November 2025
10Nov

US. The Realistic Minimum Retirement Savings Needed, According to Experts

You may have heard you need at least $1 million in the bank to retire. The truth is, a comfortable retirement will look different for everyone. Some people might need much more than that, and some might only need $700,000 to retire comfortably. So what’s a more realistic minimum number you should aim for? Why the $1 Million Rule Doesn’t Work for Everyone Retirement costs can look very different depending on where you live, how healthy you are, whether you have a...

November 10, 2025
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10Nov

UK. Radical reforms to State Pension system proposed as government battles rising bills – Steve Webb

Experts at pension consultancy LCP specialising in State Pension policy and in demographic trends have joined forces to recommend major changes to the State Pension system. LCP’s ideas have been fed into the Government’s review of the State Pension Age, and would help to square the circle between the need to increase pension ages and the need to avoid penalising those whose life expectancy is much lower than average. One key measure used by the Government to assess the sustainability...

November 10, 2025
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07Nov

US. Federal Guarantees Should Continue After Pension Risk Transfers

Nationally recognized ERISA attorneys Kevin O'Brien and Spencer Walters of Ivins, Phillips & Barker (IPB) have released a new white paper, "The Forgotten Promise: Why PBGC Retirement Benefit Guarantees Should Continue After Pension Risk Transfer Transactions."  Their paper challenges the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's decades-old position that retirees lose federal protection once pensions are converted to annuities – a stance the authors argue contradicts the statute, legislative history, and the PBGC's own original interpretation. The paper traces how, in 1981, the PBGC took the...

November 7, 2025
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07Nov

UK. DB Funding Code offers trustees ‘opportunity to rethink investment governance’

The updated Defined Benefit (DB) Funding Code gives trustees a valuable opportunity to rethink their investment governance and focus more strategically on their scheme’s long-term objectives, Russell Investments fiduciary manager and client CIO, Aqib Merchant, has said. Speaking at the Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) Annual Conference, Merchant said the new regime should prompt trustee boards to reassess how their time and resources are allocated as they move towards endgame. “Endgame objectives and the DB Funding Code go hand in...

November 7, 2025
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07Nov

The real obstacle to EU capital market integration is unreformed pension systems

A pension system crisis is looming in the European Union. As their populations age, EU countries must address their often alarmingly high levels of unfunded public pension liabilities, which typically vastly exceed countries’ gross public debt levels (Figure 1). These liabilities are calculated from current life expectancies, effective retirement ages and pension benefit levels. Many, if not all, EU governments will in the coming years have to change these pension system provisions and renege on earlier promises made to...

November 7, 2025
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06Nov

Pension funds risk 33 per cent return loss from failed climate transition: Ortec

A failed global transition to a low-carbon economy could slash pension fund returns by as much as 33 per cent in the next 25 years, according to new modeling by Ortec Finance. In the face of rising physical and transition risks tied to climate change, Ortec Finance’s managing director of climate scenarios and sustainability, Maurits van Joolingen, says the modeling captures the profound uncertainty surrounding climate change, from technology deployment to geopolitical responses, but the risks to long-term portfolio performance...

November 6, 2025
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06Nov

More than half of Koreans distrust national pension amid backlash over premium hike plan

More than half of Koreans distrust the national pension system, with most respondents viewing current contribution levels as burdensome and opposing planned premium increases, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Korea Employers Federation (KEF). In the survey, 55.7 percent of respondents said they do not trust the National Pension Service, exceeding the 44.3 percent who said they do by 11.4 percentage points. Distrust was particularly pronounced among younger generations, with 69.2 percent of respondents in their 20s and 74.7...

November 6, 2025
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06Nov

UK savers pulling cash from pensions ahead of budget, money managers say

 British money managers are reporting a jump in people withdrawing cash from their pensions before this month's budget, amid fears for their tax advantages as the government warns it needs to make "hard choices" to prop up public finances. Most British savers can receive up to 25% of their pension as a tax-free lump sum. Some experts on fiscal policy have speculated that Rachel Reeves, the finance minister, might reduce the amount that can be withdrawn tax-free, a potential motive for savers to withdraw...

November 6, 2025
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06Nov

Japan’s welfare crackdown targets foreign residents over unpaid pensions, health insurance

As Japan’s social contract comes under strain, Sanae Takaichi is moving swiftly on a campaign promise to make foreign residents shoulder their fair share of the health and pensions burden. The proposed reforms, set in motion just weeks after Takaichi’s historic appointment as the country’s first female prime minister, aim to address mounting public concern about inequality and the sustainability of its ageing welfare state. At her first ministerial meeting dedicated to issues regarding foreign nationals, Takaichi on Tuesday directed cabinet...

November 6, 2025
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05Nov

Boom of Private Markets in Latin America: What Trends Are We Seeing?

“Latin America’s Private Markets—Particularly in Private Equity, Venture Capital, and Infrastructure—Are Entering a New Phase of Maturity. According to a report by J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Latin America is no longer seen merely as a source of isolated opportunities but as a structurally relevant market. Although capital flows have decreased compared to the peaks of 2021, the resilience of funds and institutional consolidation are strengthening the foundation of the investment ecosystem. The pandemic was a transformative catalyst. During those years,...

November 5, 2025
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