February 2026

UK. Pension risk transfer market set to reach £70bn in 2026

The value of deals completed in the UK’s pension risk transfer market is expected to reach £70bn in 2026, according to WTW’s annual De-risking Report. Total risk transferred to insurers and reinsurers was forecast to hit £70bn, an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year. Last year, the UK’s total risk transfer market crossed the line of £500bn worth of transactions since the market was founded, WTW said, and the firm’s report indicated that growth was set to continue. WTW said the bulk annuity...

Germany has the oldest workers in the EU

The German population is above average age, and of course this also applies to the labor market. This is dramatic, especially considering the future of the pension system. In no other European Union member state is the working population as old as in Germany. In 2024, of the approximately 40.9 million employed, 9.8 million of them were between the ages of 55 and 64, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday. This corresponds to a percentage of almost a quarter (24.0...

US. Investors First: The New Rules of Retirement

Kunal Kapoor: Good afternoon everybody, and welcome to the latest episode of our Investors First series. Today, we are going to talk about the new rules of retirement planning, and I’m thrilled to welcome two of my colleagues and friends here to join me today: Brock Johnson, who leads Morningstar’s retirement business, and Christine Benz, who’s our director of personal finance and retirement planning. Welcome, both of you. Great to have you here at a moment when it feels...

The fund winners storming into 2026

Last year turned out to be pretty good for investors, even though US President Donald Trump’s unorthodox approach to trade negotiations did not make it plain sailing. There was also an uneasy geopolitical backdrop, with major wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, alongside persistent conflicts across parts of Africa and Asia. However, all the major stock markets that we regularly monitor made annual gains. The best performer was the Brazilian Ibovespa, which delivered a one-year return of 34%. Closer...

AI and technology shouldn’t replace retirement planning and policy: auditor

Naz Randeria, director of Reliance Auditing Services, was responding to a claim by tech billionaire Elon Musk that retirement savings could become irrelevant in an age of AI abundance. “It may sound visionary, but Australia’s superannuation system exists precisely because the future is uncertain, not guaranteed,” Randeria said. Musk stated in a recent appearance on the podcast Moonshots with Peter Diamandis, that people should not worry about saving for retirement as it will not be necessary in 10-20 years’ time. He suggested...

South Korea. Seniors Drive 80% of Employment Insurance Growth as Youth Subscribers Decline

Last month, the majority of new subscribers to employment insurance were seniors aged 60 and older, according to statistics. While the rapid increase in working seniors drove the growth in new subscribers, the number of young people aged 29 and younger enrolled in employment insurance actually decreased. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s report, “Labor Market Trends Based on Employment Administration Statistics,” released on the 9th, the number of regular employment insurance subscribers as of the end of...

Will falling birth rates mean a more conservative world?

George Orwell was on to it almost 80 years ago — the problem of below-replacement level birth rates. In a short book written for the Britain in Pictures series in 1947, written just as Britain was emerging from wartime rigors into an uncharted postwar future, Orwell noted that despite an upward blip in birth rates during the war, “the general curve is downward. The position is not quite so dangerous as it is sometimes said to be, but can only...

Danish pensions’ US investment dilemma

Pension funds in Denmark are under government pressure to invest more at home, with some reassessing their US exposure amid concerns over financial stability and geopolitical tensions. AkademikerPension and PFA recently cut their holdings of US Treasuries, for instance. Similarly, investors across Europe and beyond are considering – or undertaking – their own action. President Donald Trump’s threats to seize Danish-ruled Greenland, though, are of particular relevance to Copenhagen. Decisions like these cannot be taken lightly or quickly, as Menno van den Elsaker of Dutch...

Birthrates Are Down. That Can Be a Sign of Progress

Dear reader, Five years ago when we started Headway, an initiative at The Times that considers the world’s challenges through the lens of progress, I wrote that measurement drives nearly every area of human endeavor. We chart our impact on the climate by measuring the amount of carbon in the air and the steady climb of average temperatures; we watch inflation and G.D.P. to understand the health of the economy. On subject after subject, when these indicators point the way we...

Swiss Serenity Launches Free Second Pillar Asset Search Tool

Swiss Serenity has launched a free asset search tool that facilitates access to second pillar asset information. This search service allows every Swiss citizen to verify whether they have dispersed or forgotten occupational pension assets by following a simplified process. This tool addresses a real administrative need: according to the Central Office 2nd Pillar, billions of francs in pension assets remain unclaimed in Switzerland, often due to employer changes or periods of professional inactivity. Context: Dispersed and Forgotten Assets Many Swiss citizens have second pillar...