August 2025
04Aug

UK. Want to retire in your 50s? Here’s how to plan for it

Retiring in your 50s can seem like a pipe dream, particularly with the high costs of living and restrictions on accessing your pension until the age of 55 – rising to 57 in 2028. However, with careful planning and consistent saving, you can increase your chances of an early escape from working life. Start by working out how much income you will need in retirement. According to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, a single person now needs about £31,700 a...

August 4, 2025
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01Aug

Two Alternative Asset Managers and a Dozen Funds Receive Green Light to Access Chilean AFPs

The list of instruments in which Chilean pension funds can invest continues to grow, and July was no exception. The most recent meeting of the Risk Rating Commission (CCR) — the entity that determines which asset managers and funds can offer their strategies to the AFPs — gave the green light to two alternative asset managers and a dozen funds, including two ETFs. According to a statement, the entity’s latest meeting — held this week — resulted in a series of approvals,...

August 1, 2025
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01Aug

UK. One in five don’t know where all their pensions are: How to track them down

More than a fifth of people don't know where their pension pots are held, data shows - meaning they risk missing out on their own money in retirement. As many as 21 per cent say they don't know where all of their pensions are, according to figures from Hargreaves Lansdown, while a further 14 per cent said they were unsure. Just 65 per cent said they did know, rising to 72 per cent of people over the age of 55. Helen Morrissey,...

August 1, 2025
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01Aug

Which U.S. States Have the Most People Aged 85 and Older?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 estimates, over 55 million Americans were aged 65 or older. That figure represents about 16.5% of the total U.S. population at the time. Of this group, over 6.3 million were aged 85 and above, a number projected to rise significantly in the coming decades. By 2050, the number of Americans aged 65+ is expected to grow by 47%, reaching over 82 million, according to the Population Reference Bureau. The fastest growth will occur in the 85+...

August 1, 2025
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July 2025
31Jul

UK. Over half a million still overtaxed by thousands on pensions

Millions is still being refunded to people by HMRC in overpaid pension tax, as experts call for reform to the system. New figures have revealed that more than half a million claims have now been made to claw back overpaid tax since 2015, with the total amount refunded approaching £1.5bn. In the latest quarter alone, 12,767 repayment claims were processed, amounting to £48.7m – an average refund of nearly £4,000 per person. This brings the total tax repaid so far this year to around...

July 31, 2025
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31Jul

Ghana. SSNIT’s strategic investments stabilise economy

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has invested GH¢2.42 billion in the country’s financial services sector. The fund currently holds shares in 22 of the 36 companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, thereby playing a stabilising role in the economy. SSNIT’s current investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies stands at over $500 million, making it the largest institutional investor in the country’s telecommunications sector. The Director-General (D-G) of SSNIT, Kwesi Afreh Biney, who made this known in...

July 31, 2025
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31Jul

US. Private Equity Delivers High Risk, Low Returns, and Costly Fees

Private equity does not deliver the superior returns that its advocates insist justify pension fund investment in this sector, and such investment would be highly risky for retail investors, according to a new report published by the AFT and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. The stakes couldn’t be higher, as the Trump administration is expected to issue a new executive order that would require federal agencies to explore opening up 401(k) plans to risky private market investments. This is something the...

July 31, 2025
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31Jul

Kenya. Retirement: Strategic partnerships critical in growing pension savings

Retirement benefits accumulated by Kenyan workers over the years hit an estimated total of Sh2.3 trillion last year, equivalent to nearly 15 per cent of Kenya’s GDP, underscoring the importance of this critical sector. With the inflation always competing to erode workers' savings, retirement benefits service providers are under pressure to preserve their clients’ wealth. The industry’s assets under management have recorded a 10.7 per cent compounded annual growth rate in the past ten years, from Sh800 million in 2015. This...

July 31, 2025
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30Jul

Mexico’s Informal Employment Crisis Deepens as 850,000 New Jobs Lack Contracts

Mexico’s labor market delivered seemingly positive news in early 2025: a surge of approximately 850,000 new jobs created in the first half of the year. Yet, beneath this headline figure lies a deepening crisis of Mexico informal employment. New data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI, July 2025) reveals that nearly all these new positions lack formal contracts, social security, or legal protections, pushing the country’s informal workforce to a record high of 54.9%. This precarious...

July 30, 2025
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30Jul

How pension funds are handling US equity concentration risk

With more of the US market’s fate tied up in a handful of enormous technology stocks, investment teams are having to reconsider their exposure, as Jon Yarker reports. In recent years, the size of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” technology stocks has soared, absorbing an increasing amount of the US equity market. According to Hymans Robertson, the weight of the 10 largest market-cap stocks in the MSCI World sits at 23%, well above the historical norms of 10–15%. The septet of tech...

July 30, 2025
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