May 2026
11May

UK government unit targets £99bn of investment from Australian pension funds

A plan to target £99bn of overseas pension investment into key UK projects by 2035 has been announced only weeks after the government struggled to pass its pensions schemes bill. A new “Supers Unit”, led by the Office for Investment, aims to boost collaboration and streamline investment from Australian pension funds into growth sectors, including infrastructure, real estate and private markets. This follows a memorandum of understanding signed at last month’s IMF meetings between UK chancellor Rachel Reeves and Australian treasurer...

May 11, 2026
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11May

Goldman Sachs Retirement Survey 2025: Retirement Could Cost $2.5 Million by 2043, and Most Americans Are Not Saving Fast Enough to Keep Up

Goldman Sachs estimates the total cost of retirement will reach $2.57M by 2043, up from $1.75M in 2033, driven by 4% annual spending growth and retirement duration expanding to 21 years as households age 65+ now spend ~$122K annually versus $60K in 2000. Essential costs like housing (21% to 36% of income), childcare (10% to 25%), college (9% to 33% for private), and healthcare (12% to 33%) have squeezed savings capacity, with 67% of workers reporting too many...

May 11, 2026
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11May

Hong Kong may broaden at-risk elderly support after recent deaths, minister says

Hong Kong authorities may widen support to cover more younger elderly residents to bolster protection, the welfare minister has said, calling current efforts to identify at-risk seniors “just the beginning” as the city reels from two tragedies in a week. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han told the South China Morning Post that the government was mobilising all available resources to strengthen support for the elderly, but he noted the process would take time given the city’s large...

May 11, 2026
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08May

New HMRC tax rules coming for DWP state pension after Labour update

New tax rules are coming on the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) state pension from 2028, it has been warned. Labour Party minister Torsten Bell has confirmed the shake-up as he responded to a question in the Commons. Mr Bell responded to fears the state pension - which is already dangerously close to breaching the personal tax-free allowance - could rise further with the Triple Lock next year, taking it over the threshold. Euan Stainbank reached out "to ask the Chancellor of...

May 8, 2026
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08May

Kazakhstan’s Population Is Aging Rapidly as Demographic Pressures Mount

Kazakhstan’s population is aging rapidly, with the number of elderly citizens growing significantly faster than the child population as birth rates continue to decline. According to a study by analysts at Energyprom.kz, the country’s aging index has been steadily rising. In 2021, Kazakhstan had 26.7 elderly people for every 100 children under the age of 15. By 2025, that figure had increased to 32.9. The data suggests Kazakhstan is gradually entering a demographic phase in which the proportion of elderly citizens is growing much faster...

May 8, 2026
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08May

Moldova. Six out of ten agricultural workers work informally and are deprived of social protection

He said about six out of ten people employed in agriculture work without official registration, without labor contracts and without social protection, being paid for temporary work such as harvesting or tending crops. “By comparison, the rate in non-agricultural sectors is six times lower – one in ten. What is informal employment? These are people who accept day jobs because they need money for bread, medicine, bills or debts at the store. More often than not, they don’t even ask...

May 8, 2026
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07May

US. Retirement Savings Fall Far Short of Longevity Expectations

The current life expectancy is 79 years old, but on average U.S. adults surveyed by Pew Research hope to live until 91, according to the 2026 Mind, Body and Wallet report by the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America, a provider of workforce benefits, retirement and wealth solutions.  The wish for longer life, however, did not align with Guardian respondents’ preparedness for a longer retirement. Compared with the previous 15 years that Guardian published its Mind, Body and Wallet report, 2026 results showed persistently low levels of overall wellbeing and financial health. For the third consecutive...

May 7, 2026
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07May

UK. TPR outlines vision for megafunds and simplified pensions market by 2036

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) chief executive, Nausicaa Delfas, has said the UK workplace pensions market could look “very different” by 2036, with a smaller number of large pension megafunds, greater consolidation and more scheme-led retirement solutions becoming the norm. Speaking at the Eversheds Sutherland UK Pensions Conference, Delfas said the pensions market was currently undergoing “the biggest changes in pensions since the introduction of auto-enrolment”. Setting out her vision for the future of the UK pensions system, Delfas said she expected to...

May 7, 2026
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07May

Geopolitical conflict wipes out R200 billion in South African pension funds

The war in Iran revealed that South African pension funds are over-exposed to geopolitical events, which is forcing some of the country’s biggest funds to rethink their investment strategy. This is the feedback from Frans Baleni, chair of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), who noted that the fund took a major hit from the war in the Middle East. Speaking in an interview with Moneyweb Radio, Baleni said the GEPF had built a strong track record of protecting public servants’ retirement...

May 7, 2026
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07May

Canadian DB pension plans return 0.4% in Q1 2026 amid geopolitical tensions: report

The typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan posted a median return of 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, according to a new report by RBC Investor Services. It found Canadian equity allocations returned 3.9 per cent in the quarter, matching the TSX composite index. Energy led sector gains with a 30.1 per cent surge following the Strait of Hormuz closure, while materials rose strongly early in the period, pulled back significantly in March and finished with a...

May 7, 2026
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