September 2025
10Sep

How Crypto and Private Equity Are Rewriting Risks of US Retirement Savings

America’s nest eggs are taking a risky turn. For the first time, ordinary Americans’ 401(k) plans—the backbone of retirement security for more than 60 million people—are being open to bitcoin and private equity. Introduction 401k plans are one of the most popular ways working Americans save for retirement, giving them option to invest some of their salaries in publicly traded securities tax-free. Since May 2025, US retirement plans are opening the door to private markets and cryptocurrency investments, with some 401(k)...

September 10, 2025
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10Sep

DWP one-off payment for Brits receiving State Pension and other benefits this year

Nearly 24 million people across the UK are claiming at least one benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including 13 million pensioners receiving State Pension payments, 5.7 million on Universal Credit, and 3.7 million Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants. However, many people, such as those newly retired or those receiving disability benefits like the new devolved Pension Age Disability Payment or Adult/Child Disability Payment, might not be aware of an annual bonus paid to certain claimants before...

September 10, 2025
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10Sep

Ghana. Retired Officials Face Scrutiny Over Dual Salary Entitlements

Ghana grapples with constitutional questions as debate intensifies over whether retired public officers should receive full compensation when appointed to new positions, potentially earning combined monthly payments exceeding ₵115,000. The controversy centers on retired Chief Justices who collect ₵65,000 monthly pensions while earning ₵50,000 as Council of State members, creating what critics call an unsustainable fiscal burden during economic uncertainty. U.S.-based legal scholar Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare has emerged as a prominent voice challenging the practice. The academic has questioned why...

September 10, 2025
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10Sep

Shell outsources pension investment to Goldman in $40bn multi-country deal

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has landed one of the biggest fiduciary management mandates in a multi-country deal with oil giant Shell. The company has agreed to take over the management of approximately $40bn (£29.5bn) of assets, including the main UK defined benefit scheme, the £11.1bn Shell Contributory Pension Plan. The total consists of separate awards from Shell pension entities in six different jurisdictions, including the UK, Germany, and North America, according to a press release from Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)....

September 10, 2025
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10Sep

Why some of Canada’s biggest pensions are slamming the brakes on U.S. real estate investment

Two of Canada’s largest pension funds say it is getting harder to justify investing in real estate south of the border, but the enormity of the market keeps the United States on their radar. Real estate executives from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo), members of Canada’s Maple Eight with close to $300 billion in assets between them at year-end, told a real estate conference run by NAIOP, known as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, that they...

September 10, 2025
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09Sep

Top pension funds reach all-time global record

The world’s largest 300 pension funds reached a new US$ 24.4 trillion record in terms of their total assets under management, according to this year’s Global Top 300 Pension Funds report by leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute. The research highlights high-level trends in the pension fund industry and provides information on the changing composition of the top 300 list of pension funds globally, including the characteristics and investment allocations of these pension funds. This year’s...

September 9, 2025
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09Sep

Germany. Demographics hit pension systems with full force

Bolstering the still underdeveloped second and third pillars of retirement provision is unavoidable. Expanding occupational and private pensions via pension funds and insurers would not only help shrink – or even close – the private savings gap, but also ease the strain on public budgets by stabilising or even reducing transfers to the state pension system. And not least, it would mobilise additional capital for investment through contribution funds channelled into capital markets. Lack of ambition The new CDU/CSU/SPD coalition government,...

September 9, 2025
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09Sep

Australia. Why retirees are turning to the gig economy

Ms Symons retired from financial planning about three years ago and was relying on the age pension for an income. But as a renting divorcée with four children and 11 grandchildren, it was hard to make ends meet. The maximum pension payment the 73-year-old could get amounted to about $675 a week. "When you take your rent out of that, the noodles are looking good [but] I don't want to eat noodles," she said. Being a driver paid per job...

September 9, 2025
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09Sep

Humanoid Robots Will Cater to China’s Aging Population

Robots will play a growing role in caring for China's elderly, industry insiders say, as robotics firms move to tap into the country's expanding "silver economy." Why It Matters China, like the rest of East Asia, is grappling with a flagging birth rate coupled with a fast-aging workforce. People aged 65 and older already make up about 15 percent of its 1.4 billion citizens, according to United Nations data. Demographers expect China to join Japan and South Korea as a "super-aged" society, where more...

September 9, 2025
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09Sep

Swiss pension funds warned on equity, bond concentration risks

Swiss pension funds are facing rising concentration risks in domestic and global equities, bonds, and regional exposures, particularly the US, according to the Pensionskassen-Jahrbuch 2025 report published by consultancy PPCmetrics. The study shows that around two-thirds (67.5%) of total pension assets of CHF859bn (€921bn) are invested in bonds and equities. The remaining 32.5% is allocated to real estate, alternatives and infrastructure. Within fixed income, an average 24.2% of total assets are invested in bonds denominated in Swiss francs, and just under 12% in...

September 9, 2025
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