January 2026

Goodbye to Retirement at 60 in the South Africa

South Africa has officially moved away from the traditional default retirement age of 60, with new pension regulations taking effect from early January 2026, reshaping retirement planning for millions of workers. This shift addresses rising life expectancy, pension fund sustainability, and economic pressures, allowing retirement ages to be set by employment contracts and fund rules rather than a fixed benchmark. South Africa Pension Reforms 2026 Overview The abolition of the automatic retirement age at 60 marks a pivotal change in South Africa’s...

Vietnam. When society ages faster than its capacity to care

Vietnam is undergoing a profound demographic transition that remains surprisingly underdiscussed: rapid population aging. According to assessments by the United Nations and the World Health Organization, Vietnam is among the fastest-aging countries in Asia. What makes this shift particularly challenging is that it is happening before the country becomes wealthy and before a comprehensive system of long-term elderly care has been fully established. Within just a few decades, the proportion of people aged 60 and above has risen sharply. At the same...

6 Retirement Must-Knows for 2026

In 2026, you can contribute $7,500 to an IRA if you’re under age 50 and $8,600 if you’re over 50, and contribute $24,500 to a company retirement plan if you’re under age 50 and $32,500 if you’re 50 and above. The super catch-up contribution limit has increased to $35,750 for 2026. For 2025, they found 3.9% to be the starting safe withdrawal rate, but you can get closer to 6% if you’re willing to use a strategy that’s...

JPMorgan (JPM) Buys UK Pensions Platform WealthOS

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is one of the 11 Most Profitable Cheap Stocks to Invest In Now. On January 22, Reuters reported that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has completed a deal to acquire WealthOS, a UK-based pensions technology platform. This information comes from an internal memo seen by Reuters. This transaction is expected to strengthen JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s (NYSE:JPM) presence in the pensions industry and position the company to benefit from the growing demand for retirement planning products...

US. When Texas messes with pensions, firefighters, teachers and cops get burned

Twenty years ago, I entered the service feeling like most rookie firemen: invincible. The furthest thing from any new recruit’s mind is retirement, but before long, the high stress, heavy lifting, hazardous conditions and 24-hour shifts begin to catch up with even the strongest among us. For all our emergency preparedness training, the fire academy does not teach financial management, leaving most firefighters ill-equipped to plan for retirement. And with the average firefighter retiring in their fifties — significantly before the average...

UK. Calls for free pension health checks to prevent ‘retirement under-savings crisis’

Pension savers should be offered free retirement funds “health checks” to help avert a potential retirement under-savings crisis, a think tank is urging. The Social Market Foundation (SMF), along with savings and investment firm M&G, is calling for health checks to be integrated directly into pensions dashboards, so that on viewing their pension information, savers would be offered the option of a free, personalised guidance session. Plans are already in place for pensions dashboards, which will allow people to see all...

Canadian pensions diverging in climate approach: report

An advocacy group says there’s an increasing divergence on how big public pensions in Canada are approaching climate action. The group, called Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, says in its annual ranking that La Caisse is showing the best results yet while CPPIB is falling behind. Shift says it lowered CPPIB’s ranking because the pension giant removed its stated net-zero goal, has a lack of clarity on a climate strategy and continues to invest in fossil fuels. CPPIB, which...

Why Latin America funds are on a hot streak

Brazil’s stock market index, the Ibovespa, rose by 8.5% last week, taking its month-to-date gain to 11% and extending the momentum built up over the course of last year. After a difficult 2024, when it fell by 10%, the Brazilian market recovered strongly in 2025. Global interest rates had started to ease and investors were turning back towards emerging markets in search of higher returns. The index ended the year up 34%. Overseas investors would have seen even larger gains as Brazil’s...

UK. Pension contributions influence retention but fall short of employee expectations: Penfold

Almost nine in ten UK employees say their workplace pension influences whether they stay with their current employer, but employers treated pensions as a compliance exercise rather than as a strategic element of employee wellbeing, according to new research from workplace pension provider Penfold. The data is drawn from Penfold’s Retirement Reality Check report, based on surveys of 2,000 UK employees and 500 small and medium-sized businesses. The findings underline the growing importance of pensions in recruitment and retention at...

US. Congress Interest on Use of 401(k) Remains

Congressional interest in the rumored 401(k)-housing proposal remains, even though President Trump has backed away from it. Freshman Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) on Jan. 21 introduced the Home Savings Act (H.R. 7185) to remove penalties (and taxes) for withdrawing from a 401(k) account when the money is used for closing costs and down payments associated with purchasing a home. “Too many Americans are becoming lifelong renters,” Rep. McGuire said in a release. “This bill will pave the way for removing financial barriers to home...