Greece’s Latest Round of Pension Cuts Are Revealed, so Top Judge Quits

After news leak, jurist skeptical of reductions retires early in protest.

A highly controversial news leak of planned pension cuts prompted a top Greek judge to retire early in protest.

The drama comes against the backdrop of Greece’s response to its long-running economic problems, which led to a string of multi-billion euro bailouts. The Council of State, one of the nation’s highest courts, has the ultimate approval on the pension cuts.

Judge Nikos Sakellariou, who sits on the Council of State, announced he was leaving his post after the “recent violation of confidentiality” about the plan. In remarks to reporters, the judge, who is a skeptic of harsh pension cuts, objected to the “disruption [the leaks] caused to the entire Greek society.”

He added that the “unthinkable and unacceptable violation of judicial secrecy” had largely diminished the credibility and prestige of the council, and that it no longer allowed him to continue his job functions with “proper calm and sobriety.”

Want the latest institutional investment industry
news and insights? Sign up for CIO newsletters.

His departure, however, was only a few weeks ahead of his planned exit of his 42-year career, reports Reuters.

The recently leaked cuts were planned for 2019, and could shrink retirement benefits by another 18% on top of previous reductions. Elderly pensioners have been protesting the austerity measures in Athens regularly. Some are now hoping for the council to oppose the proposed cuts.

The courts have approved previous slicing of retirement payouts, according to Greek newspapers. For instance, they upheld lowering the Greek version of Social Security. The measures raised social security contributions while also cutting benefits.

Greece has been slashing the benefits of its aging workforce since 2010 to offset the first of its three bailouts from the European Union: In 2010 the bailout was for €110 billion euros, or $129.8 billion; in 2012, €130 billion; and 2015, €86 billion. The cuts have knocked roughly half of Greece’s retired population below the poverty line to nearly €600 per month, Reuters said.

On top of that, almost one-quarter of Greece’s workforce is unemployed, causing the pension money to become the only source of income for some families.

Once the worst-rated pension system in the world, Greece has recently improved, although slowly. It currently ranks as the eighthweakest. The pension debt is 9% of GDP, The Guardian wrote.

Should the court vote in favor of the latest reduction, Sakellariou predicted the move would be “the complete deprivation of all pensioners.”

Tags: , , , ,

Boston Private Wealth Names New CIO

Shannon Saccocia is promoted to role after serving as chief investment strategist.

Shannon Saccocia



Boston Private, a provider of wealth management, trust, and private banking services, has promoted Shannon Saccocia to chief investment officer (CIO) of the firm’s wealth management unit Boston Private Wealth.

Saccocia most recently served as chief investment strategist, and takes over the CIO role from Tom Anderson, who has been serving as both CIO and chief operating officer (COO).

Saccocia will be responsible for setting the overall investment policy at Boston Private Wealth, as well as directing the firm’s investment strategy, research, portfolio management, trading, asset allocation, and investment risk management functions. Boston Private Wealth is responsible for both strategic and tactical asset allocation for the firm’s client portfolios.

Anderson, who initially took on COO duties at the beginning of 2018, will now shift from his dual role to focus solely on his COO responsibilities, such as trust and client advisory services, and business development initiatives for the entire firm. Anderson is also national head of trust and fiduciary services for the company.

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news.

Saccocia and Anderson will report directly to Scott Dell’Orfano, president of Boston Private Wealth.

“We are very pleased to have both Tom and Shannon positively impact growth of the wealth team and continue to create value for our clients,” Dell’Orfano said in a release. “They are both capable leaders who have worked closely together for the past several years, and I look forward to having them focus on their new roles with the same cohesion and encouragement they’ve already shown.”

Prior to joining Boston Private Wealth, Saccocia was director of manager search and selection for Silver Bridge Advisors, which was acquired in 2013 by Banyan Partners, which in turn was bought by Boston Private Wealth in 2014. Prior to joining Silver Bridge, Saccocia worked at State Street Corp. and has a BA in economics and history from Brandeis University.

Prior to joining Boston Private Wealth in 2011, Anderson was head of global strategy and research for State Street Global Advisors’ ETF business. He also led the investment team for the charitable asset management group. He has a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Boston College.

Tags: , , ,

«