book helps you figure out what kind of plan you can afford, what your employees want, and what to do. Important tax and insurance issues are covered in detail and step-by-step guidance lets you design a compensation strategy that works for both you and your employees. Case studies, sample plans, and helpful references make this book your one-stop source for complete coverage of alternatives, from cash bonus programs to employee stock option plans (ESOPs) and everything in between. With Beyond 401(k)s for Small Business Owners you'll have all the tools you need to:

• Maximize owner benefits, reduce taxes, and enhance your retirement income
• Use creative compensation to motivate your employees
• Understand qualified and nonqualified plans
• Address the unique issues of family businesses
• Get the best deal on insurance and benefits for your company
• Avoid expensive pitfalls
• Measure your progress and keep your plan on track

'This is a must read!' Vince Cable, former leader of the Liberal Democrats 'Reads like a rip roaring tale of a corporate high wire act' John McDonnell, former Shadow Chancellor 'Should be sold with a bottle of blood-pressure pills' Edward Lucas, The Times The proud owner of a sprawling GBP14m estate in the Cotswolds, boasting a stable of eventing horses, a fleet of supercars and neighbouring the royal family, Neil Woodford was the most celebrated and successful British investor of his generation. He spent years beating the market; betting against the dot com bubble in the 1990s and the banks before the financial crash in 2008, making blockbuster returns for his investors and earning himself a reputation of 'the man who made Middle England rich'. But, in 2019, after a stream of poorly-judged investments, Woodford's asset management company collapsed, trapping hundreds of thousands of rainy-day savers in his flagship fund and hanging GBP3.6 billion in the balance. In Built on a Lie, Financial Times reporter Owen Walker reveals the disastrous failings of Woodford, the greed at the heart of his operation, the flaws of an industry in thrall to its star performers and the dangers of limited regulation. With exclusive access to Woodford's inner circle, Walker will reveal the full, jaw-dropping story of Europe's biggest investment scandal in a decade. 'Vital financial journalism with heart' Emma Barnett, broadcaster