September 2025

US. Frozen Pensions Are Sitting on Billions. Sponsors Want Access.

With billions of dollars locked in overfunded U.S. corporate pensions, the companies sponsoring these plans are actively exploring ways to unlock that capital (albeit at different rates of speed). Investment consulting giants are seeing strategies that range from funding lump-sum payouts to pursuing full plan terminations. As the average pension plan has crept into overfunded territory, Matt Maloney, a senior partner at Aon Wealth, sees sponsors taking three approaches: holding the surplus as a buffer, funding partial lift-outs or a...

UK. Life on a Low Pension – the growing problem of financial insecurity in retirement

The Living Wage Foundation’s Living Pension is an independently calculated savings target, based on the real cost of living, designed to provide an acceptable standard of living in retirement when combined with a full UK State Pension income. It is based on a yearly contribution of 12 per cent of all earnings to an employee’s pension pot, or £2,950 of savings in 2024/25, with at least 7 per cent coming from the employer. Over 80 per cent of workers with a Defined Contribution pension are...

Australian Retirement Trust invests $1b in Macquarie green energy fund

The Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has invested nearly $1 billion in the renewable energy-focused Macquarie Green Energy and Climate Opportunities Fund (MGECO). The numbers: The investment is part of the superannuation fund’s commitment to invest at least $2 billion by 2030 in assets that can generate returns while delivering social and environmental benefits. ART manages $350 billion in retirement savings on behalf of more than 2.4 million Australians. The context: Aside from climate change, ART’s $2 billion impact investment commitment will also flow to...

Prospective elderly residents in Indonesia are vulnerable to poverty.

The number of individuals aged 30 to 50 years, or potential elderly, in Indonesia reaches approximately 87.7 million people. About one-third of them are actively working and earning low wages. Their median wage is only two-thirds of the average wage/salary of workers, employees, and civil servants in Indonesia, which amounts to Rp 3.09 million per month. The Deputy Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Sonny Harry B Harmadi, stated on Tuesday (26/8/2025) that such groups are generally located in...

Fondos para el retiro: ¿Cuáles son las tendencias en Latinoamérica según las últimas reformas?

El envejecimiento de la población, los cambios que trajo la crisis sanitaria de la pandemia, el deterioro en las condiciones económicas generales y las transformaciones en las relaciones de trabajo por la irrupción de la tecnología están empujando un cambio en los modelos de seguridad y previsión social en el mundo, algo de lo que no se escapa la región latina. Las reformas en esta materia en Latinoamérica, como lo demuestran Colombia, Chile, México y Perú, países que recientemente han abonado debates, apuntan hacia esquemas...

México. CONSAR y la UNAM unen esfuerzos para recertificar asesores previsionales

La Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (CONSAR), en colaboración con la Facultad de Economía de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), puso en marcha el Curso de Actualización y Evaluación Remota de Asesores Previsionales de las Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro. Se trata de un programa académico que busca actualizar, evaluar y certificar las capacidades técnicas de quienes brindan asesoría en las Afores. La capacitación fortalecerá los conocimientos de los Asesores para que manejen...

Colombia. Piden a la Corte Constitucional tumbar la reforma pensional por nuevo vicio de trámite “insubsanable”

La representante a la Cámara por Cambio Radical Lina María Garrido solicitó a la Corte Constitucional declarar inexequible la reforma pensional, argumentando que el proceso legislativo que dio origen a esta norma presenta irregularidades graves que afectarían su validez jurídica. El alto tribunal avanza en el análisis de las actas y demás documentos enviados por la Cámara de Representantes para determinar si la ley puede entrar en vigencia. En su petición, radicada bajo el expediente D-15.989, Garrido explicó que el trámite...

Perú. Reforma de pensiones: bancos y financieras podrán competir con las AFP para reducir comisiones a los afiliados

La Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP (SBS) anunció que en octubre de 2025 se prepublicará la normativa que permitirá a bancos, financieras y aseguradoras administrar fondos de pensiones. Con esta medida, el mercado dejará de estar exclusivamente en manos de las AFP y se abrirá a una mayor competencia, lo que podría traducirse en menores comisiones y un sistema más eficiente para los afiliados. El superintendente de la SBS, Sergio Espinosa, precisó en entrevista con RPP que el primer...

How Crypto and Private Equity Are Rewriting Risks of US Retirement Savings

America’s nest eggs are taking a risky turn. For the first time, ordinary Americans’ 401(k) plans—the backbone of retirement security for more than 60 million people—are being open to bitcoin and private equity. Introduction 401k plans are one of the most popular ways working Americans save for retirement, giving them option to invest some of their salaries in publicly traded securities tax-free. Since May 2025, US retirement plans are opening the door to private markets and cryptocurrency investments, with some 401(k)...

DWP one-off payment for Brits receiving State Pension and other benefits this year

Nearly 24 million people across the UK are claiming at least one benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including 13 million pensioners receiving State Pension payments, 5.7 million on Universal Credit, and 3.7 million Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants. However, many people, such as those newly retired or those receiving disability benefits like the new devolved Pension Age Disability Payment or Adult/Child Disability Payment, might not be aware of an annual bonus paid to certain claimants before...