September 2025
23Sep

US. Pension Risk Transfer drops in first half

For the second consecutive quarter, activity in the pension risk transfer (PRT) market declined, resulting in sales of $11.5 billion through 2Q, a 56% decrease year-over-year, according to LIMRA’s U.S. Group Annuity Risk Transfer Survey. While the industry is off to a slower start compared to the last few years, which was widely anticipated by most industry insiders, Nationwide’s head of PRT, Paula Cole expects marketplace activity to pick up in the second half of the year. Despite this...

September 23, 2025
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23Sep

Nigeria. Micro pension surges nine-fold as tech drives adoption

The Micro Pension Plan (MPP), otherwise known as the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), has grown nine-fold in four years, driven by technology and increased awareness. The plan grew from N168.63 million in 2021 to N1.46 billion in 2025, according to data from the National Pension Commission (PenCom), reflecting that Nigerians are taking steps to secure their future. This trend has also been seen in the voluntary contributions segment under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), where participation grew steadily from...

September 23, 2025
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23Sep

UK. PensionBee Urges Pensions Commission to Deliver Bold Reforms to Secure Better Retirements for Millions of UK Savers

Millions risk being condemned to retirement poverty unless the UK’s pensions system is overhauled, PensionBee has warned, as it calls on the Pensions Commission to deliver bold reforms to tackle deep-rooted structural inequalities. In a letter to the Commission, the leading online pension provider highlights how women, unpaid carers, the self-employed and lower-paid workers are being locked out of the progress achieved through Auto-Enrolment, while many others are being held back by a pensions market that is too complex and...

September 23, 2025
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23Sep

US. These Trump policies put your retirement at risk. Here’s how to plan for the worst.

Essential strategies to protect your retirement amid increasing uncertainty As the old saying goes: Plan for the worst and hope for the best. If ever you need an incentive to plan for the worst, consider reading about the ways in which the Trump administration's policies may be worsening Americans' retirement prospects and increasing uncertainty in the latest paper - "Projecting New Policy Proposals' Effects on Americans' Retirement Prospects" - written by Lauren Valastro, an assistant professor of law at Texas Tech...

September 23, 2025
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23Sep

How fiduciary duty is shaping pension fund attitudes towards climate risk

From an individual perspective, pensions are promises. Promises of dignity in old age, of rewards deferred, of stability earned over time. From a systemic perspective, however, pensions are systems engineers. Standing at the junction of what is and what will be – set the money aside now to live a good life in the future – pensions effectively enable economic systems to perpetuate themselves. Through investments, they silently design our future or, more often than not, prolong our past decisions. In...

September 23, 2025
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22Sep

Aging in the U.S. and Korea: Same Sphere, Different Realities

Both the United States and South Korea are experiencing rapid population aging, but the patterns and social responses differ greatly. The U.S., already moving beyond an “aged society” into a “super-aged society,” is turning this change into a field of opportunity. Korea, meanwhile, is aging at the fastest pace in the world, but its institutions and perceptions still lag behind. In particular, when we look at five areas where the U.S. has shown distinctive developments—△labor market △long-term care & healthcare...

September 22, 2025
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22Sep

Ghana Unlocks Pension Assets for Economic Transformation

Ghana’s ambitious 24-Hour Economy initiative has secured a groundbreaking partnership with the country’s largest pension fund to channel retirement savings into infrastructure development and small business financing, addressing the program’s estimated $4 billion funding gap through domestic capital mobilization. With domestic pension assets projected to reach GHC 100 billion (≈$8.3 billion) by 2025, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with Petra Trust Company Limited, Ghana’s leading corporate pension trustee, to invest retirement funds through Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF)...

September 22, 2025
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22Sep

US. Strength in numbers: Why scale is reshaping the future of retirement plans

For CFOs and finance team leaders, the pressure to deliver more value with fewer resources is relentless. Retirement plan management—often a top-three employee benefit—has become a focal point, as organizations navigate rising costs, complex compliance, and growing expectations from employees and regulators alike. Many employers still manage their 401(k) plans in isolation, bearing the full weight of administration and risk without the advantages of scale. Today, as regulatory scrutiny and litigation intensify, and employees demand stronger retirement security, the...

September 22, 2025
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22Sep

Nigeria. PenCom Redesigns Pension Plan, Targets Informal Sector

The National Pension Commission has announced new measures to expand pension coverage in Nigeria’s vast informal sector by leveraging super agents and financial technology platforms to simplify onboarding into the country’s rebranded Personal Pension Plan. The initiative was disclosed at the recent 2025 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors, themed “Strengthening Insurance and Pension Frameworks for Better Economy.” Since the launch of the Micro Pension Plan in 2019, uptake has remained modest. With around 200,000 contributors...

September 22, 2025
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22Sep

Germany proposes a solution to the pension crisis: a monthly ‘salary’ for children aged 6 and over

“The welfare state we have today is no longer financially sustainable,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated at a CDU event at the end of August. His remarks follow the government’s agreement to push through a reform of the pension system, aimed at containing the deficit. To address this, Merz proposed incentivizing private savings from an early age as a potential solution. The “Early Start Pension” initiative suggests that children aged six to 18 attending school would receive €10 per month from the German government, which would...

September 22, 2025
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