July 2025

PLSA rebrands to Pensions UK as part of fresh five-year strategy

The pensions industry’s trade body has rebranded itself as Pensions UK following a detailed review of its strategy, and set out a plan to expand its reach and influence over the next five years. Pensions UK, as the organisation will now be known, was previously the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), a name it adopted 10 years ago. Announcing the new brand and strategy at an event last night (1 July) in London, Emma Douglas, chair of Pensions UK, said...

Ghana. Eleven-member board for National Pensions Regulatory Authority inaugurated

Mr Rashid Pelpuo, the Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment has inaugurated the new governing board of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) with the charge to accelerate the expansion of pension coverage to the informal sector. He said the informal sector held a significant share of Ghana’s working population and untapped pension contributors hence innovative policies and tailored products must be developed to harness and protect their hard-earned savings. Mr Pelpuo said their appointment came at a time when Ghana’s...

UK. Govt urged to take ‘decisive’ action to address ‘serious’ pension risks

The government has been urged to take "decisive" action and introduce a four-point pension guarantee, after the Institute for Fiscal Studies' (IFS) pension review suggested that "serious problems" remain for the next generation of pensioners. As its review of the pension system draws to a close, the IFS, in partnership with Abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, shared its final report outlining a comprehensive roadmap for reform, which is aimed at addressing "serious challenges" facing the UK pension system and "substantial risks"...

US Government Reopens Discussion of Private Pension Investments Expectations

The Department of Labor has taken two recent actions that indicate where the approach to retirement investment policy may go under the new administration. Policy on the appropriate management of retirement funds has not been spared the tide of changes in the political landscape. While the language of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) sets the standard for plan fiduciaries to act “solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries,”1 the practical implications have been caught up in...

ESG round-up: Investors call for EU to preserve key parts of sustainable finance rules

More than 80 investors and financial institutions have called on the EU to preserve the core of the EU Sustainable Finance Framework. Key European investors supporting the statement include Allianz SE, First Sentier Investors, La Banque Postale AM, Nordea, PKA and Storebrand AM. The signatories stated that regulatory simplification can be achieved without compromising on the substance of sustainability rules or their significant benefits for businesses across the EU. They have recommended that the European Sustainability Reporting Standards – which...

What the U.S. can learn from Japan’s experience with an aging population

The U.S. population is older than ever, and that trend is accelerating. As baby boomers age and birth rates decline, the country is heading toward a demographic reality that Japan has been grappling with for decades. In Japan, more than one in 10 people is now over the age of 80, and nearly a third of the population is over 65. This marks a dramatic shift that has reshaped healthcare, the economy, city infrastructure, and cultural norms. By learning from Japan’s...

US. California public pension fund, the nation’s largest, faces probe launched by concerned retirees

In recent years, the handling of the nation’s largest public pension fund has caused growing alarm among a group of retirees who rely on it. They have sought an outside audit of California’s $530 billion pension fund, known as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or CalPERS. They have also tried to persuade legislators to install an inspector general to monitor its operations. Both efforts went nowhere. Now, they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands. The retired public employees are...

UK. Increase in pension contributions would create tough times for small businesses

Small businesses would be forced into some tough trade-offs if pension contributions were to rise by 6%, according to a report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The vast majority (92%) of businesses would have to raise their prices, recruit fewer workers, cut profits or reduce the number of employees to cope with a doubling in pension contributions, the FSB said. The organisation called for a full economic assessment, along with a review of how workplace pension changes impact employers, before...

A Common Assumption About Aging May Be Wrong, Study Suggests

A new analysis of data gathered from a small Indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon suggests some of our basic assumptions about the biological process of aging might be wrong. Inflammation is a natural immune response that protects the body from injury or infection. Scientists have long believed that long-term, low-grade inflammation — also known as “inflammaging” — is a universal hallmark of getting older. But this new data raises the question of whether inflammation is directly linked to aging...

Ghana. Expand informal sector pension coverage – Minister charges NPRA board

The Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, has charged the governing council of the pensions regulator to expand pensions coverage to the informal sector. He said the sector held a significant share of the working population and untapped pension contributors of the country. “Innovative policies and tailored products must be developed to harness and protect the hard-earned savings of informal workers,” Dr Pelpuo said, when he swore in a 10-member board of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA)...