February 2026

Why Is Japan’s Population Decreasing?

Japan’s population has been declining steadily since 2005 primarily because of a decrease in births, which have consistently been lower than the number of deaths per year. The birth rate in Japan dropped from about 19 per 1,000 people in 1970 to just 6 in 2023. Until the mid-1970s, the total fertility rate remained above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, the threshold needed for population stability, but that rate declined to a record low of 1.15 in 2024. Another factor has been a gradual shift...

Sri Lanka ends parliamentary pensions to prune perks for politicians

Sri Lanka’s parliament abolished pensions for all legislators and their widows on Tuesday, in line with a government pledge to prune the perks of politicians. “When people see the quality of debate and what members say in this House, they don’t think MPs deserve a pension,” Justice Minister Harsana Nanayakkara told parliament as it voted to stop pensions with immediate effect. The leftist government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake repealed the 49-year-old Parliamentary Pensions Act just months after withdrawing housing, vehicles and...

EU looks to pensions and capital markets to unlock private funding for defence and tech

EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, are again returning to an old problem with new urgency: how to persuade Europeans to move more of their household savings out of bank deposits and into longer-term investment, and how to do so across borders in a fragmented financial system. The discussion sits under the European Commission’s “Savings and Investments Union” (SIU) banner, which is presented as the successor framework to the long-running Capital Markets Union project. In...

UK. Industry urged to ‘break cycle of failed ideas’ on pensions adequacy

The pensions industry risks “sleepwalking into another generation of under-saving” unless it experiments with new approaches to member engagement, People's Pension has warned. The master trust argued that traditional, well-intentioned efforts to boost pensions adequacy had delivered limited success in recent years and called on the industry to support bolder, more innovative engagement strategies. In particular, the scheme urged greater focus on Generation Z, which it identified as the cohort most likely to opt out of pensions but with the longest...

Kenya. RBA Cracks Down on KSh72bn in Unpaid Pension Contributions with Stricter Penalties

The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) has launched a tough new drive to recover more than KSh72 billion in unpaid pension contributions, introducing stricter penalties and enforcement measures aimed at institutions that have deducted retirement deductions from workers’ pay but failed to remit them to pension schemes. The crackdown responds to a sharp increase in unremitted pension contributions, a problem that has eroded confidence in Kenya’s retirement benefits system and left millions of contributors at risk. RBA data show that...

Brain expert recommends learning new skills, taking on new challenges for healthy aging

When her husband of more than half a century died Maureen Caraco was left with a gaping hole in her life. Despite being in her early 80s and struggling to navigate her grief, she enrolled in a law degree. "I was pretty much at a loss as to what to do," Ms Caraco said. "It was really fantastic going to university, being with people who had the same purpose in life and the same interest, and I just felt so at home...

US. 1/3 Withdraw 401(k) Balances After Job Changes—What Is Driving This Trend?

Retirement savers are generally putting more into their 401(k) accounts these days, but much of the money Americans are saving for their future doesn’t end up lasting until then. That's because a large portion of employees withdraw their 401(k) balance in a lump sum when they leave a job, rather than rolling it over to their new employer or into another account, or leaving their balance where it is. One-third of those who have Vanguard-administered 401(k) plans and left a job did this, according to...

UK pensions regulator urged to fine-tune multi-employer CDC rules

The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) revised code of practice for collective defined contribution (CDC) pension funds has been broadly welcomed, but industry players are calling for fine-tuning to reduce remaining uncertainty. Launched in December, the consultation set out how TPR plans to authorise and supervise multi-employer CDC schemes, expanding on its existing single-employer framework. The revised code reflects government regulations published in October, expected to take effect at the end of July 2026, alongside TPR’s finalised guidance. The proposals aim to open...

What Trump’s Australian-style retirement program would look like in the US

Although pensions have largely disappeared thanks to tax code changes in the 1970s, today individuals have more options than ever to save for retirement with a variety of IRA and employer-sponsored plans to choose from. But Americans may soon have another account option for to retirement savings. In early December, CNN reported that President Donald Trump's administration is considering implementing an Australian-style retirement program in the U.S. Put simply, an Australian-type retirement program comprises an employer-sponsored retirement plan, which in Australia is commonly known...

Canada. Pension giant taps Peru power play in US$3.4 billion deal

Peru’s push to modernize its power system is pulling in fresh Canadian pension money, with CPP Investments backing a US$3.4bn infrastructure bet tied directly to the country’s energy transition and mining economy. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s investment arm has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in Lima-based Inkia Energy alongside Miami-based infrastructure manager I Squared Capital, in a deal that values the company at US$3.4bn including debt. Inkia operates a 2.6GW generation portfolio through Kallpa Generación S.A. and Orazul Energy Peru S.A., supplying power to Peru’s mining-driven economy and positioning the platform...