May 2026
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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06May

US. For some older people, retirement today means unretiring

On weekday mornings, Myndie Friedman is out the door just as the sun rises over the Atlantic Ocean, a block from her home in Long Beach, New York. Friedman's first stop is a 7:30 a.m. bus, which she takes to a local train station for a roughly hourlong trip into Manhattan's Midtown neighborhood. Then she hops on the subway before exiting and hoofing it 10 minutes to her office job. Total commute: two hours door to desk, along with another...

May 6, 2026
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06May

UK. Why we won’t see another pensions bill any time soon

The ink has barely dried on the finalised Pension Schemes Bill, but already attention is turning towards the next legislation that may hit the industry. Many of the Pension Schemes Bill’s elements require secondary legislation and industry consultations, which policymakers will be working on over the coming months. But there are other policy issues that could require legislation in the future, including the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) ongoing consultation on trusteeship and administration. Pensions Expert reported last year that the Pensions...

May 6, 2026
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06May

IMANI Analyst: Ghana Pension Funds Can Finance the Energy Sector

As Ghana confronts the long-term challenge of building a stable, reliable, and affordable energy sector, a policy analyst at IMANI Africa is proposing an unconventional source of capital: the billions of cedis quietly accumulating in the country’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 pension funds. John Sitsofe Mensah, Associate for Technology Policy and Innovation at IMANI’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (CSTI), argues that Ghana has been sitting on a largely untapped financing opportunity while continuing to court foreign...

May 6, 2026
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06May

Early retirement may be contributing to Gen X’s cognitive decline

While economists sound alarms about Gen Z unemployment, new research points to a quieter crisis: Gen X workers retiring years before 65—and paying a steep cognitive price for it. About 35% of workers who have been unemployed for more than 24 weeks are over the age of 55, according to an April 2025 analysis. Over the last 35 years, the retirement age for men in particular has gotten younger, with about half of retirees saying they made the choice to...

May 6, 2026
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04May

UK Pension Assets Fall £232 Billion in Six Years: deVere Group Analysis

The total value of UK-funded occupational pension schemes has fallen by £232 billion since 2019, new data shows. The dramatic slide comes despite the fact that overall membership grew by 1.6 million people in the same period. The fall reveals the full impact of the 2022 Truss Mini-budget, from which UK defined benefit contributions have yet to recover. Analysis by the deVere Group of ONS data shows a peak-to-trough of minus £757 bn, or −37.4 per cent. The market-value measure (assets minus non-pension...

May 4, 2026
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04May

Hundreds of thousands of Germans take to the streets over threat of pension and benefit cuts

In Germany, 366,000 people took part in protests against social benefit cuts. Trade unions are opposing reductions in pensions and healthcare spending. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for May Day demonstrations in Germany. Participants of the rallies warned the government that they are ready to fight against cuts to pensions, social benefits, and the healthcare system, UNN reports, citing DW. "Our work first, your profit second" — under this slogan, more than 400 events were held across Germany, according...

May 4, 2026
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04May

The Wage Illusion: Pakistan’s Informal Economy and the Crisis of Shared Prosperity

On the first of May, the world does more than commemorate labour; it measures the distance between economic growth and those who actually produce it. The origins of this day lie in the Haymarket Affair in Chicago, where a demand as basic as an eight-hour workday was met with violence, yet ultimately reshaped global labour standards. Nearly 140 years later, that legacy exists alongside a global economy in which, according to the International Labour Organization (ILOSTAT, 2023), over 60%...

May 4, 2026
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04May

How to make public spaces accessible, safe and attractive for an aging population

To be truly inclusive, public outdoor spaces must meet the needs of the entire population, regardless of age, physical ability or mobility. Although many cities have adopted universal accessibility policies in recent years, it’s important to consider whether these policies have actually improved accessibility and the experiences of citizens who live there. Public spaces can become a source of fatigue and stress for older people if their features are not properly designed. Several fields of research in urban design, urban planning, and...

May 4, 2026
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April 2026
30Apr

US. These workers are allowed to save $35,000 a year in their 401(k)s. Here’s how many actually do it.

Super catch-up contribution rates are low: ‘Most people don’t have that kind of discretionary income’ Super catch-up contributions — which allow older workers to pack their 401(k) accounts to the tune of nearly $35,000 a year — might be a little less than super when it comes to participation rates, in part because most workers can’t afford to make them. Under the Secure 2.0 legislation passed by Congress in 2022, people ages 60 to 63 who participate in workplace retirement plans...

April 30, 2026
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