January 2024

PLSA reveals ‘pensions’ role in UK growth’ as top strategic priority for 2024

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has announced that its top strategic priority for 2024 will be the role that pension schemes can play in supporting the UK economy. Outlining its strategic objectives for the year, the PLSA revealed that it would further develop its recommendations aimed at promoting investment by ‘suitable’ pension schemes in assets that can help drive UK growth, which were published last year. The updated recommendations will aim to ensure the government is equipped to make...

Japan retirement trends: job-seeking seniors double in 10 years

The number of people 65 and older looking for work in Japan has more than doubled over the past decade, government employment center data shows, creating the challenge of matching them with the right jobs in a shrinking labor pool. A Hello Work employment center in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district has a counter just for senior citizens. Some need work to supplement their income, but others just want to stay active. "I want to work until I'm 70," said a 66-year-old man who was there to fill out paperwork...

Millennials vs. Boomers: Which Generation Is Better Prepared for Retirement?

Many boomers are currently retired or on the cusp of retirement, so it wouldn’t be a far-off guess to assume that boomers are better prepared financially for this phase of life. However, a recent Vanguard study found that millennials are actually better prepared for retirement than baby boomers. The study found that millennials who are median-income earners will be able to generate sustainable retirement income equal to 58% of their pre-retirement earnings, while median-income boomers will be able to generate sustainable retirement income...

Female-Specific Aging Trajectories Remain Understudied

Most model organisms don’t match human sex specificity The use of model organisms, such as worms, fruit flies, and mice, has helped researchers to understand many aging processes. However, it is also partly to blame for the lack of data on how pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause impact aging-related diseases. Animal research is based on the premise that those organisms and humans share essential physiological characteristics. While true in many cases, there are tremendous differences between the physiology of model organisms and...

China’s population: Beijing urged to build digitally inclusive society, as it seeks insights into technical skills of its elderly

China is seeking to gain more insights into the digital literacy of its elderly population as it attempts to find ways to better accommodate its rapidly ageing demographic in an increasingly intelligent society. New questions on smartphone usage for people aged 60 and above were added to a survey on population changes and the labour force conducted at the end of 2022, and published recently by the National Bureau of Statistics in the 2023 China Population and Employment Statistical Yearbook. They...

US. Largest U.S. corporate pension plans’ funding ratio hits 100% – WTW

The largest U.S. corporate pension plans' aggregate funding ratio reached 100% at the end of 2023, according to a new estimate from Willis Towers Watson. The analysis of pension plan data of 358 Fortune 1000 companies with defined benefit plans estimates the ratio increased from 98% at the end of 2022. WTW's estimated pension plan assets totaled $1.19 trillion as of Dec. 31, a decline of 1% from the previous year due to an active year in pension risk transfer transactions...

Huge risks for pensions in South Africa

South Africa will have a new two-pot retirement system by September this year, but there are several risks facing members and the industry. As the name suggests, the two-pot retirement system will have two pots – savings and retirement savings. The savings pot will hold a maximum of one-third of all retirement savings and will be accessible prior to retirement. The retirement pot will hold a minimum of two-thirds of all retirement savings and will only be accessible at retirement. A third vested...

Nigeria. Stakeholders Worry Over Slow Pace Of Micro Pension Plan

The ever slow pace with which Micro Pension Plan (MPP) is being subscribed to has been a source for concern for the operators, regulators and other stake­holders. Launched by the immediate past Pres­ident Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, four years down the line not much has been achieved in terms of numbers of contrib­utors and of course, micro pension assets under management. The MPP was launched to bring into the pension net, work­ers in the informal sector of the economy who are...

US. California Offering Health Insurance To Undocumented Immigrants: What To Know

Undocumented adults between the ages of 26 and 49 in California will qualify for health insurance under the state’s Medi-Cal program beginning Monday, provided they meet eligibility requirements for the program, which is designed to insure low income residents. This move expands the state’s health insurance coverage to include all undocumented immigrants—the state previously only covered undocumented children, those between 19 and 25 and those 50 years and older.​​ This expansion—which was approved in legislation in May—will make around an additional 700,000 undocumented residents eligible...

South Korean president set to reform pensions, labor and education

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has shown a steadfast commitment to implementing sweeping reforms in labor, education, and pensions, as he acknowledged in his recent New Year address. The President’s pledge mirrors his unwavering resolve to address the long-standing rigidity of the nation’s job market, enhance the quality of education, and ensure the sustainability of the pension system. This commitment marks these policy areas as likely focal points for his administration’s significant legislative and practical efforts. Addressing Labor Concerns President Yoon’s...