June 2025

The At Retirement Reckoning: Barnett Waddingham’s investigation into the UK’s retirement landscape

By Barnett Waddingham The British pensions industry is, once again, at a critical juncture. It seems every provider, regulator, and adviser is watching with bated breath as the time bomb of UK retirement saving ticks closer to detonation. And with every new day, the likely ripple effects of the impending disaster get bigger. The past 14 years of Conservative rule saw the pension landscape shift notably. The introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012 successfully widened the UK’s saving base and helped tackle...

LGBTQ+ Aging and Retirement Issues: A Critical Review of Current Studies and Knowledge Gaps

By Julie Duda, Bri Bloxsom & Manshreya Grover This paper presents a detailed review of select studies on the experiences and challenges faced by LGBTQ+ older adults, particularly in the context of aging and retirement. Through a systematic analysis of fourteen studies, this review aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the issues encountered by this population, highlighting key themes including discrimination, healthcare access, social support, resilience, end-of-life preparation, and mental health. There exists a broad body of scholarly work that has shed light on...

Planning: The Missing Link to Retirement Security. Retirement Survey & Insights Report 2024

By Goldman Sachs Michael Moran, a pension strategist in Goldman Sachs Asset Management, explains how the current macro environment is changing the retirement picture for both savers and retirees. Mike and his team are out with a new report that describes what they see as a missing link to retirement security. Get the report here

Aging and Retirement Issues for LGBTQ+ People

By Society of Actuaries Research Institute The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program in collaboration with the Sexuality and Gender Alliance of Actuaries (SAGAA) is pleased to present this collection of essays that explore aging and retirement issues for LGBTQ+ people. This collection continues the Program’s dedicated effort to further advance the SOA’s organization-wide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative. This includes its 2021 companion essay collection on aging and retirement issues for people of different races and ethnicities. Our...

Dignity 2022: The Experience of LGBTQ Older Adults

By Cassandra Cantave Burton There are over 2.4 million LGBT adults over age 50 in the United States — a number expected to double by 2030 to over 5 million, according to Movement Advancement Project (MAP). A vast majority (85%) of older LGBTQ individuals are concerned about discrimination based on sexual orientation. They are also worried about how they will care for themselves and others. Two-thirds believe they will need someone to provide caregiving for them in the future and eight in...

Retired for how long? Worker expectations for how long they’ll live in retirement

By Paul J. Yakoboski,  Annamaria Lusardi & Andrea Sticha The influence of perceptions is noteworthy given that one-third of adults underestimate general life expectancy among 65-year-olds (and an additional one-quarter respond “don’t know” when asked). Workers who expect relatively short lifespans due to misperceptions about general life expectancy are at risk of accumulating inadequate financial resources for retirement. Their retirement planning horizon is “too short.” In addition, those with shorter expected lifespans appear less likely to plan and save for retirement. For example, about...

Milliman Pension Buyout Index May 2025

By Jake Pringle & Ryan Cook Estimated competitive retiree buyout cost, as a percentage of accounting liability, decreased by 140 bps from 102.5% to 101.1% during April As the pension risk transfer market continues to grow, it has become increasingly important for plan sponsors to monitor the annuity buyout market when considering a plan termination or de-risking strategy. Figure 1 illustrates retiree buyout costs with two different metrics: The red line represents only the most competitive insurers' rates from each month,...

PensionsEurope’s Position Paper on the European Commission’s Omnibus Simplification Proposal

By Pension Europe PensionsEurope welcomes the European Commission (EC) initiative which aims to align crucial EU legislation concerning Sustainable Finance. PensionsEurope firmly believes that the competitiveness of the EU economy is vital, it is possible to reduce the administrative burden without undermining the EU's policy objectives regarding the green transition. However, any simplification should be carefully balanced to ensure that material sustainability information on risks, opportunities, and impacts-critical to informed investor decision-making-is preserved. Accordingly, the Omnibus package should aim to streamline...

May 2025

Eyes on delivery – improving implementation for effective social protection for all

By Abhijit V. Banerjee Effective implementation is the missing link in the drive toward inclusive, reliable social protection. In recent decades, social protection systems have expanded rapidly across the developing world. Today, more than 2.5 billion people benefit from programmes like cash transfers, food subsidies, and social pensions. Yet despite this progress, the goal of social protection for all remains out of reach. Too many eligible people still slip through the cracks—excluded by complex procedures, poor targeting, or weak delivery...

Annual survey on financial incentives for retirement savings. Country profiles 2024

By Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Countries provide financial incentives to encourage individuals to save for retirement in asset-backed pension plans. Financial incentives for retirement savings can take the form of tax incentives, which are indirect subsidies through the tax code, or non-tax incentives, which are direct government payments into pension accounts. This annual survey provides an overview of the tax treatment of retirement savings and covers non-tax incentives to promote retirement savings in OECD countries and four accession...