January 2026

The gig economy is not the future of work — it’s a warning

By Quah Boon Huat   This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 5, 2026 - January 11, 2026 Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old ride-hailing driver and his family’s breadwinner, should have been invisible to power. On Aug 28 last year, an armoured police vehicle crushed him as it chased protesters. The video of his death seared Indonesia. Affan was not a protester. He was working — delivering food, saving for a home, keeping his family afloat. His killing ripped through Indonesia,...

German dentists’ pension fund sues advisers after C$1.77B loss

A pension fund for more than 10,000 German dentists has launched legal action against its former auditor, an external adviser and several ex-managers after suffering investment losses of over €1.1 billion (about C$1.77 billion), according to reporting by Bloomberg and AwazLive. Versorgungswerk der Zahnärztekammer Berlin (VZB), which manages roughly €2.2 billion (C$3.55 billion) for dentists in Berlin, Brandenburg and Bremen, said the losses were significant enough to prompt a corruption probe by Berlin prosecutors. In legal filings, the fund alleges that...

Funded status of largest US corporate pension plans now well over 100% for year-end 2025

The funded status of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit (DB) pension plans improved significantly in 2025, according to an analysis by WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. WTW examined pension plan data for 349 Fortune 1000 companies that sponsor U.S. DB pension plans and have a December fiscal year-end date. The aggregate pension funded status of these plans at the end of 2025 is estimated to be 104%, an increase from 101% at the...

Gender Pension Gap in Europe Averaged 22% in 2024

Women in Europe receive significantly lower pensions than men, with the average gap across 27 European countries standing at 22%, according to data from the OECD and Eurostat reported by Euronews Business. This means that, on average across Europe, women receive just EUR78 in pension income, whereas men receive EUR100. The gender pay gap is a related phenomenon, with women in the EU earning 12% less than men in 2023. However, the pension gap is wider. In 2024, the gender...

Ghana. President Mahama pledges to review Single Spine Salary Structure and pensions

President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to carry out a review of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and pensions, as part of government efforts to address concerns of public sector workers. The President made the promise in his address at the opening of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) 54th National Delegates Congress and Seventh Quadrennial Conference in Accra, on the theme, “Education and Development: The Ghana Education Service (GES) at 50: Reflecting, Reviewing, Revising, and Growing the Profession and...

Retirement Planning Without Kids Demands Attention to Long-Term Care and Estate Strategies

Not having kids might mean fewer financial obligations, but it doesn’t automatically make retirement planning easier. In fact, flying solo as you age comes with its own set of complexities, from health care costs to estate decisions. Here’s what child-free adults should know when planning for life after work. More Freedom to Take Financial Risks Without children, many adults have fewer day-to-day expenses and more discretion over how—and when—they spend their money. “For most clients without kids, legacy planning is not a concern,” said Alex Caswell, founder of Wealth Script Advisors....

After FTX collapse, Canada’s pension giants swore off crypto — until now when they quietly started circling back

When the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) wrote down their multimillion-dollar stakes in the failed FTX exchange in 2022 (1), it marked a turning point in Canadian institutional investing (2). For most pension executives, the message was clear: Stay far away from crypto. Yet three years later, the tone is shifting. The world’s largest institutional investors — from BlackRock to Singapore’s GIC — are increasing exposure to tokenized assets and digital...

2026 marks beginning of ‘decade of pensions transformation’

UK pension schemes enter 2026 in a robust position with strong funding levels, but the year ahead is expected to mark the start of significant structural change for the system, Penfold has stated. The digital pensions provider noted that defined benefit (DB) pension schemes were collectively running an estimated £223bn surplus, with assets exceeding long-term liabilities by around 24-25 per cent. Meanwhile, defined contribution (DC) assets under management have continued to grow, reaching around £650bn - an increase of roughly 40...

Global investment outlook: Navigating a complex landscape

From the impact of US trade tariffs to the continued growth of private markets, and from climate change investing headwinds to the artificial intelligence (AI) megatrend, there have been plenty of challenges and opportunities for investors to navigate over the past 12 months. Pensions Expert asked consultants and asset managers for their views on the continued dominance of US equities in investment portfolios, how to mitigate geopolitical risks, and whether private markets have been overdone. AI continues to dominate as a...

Equable Institute Analysis: U.S. Public Pension Funds Close 2025 with Strong Returns

Equable Institute released a year-end update to its State of Pensions 2025 report. The analysis finds the aggregate funded ratio for U.S. state and local retirement systems are on track to improve from 78.0% in 2024 to 82.5% in 2025, based on data available through December 31st, 2025. Equable Institute estimates that unfunded liabilities will total $1.27 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year, compared to $1.54 trillion at the end of 2024. Strong market performance and record high contribution rates...