September 2025
03Sep

US. Public Pension Fund Returns Beat Their Benchmarks

U.S. public pension funds’ returns were well beyond their targets for the third consecutive year, reporting a median investment return of 11.3% for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to investment consulting firm Callan. All of the major asset classes reported gains for the year ending June 30, 2025. The plans’ returns, which left their average assumed rate of return of 7.0% in the dust by 430 basis points, were led by foreign equities and domestic equities, which gained 17.7%...

September 3, 2025
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03Sep

UK. Employees risk retirement shortfall as saving priorities shift too late

Employees could face a significant retirement funding gap as many delay prioritising their pension until their 40s and 50s, highlighting the need for better engagement strategies, according to research from Fidelity International. The study, based on the views of more than 3,000 of Fidelity’s workplace pension members, revealed the financial “balancing act” employees face when trying to manage multiple goals, with retirement saving often losing out to more immediate pressures such as property and everyday expenses. For younger workers aged 18-34,...

September 3, 2025
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03Sep

Colgate-Palmolive reaches $332-million settlement with employees over pensions

Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N), opens new tab agreed to pay $332 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit accusing the consumer products company of making mistakes in calculating its employees' pensions. A preliminary settlement covering 1,177 employees was filed on Friday night in Manhattan federal court and requires a judge's approval. Employees would receive about $232.7 million after lawyers' fees and expenses are deducted. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. The case had its...

September 3, 2025
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03Sep

Canada. Half of retirement income now depends on private savings

Canada’s affordability crisis is leaving many households unable to save for retirement, while outdated public policies no longer reflect current realities. The Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA) has released an action plan that calls for reform to strengthen Canada’s retirement savings framework and close gaps in the system. Andy Mitchell, SIMA’s president and CEO, said “Our plan lays out achievable, evidence-based strategies that will boost retirement security, enhance flexibility, reduce pressure on public programs, and support long-term economic growth.” He added...

September 3, 2025
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02Sep

How Africa is grappling with an impending aging crisis

Across Africa, a stunning success story has quietly taken hold: Decades of progress have begun delivering a wave of longevity that promises to reshape the demographics of the continent. But as lifespans lengthen and villages begin to fill with the old, pensions and social safety nets are minimal, medical care is lacking and routine problems of age are so commonly unaddressed that cataracts turn to blindness and minor infections end in death. Longer lives, time and again, come with more...

September 2, 2025
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02Sep

US. Retirement Planning In 2025: What’s On People’s Minds

If retirement has been on your mind lately, you’re not alone. A record number of Americans are hitting retirement age this year, and it’s clear that rising living expenses and health care costs are giving many people pause. Whether you're approaching retirement or already settling into your golden years, now’s the time to check in on your financial game plan. Confidence Is Shaky And Inflation Is a Big Culprit According to Fidelity’s latest State of Retirement Planning study, just 67% of...

September 2, 2025
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02Sep

UK. ​Schemes urged to probe asset managers’ net zero commitments

Pension schemes and institutional investors should look beyond industry pledges when assessing whether their asset managers are genuinely committed to net zero, consultancy LCP has said. The warning follows recent changes and an ongoing review of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. While such pledges provide a useful indication of intent, including target setting and progress reporting, LCP said pension schemes must scrutinise managers’ actions more closely to ensure climate goals are credible. LCP has suggested four questions for pension schemes...

September 2, 2025
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02Sep

US. Big Change To Workplace Investing

Ordinary Americans are about to see the biggest change to retirement investing perhaps since 401(k) plans replaced traditional pension plans. President Trump’s executive order permitting private equity and private credit plans, presumably along with crypto investments, to be included in qualified plans will democratize the investing world—at least in theory. For at least a decade, prominent people like former Blackstone No. 2 executive Hamilton James have made this argument: that since 401(k) investors in their 20s and 30s were locking...

September 2, 2025
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02Sep

As Asia’s over-65 population nearly doubles by 2050, insurers face new financial risks: Swiss Re

As Asia’s population ages rapidly, insurers must adjust their strategies to meet the changing needs of older adults, according to Ping Ji, Matt Singleton, and Torben Swart of Swiss Re Group, a global reinsurance company that provides research and risk management support to life and health insurers. In 2000, only 6% of the region’s population was aged 65 or older; by 2025, this is projected to reach 10%, and by 2050 nearly one in five people will be in this...

September 2, 2025
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01Sep

Global depopulation amidst gains in average longevity

A United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) report titled “World Fertility 2024” shows a gradual decrease in global fertility. It says the global fertility rate in 2024 was 2.2 births per woman on average, down from about 5 in the 1960s, and 3.3 in 1990. It is projected to continue declining, reaching the replacement level of 2.1 in 2050, and falling further to 1.8 births per woman in 2100. “Trends in fertility, together with trends in...

September 1, 2025
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