March 2025

European Pension Funds Shift from US To European Markets

European pension companies are shifting from US to European stocks, with investors withdrawing $2.8 billion from US stock funds and redirecting $5 billion into European equities last week. Danish pension fund PensionDanmark was among these investors, shifting DKK 14 billion ($2 billion) from the US to the European market, which is equivalent to 10% of its total portfolio. Meanwhile, Finnish firm Veritas has also reduced its exposure to US-listed equities, dropping from 46.2% at the end of 2024 to 24.1% currently. Instead, it...

U.S. pension risk transfer volume tops $50 billion in 2024, just short of 2022 record

U.S. pension risk transfer volume topped $50 billion in 2024, just shy of the record-setting volume two years earlier, according to a survey from LIMRA. Total dollar volume for pension buyout and buy-in transactions for the year ended Dec. 31 was $51.8 billion, up 14% from 2023. Of that total, LIMRA recorded $48.1 billion in buyout sales and $3.7 billion in buyout sales in 2024. Fourth-quarter volume totaled $12 billion, down 4% from the year-earlier quarter, but volume totals of $14.6...

How to grow employee pension savings while shaping a more sustainable future

Climate change, social inequality and the transition to a low-carbon economy are among the most pressing challenges of our time. These issues are not abstract concerns for future generations — they are reshaping the world we live in today. And for employees, one of the levers they have to make a positive impact, while also building a more secure financial future, is their pension. Recent Scottish Widows’ research reveals that 72 per cent of employees now expect their employers to offer a...

Kuwait pension fund’s $1 billion corruption lawsuit begins in UK court

Kuwait's public pension fund accused asset manager Man Group, Swiss bank EFG and others of laundering bribes paid to its late director as a year-long $1 billion trial began at London's High Court on Monday. The Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS), which operates Kuwait's social security and pension scheme, is suing the estate of Fahad Al Rajaan, its director from 1984 to 2014. Al Rajaan was in 2016 convicted in his absence of corruption and embezzling public money in Kuwait and died in...

​Danish pensions lobby rejects pension withdrawals for home purchase

Denmark’s pensions industry has rejected the idea of allowing younger people to withdraw their pension savings to finance home buying, saying people should rather be increasing pension contributions. Analysts at the Danish central bank, Danmarks Nationalbank, recently produced a report on access to the housing market for younger people with targeted financing relief, in which they also rejected the idea, currenly under discussion, of freeing young people to use their pension savings for house purchases. According to the report, authored by five analysts:...

México. Consar: cifra sin precedente de retiros por desempleo

En los primeros dos meses de 2025 las personas que se quedaron sin empleo formal en México retiraron de sus cuentas de las administradoras de fondos para el retiro (Afore) 5 mil 358 millones de pesos, cifra sin precedente para un periodo similar, lo que a la postre se traducirá en pensiones aún más bajas. Los retiros se incrementaron 7.8 por ciento en comparación con los primeros dos meses de 2024, periodo en el que sumaron 4 mil 971 millones...

Chile. Tras suspensión, ministra Jara confirma que promulgación de la reforma de pensiones será este jueves y probablemente en Peñalolén

Este jueves 20 de marzo es el día que el Gobierno escogió para promulgar la reforma de pensiones, luego de que la semana pasada suspendió la ceremonia. La ministra del Trabajo y Previsión Social, Jeannette Jara, aseguró este lunes que el jueves se realizaría la actividad y que “la comuna la están definiendo los equipos de producción y es bien probable que sea en Peñalolén”, sostuvo tras ser consultada esta mañana por la prensa. Con ello, el Presidente Boric firmará el Decreto promulgatorio que debe ir a...

Colombia. Recursos administrados por fondos de pensiones y cesantías subieron a $533,6 billones

De acuerdo con la Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia los fondos de pensiones y cesantías del Régimen de Ahorro Individual con Solidaridad, Rais, y del Régimen de Prima Media, RPM, ascendieron a $533,6 billones, lo que representa un incremento de $64,7 billones en comparación a mismo período del año anterior La mayor parte de estos recursos que son $525,3 billones, corresponden al Rais, mientras que $8,3 billones pertenecen al RPM. De manera desagregada, los Fondos de Pensiones Obligatorias, FPO, manejaron $469,7 billones,...

PLSA IC 25: UK pension funds urged to take more risk

UK pension funds are not taking "anywhere near enough risk", particularly given efforts to reach net zero, National Wealth Fund head of banking and investment, Ian Brown, has said, emphasising the need for more investment in key UK assets. Speaking at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) Investment Conference 2025, Brown urged pension scheme trustees to "please take some more risk". "Please take some more risk - do it in a considered way by all means," he stated. "Do it...

Belgium: Significant and broad changes to employment law and social security proposed

Employer Action Code: Monitor The Federal Coalition Agreement of the new Belgian government contains a wide-ranging series of measures that, if implemented, would bring the most significant changes to the country’s labor laws in many years. The agreement covers a range of areas — from compensation and benefits to dismissal and unemployment — aiming overall to increase the flexibility and efficiency of the labor market while ensuring job security and social protection. Key details Planned changes in the area of compensation and...