June 2026

UK. Pension saving plummets when employees move into self-employment

Currently, only around one-in-five self-employed workers save into a private pension, compared with around four-in-five employees. There is widespread agreement that there is an urgent need for policies addressing low pension participation among the self-employed, as recently highlighted by the Second Pensions Commission. A key potential moment for such policies is the point when employees move into self-employment. Currently, even among employees consistently saving in a pension, more than three-quarters stop saving in a pension once they start being self-employed. This...

France faces deeper pension deficit as population ages

France is on track to run a larger-than-expected pension deficit from 2045 as falling birth rates and an ageing population put increasing pressure on the country's retirement system, according to the body that monitors its sustainability. The French Pensions Advisory Council said a recent downward revision to the fertility rate had worsened the outlook, with the gap between contributions and pension payments now expected to reach 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2070. Falling birth rate worsens outlook The updated forecast was based...

Nepal government plans to force mass retirement of civil servants

The government is preparing to introduce a legislative provision to summarily retire around 10,000 civil servants in a single sweep. The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative, Federal Affairs and General Administration has drafted a fresh Federal Civil Service Bill containing a special, one-time provision targeted at bureaucratic downsizing. According to this proposal, any civil servant who has either completed 30 years of service or reached the age of 55 will be forcefully retired upon the enactment of the law. Data...

A $600 Billion Experiment Kicks Off at the Biggest US Pension Fund

Stephen Gilmore’s 40-year tour of global finance has given him a front-row seat to the Russian debt crisis, the bailout of a financial giant and the rise of sovereign wealth funds. It’s also taken him to a war zone. As the International Monetary Fund’s representative in Tajikistan in the 1990s, Gilmore hunkered down in his office for three days as a militia advanced on the capital city of Dushanbe. Now he has what many consider the hardest job in investing....

Spain. Pension specialists denounce the short-term approach and demand reforms with a long-term horizon

Several pension specialists have denounced this Tuesday the short-term nature that, in their opinion, has dominated the debate on the future of the system and have urged to face its sustainability with a long-term perspective. In a conference promoted by Funcas and the Association of Journalists of Economic Information (APIE), the professor of Sociology at UNED and researcher at Funcas, Elisa Chuliá, stated that the 2023 pension reform has implied a "paradigm shift" compared to previous modifications. As she explained, while...

Indonesia: OECD delegation commends reform measures in insurance and pension fund sectors

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has commended the various reform measures being implemented by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in the insurance and pension fund sectors to strengthen financial sector resilience, enhance consumer protection, and encourage healthy and sustainable industry development. A statement released by the OJK said that the remarks were made by Mr Pablo Antolín, Head of Insurance and Pensions at the OECD, who is on a fact-finding mission. The OECD visit, from 5th to 11th June,...

UK. Smart Pension surpasses £10bn AUM

Smart Pension has surpassed £10bn in assets under management (AUM), meeting the government’s first ‘scale test’ ahead of the 2030 timeframe. The pension provider manages the pensions of two million members and 100,000 employers across the UK, and described the £10bn AUM mark as a “major milestone”. It is on track to meet the future mandatory scale thresholds, as set out in the Pension Schemes Act, having now surpassed the government’s initial £10bn AUM threshold ahead of the 2030 deadline and...

Norway’s oil fund shows gap between climate risk insight and action

Norway’s oil fund, NBIM, has not applied its framework for measuring climate and nature risk into moving away from fossil fuels, a report from Carbon Tracker finds. The mismatch is due to a mandate limit, political expectations, and an increasingly uncertain global climate policy environment. The findings reveal the limits of voluntary investor action. Norway’s oil fund (NBIM) has developed one of the most advanced frameworks for measuring climate and nature risk, but it has yet to apply those...

Cuba’s Elderly: Struggling Amid Sanctions and Economic Hardship

In Cuba, the elderly find themselves in dire straits as economic struggles, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions, tighten their grip on the island. The collapse of once-reliable state provisions leaves them vulnerable, with many unable to secure basic needs like food and healthcare. As Cuba’s population rapidly ages, the country faces a crisis as pensions shrink, prices soar, and essential services crumble. Despite being promised support in their old age, seniors now grapple with the harsh reality of insufficient services amid...

US. How Saving More and Starting Early Can Significantly Improve Retirement Happiness

Many retirees regret not saving enough or starting sooner, since both can shape their financial security and happiness later. Even small amounts saved early can grow significantly over time, thanks to the power of compounding interest. With longer lifespans and fewer pensions, saving more now can give you more room to enjoy retirement—not just cover the basics.Retirement has changed due to longer life spans, shrinking pensions, and rising health care costs. What was once a quiet chapter in...