September 2025
08Sep

UK. Home Responsibilities Protection: Could you be owed thousands in backdated State Pension?

One Morning Live viewer has discovered she was owed more than £35,000 in unpaid State Pension after finding out that years she spent at home caring for her child had not been properly recorded. Her case highlights a wider problem linked to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a scheme that ran between April 1978 and April 2010. HRP was designed to protect parents and carers who were unable to build up full National Insurance contributions because they were looking after children...

September 8, 2025
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05Sep

Global warning: solving pensions gaps around the world

From gender gaps to vulnerable workers, inadequate pensions are an issue the world over. What are countries doing about it? Around the world, many people are still without pension provision. Here, we explore this by looking at case studies of countries with significant coverage issues, and countries that are making changes to improve coverage. Some of the major drivers and resulting effects of inadequate pension provision are: The gender pensions gap – Figure 1 shows the gender pensions gap in OECD countries....

September 5, 2025
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05Sep

UK. Amendment Watch: What changes are being proposed to the Pension Schemes Bill?

On the first day back for MPs after the summer recess, the UK parliament’s website published more than 200 amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill ahead of the start of the committee scrutiny stage of its journey through parliament. By the middle of this week, this list had grown to more than 270. Industry representatives from trade bodies, pension providers, and other organisations this week gave evidence to the scrutinising committee on its various aspects, from surplus release to investment...

September 5, 2025
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05Sep

US. The milestone ages that matter most for retirement planning

Retirement is a journey marked by important milestones—ages at which decisions can have lasting impacts on financial security, health coverage and overall well-being. Because many federal employees have been facing major decisions this year about their retirement from federal service, understanding these ages is essential. Last week, we looked at the important ages that affect Social Security and Medicare. This week, let’s focus on Thrift Savings Plan deadlines and an important age for the FERS Basic Retirement Benefit. Age 50: The...

September 5, 2025
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04Sep

Dutch fund PFZW reduces BlackRock ties over clash on sustainability

Dutch pension fund PFZW has stopped investing in stock funds managed by BlackRock, in part because of concerns over the U.S. firm's voting record on sustainability issues, its lead asset manager PGGM said on Wednesday. The move comes amid a wider activist campaign in the Netherlands to push the country's large pension schemes to drop managers that have reduced support for climate change-linked resolutions at company meetings. While some companies have scaled back the importance they attach to sustainability since the...

September 4, 2025
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04Sep

Pension risk transfer: The U.S. and the U.K. compared

Growth in the pension risk transfer (PRT) industry is accelerating, with new research forecasting insurance companies will secure more than $335 billion of liabilities across the U.K. and the U.S. markets over the next three years. But with many insurers now looking at opportunities in both countries, it is vital to recognize the differences between the U.K. and the U.S., particularly when it comes to deferred lives. PRT transactions — often described as bulk purchase annuity deals in the U.K. —...

September 4, 2025
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04Sep

As global longevity increases, how do we ensure workers and economies thrive?

Since becoming CEO of Mercer, I’ve travelled to more than 20 countries and met with C-suite executives and policy-makers worldwide. One topic they consistently bring up – and can universally relate to – is increasing longevity. That may surprise most people, but it doesn’t shock me. For years, Mercer has been following statistics on longevity. By 2050, the number of individuals aged 60 and older is projected to reach 2.1 billion – nearly double today’s figure. The rise is driven by significantly longer life...

September 4, 2025
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04Sep

US. Don’t Plan Your Retirement Around Working Longer

You're fast approaching retirement, but don't have enough money to comfortably retire just yet. Instead of stashing more money in your 401(k), what if you just worked longer, delaying retirement until you saved enough? While this may seem like a good idea in theory, in practice it might not work out. We connected with policy experts to understand at what age people are retiring and why working forever won't solve your retirement woes. When Are People Actually Retiring? Most Americans retire before...

September 4, 2025
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03Sep

US. Public Pension Fund Returns Beat Their Benchmarks

U.S. public pension funds’ returns were well beyond their targets for the third consecutive year, reporting a median investment return of 11.3% for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to investment consulting firm Callan. All of the major asset classes reported gains for the year ending June 30, 2025. The plans’ returns, which left their average assumed rate of return of 7.0% in the dust by 430 basis points, were led by foreign equities and domestic equities, which gained 17.7%...

September 3, 2025
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03Sep

UK. Employees risk retirement shortfall as saving priorities shift too late

Employees could face a significant retirement funding gap as many delay prioritising their pension until their 40s and 50s, highlighting the need for better engagement strategies, according to research from Fidelity International. The study, based on the views of more than 3,000 of Fidelity’s workplace pension members, revealed the financial “balancing act” employees face when trying to manage multiple goals, with retirement saving often losing out to more immediate pressures such as property and everyday expenses. For younger workers aged 18-34,...

September 3, 2025
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