July 2026
28Jul

US. Policy Uncertainty Is Muddling Retirement Planning – and Advisors Are Just as Confused

Planning for retirement has always been hard, but when government policy is unpredictable, it makes it even more challenging. For example, changes to Social Security and Medicare can put basic security at risk; changes to the tax system can scramble a household’s finances; and ballooning government debt can increase interest rates and slow the economy. A 2025 survey conducted by Greenwald Research of 1,443 individuals ages 45-79 with over $100,000 in investable assets revealed that older Americans were keenly aware...

July 28, 2026
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28Jul

Africa’s Largest Fund Manager Is Under Investigation. Who Is Protecting Public Servants’ Pensions?

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) manages the retirement savings of more than a million public servants in South  Africa, making any question over its governance a matter of public concern. Development Diaries reports that the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has opened a formal investigation into the PIC, which is  Africa’s largest asset manager, following the suspension of its chief executive. According to Daily Maverick, the regulator’s intervention has deepened a governance crisis already facing the institution, while TimesLIVE reported that the developments have also fuelled tensions...

July 28, 2026
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28Jul

US. Only 14% of Gen X Has a Pension. For a 53-Year-Old Riding an AI-Heavy S&P 500, Social Security Is the Only Floor Left.

Only 14% of Gen X has a pension, and roughly 40 to 50% of the S&P 500 is tied to AI-themed stocks, leaving Social Security as the only guaranteed income floor. Delaying Social Security from 62 to 70 raises a monthly benefit from roughly $1,680 to $2,976, and that inflation-adjusted gap compounds across a 25-year retirement. The Social Security trust fund is projected to exhaust reserves in 2032, potentially cutting payouts to 78% of scheduled benefits right as...

July 28, 2026
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28Jul

Can Kenya’s Sh2.81 trillion pension fund industry help build the country’s future?

Kenya is preparing to unlock trillions of shillings in pension savings to help finance major infrastructure, manufacturing and county development projects in what could become one of the biggest shifts in the country’s investment landscape. With pension assets now standing at Sh2.81 trillion, the government believes retirement savings can play a much bigger role in building roads, industrial parks, railways, power projects and affordable housing while still generating attractive returns for millions of workers. The strategy has gained fresh momentum following...

July 28, 2026
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27Jul

UK pension giants join forces to unlock £1bn to back Britain’s innovators

A consortium of some of the UK’s largest pension providers, today (Monday 27 July) announce their commitment to explore the establishment of a first-of-its-kind vehicle dedicated to investing in scaling UK businesses. The ambition is a fund of sufficient scale to target the best opportunities born out of UK innovation in science and technology. The fund would seek to deliver strong long-term returns for pension providers and their members by investing in successful UK companies. By helping innovative businesses scale...

July 27, 2026
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27Jul

Nigeria. Hardship threatens personal pension plan, 92% of accounts dormant

More than 90 per cent of informal sector workers who enrolled in the Personal Pension Plan, PPP, have abandoned the scheme, as subscribers blame worsening economic hardship for their inability to make regular pension contributions. Financial Vanguard findings show that only 17,320, representing eight per cent of the 215,412 registered Retirement Savings Accounts, RSAs, under the scheme, had received contributions as at December 2025, while the remaining 198,092 accounts, representing 92 per cent, were dormant. Many traders and artisans also expressed ignorance of...

July 27, 2026
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27Jul

US. How Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z Differ in Retirement Preparedness

Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. Less than half (42%) of Americans are on track for retirement, according to Vanguard research. Of all the generations, baby boomers are among the least prepared: just 40% are on track to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. Gen X (41%) and millennials (42%) are close behind. Gen Z (47%) is slightly more prepared.1 According to a survey by Northwestern Mutual, the typical Gen Zer with savings began putting money aside...

July 27, 2026
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24Jul

U.S. Public Pensions Reach Best Funded Status Since 2009 – But Remain $1.13 Trillion Short

 America's state and local pension systems are in their strongest funded position since 2009, according to State of Pensions 2026, Equable Institute's seventh annual analysis of 253 statewide and municipal retirement systems across all 50 states and D.C. The national funded ratio is projected to reach 85.0% in FY2026, up 3.9 points from 81.2% in 2025 — the fourth consecutive year of improvement and the best level since 2009. Total unfunded liabilities fell to an estimated $1.13 trillion, down from...

July 24, 2026
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24Jul

UK. Torsten Bell reappointment welcomed as pension reforms gather pace

Torsten Bell’s reappointment to his dual role at the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Treasury has been broadly welcomed by the pensions industry. However, experts have reiterated the need for stability and a sharper focus on delivering reforms. Bell will remain pensions minister following the government reshuffle confirmed on 22 July, avoiding what former pensions minister Steve Webb described as “a third new pensions minister in barely two years”. Webb, now a partner at consultancy LCP, said frequent ministerial changes...

July 24, 2026
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24Jul

US. DOL Brief Sides With Bristol-Myers in PRT Appeal

The U.S. Department of Labor has expanded its campaign to defend employers’ utilization of pension risk transfer transactions by filing an amicus brief in a Bristol-Myers Squibb appeal, joining a coalition of business groups, insurers and state attorneys general urging the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a district court decision that allowed retirees’ ERISA claims to proceed against a Bristol-Myers Squibb pension risk transfer. The filings collectively argue that the plaintiffs—company pension fund beneficiaries—lack Article III standing...

July 24, 2026
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