May 2026

Belgium approves controversial wage index reform and pension changes

Belgium’s federal parliament has approved a controversial package of budget measures, including the new “centenindex” system that will limit automatic wage and benefit increases for some workers and pensioners. The measures were passed late on Thursday night after months of political debate and delays. The government says the reforms are needed to reduce Belgium’s budget deficit and keep pensions affordable in the long term. For many expats and newcomers to Belgium, the most important change is the centenindex. Belgium normally links...

Jamie Fiveash appointed as Pensions UK chair

Pensions UK has appointed Smart UK chief executive, Jamie Fiveash, as the new chair of the association. Fiveash will start a three-year term on 1 July 2026. He succeeds Emma Douglas, who is stepping down to take up her new position as chair of The Pensions Regulator. Fiveash has over 30 years of experience across financial services and over 15 years of c-suite and board-level leadership. As chief executive of Smart UK, Fiveash leads the £9.5bn Smart Pension master trust with two...

Global Pensions at a Glance

The availability of pension fund income to retirees in a country is one indicator of how much people can spend in retirement. Countries dominated by defined contribution plan retirement systems continue to work on how best to convert retirement savings into retirement income and research shows that when people are not confident about income in retirement, spending slows. In a global consumption-based economy, the amount consumers can spend will drive economic activity and demographics will determine how many consumers are...

March 2026

Japan’s births hit record low for 10th year as demographic crisis outpaces government forecasts

Japan’s demographic crisis accelerated to a historic velocity last year as the number of births fell for the 10th consecutive year, reaching a record low that threatens the structural integrity of the nation’s social security framework. Data released Thursday by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare revealed that births in 2025 declined 2.1% from the previous year to 705,809. This figure, which includes foreign nationals residing in Japan, represents the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1899 and marks...

June 2025

Rising Discount Rates Push Pension Risk Transfer Costs Lower in April

Offloading retiree pension risk to an insurance company became less expensive in April, according to consulting and actuary firm Milliman, which tracks the cost of de–risking pension funds with its Milliman Pension Buyout Index. The firm estimated that in a competitive bidding process, average costs of a pension risk transfer declined to 101.1% of a plan’s accounting liabilities in April from 102.5% in March. At the same time, average annuity purchase costs among all insurers in Milliman’s index decreased to...

January 2025

US. More than 4 in 5 retirement plans have at least one regulatory ‘red flag’ violation

More than 4 in 5 workplace retirement plans in the U.S. (84%) have at least one regulatory “red flag” violation that could put them at risk of fines, legal penalties or fiduciary failure, according to consultant Abernathy Daley 401k Consultants. Of the nearly 765,000 defined contribution plans analyzed, 43% had at least one “regulatory infraction red flag” or RIRF, the most severe type of violation that could result in civil legal penalties, discovery leading to trial, or both, Abernathy said. RIRF...

December 2022

OECD Pensions Outlook 2022

The OECD Pensions Outlook discusses how to introduce, develop and strengthen asset-backed pension arrangements, the role that employers can play in their provision, and the implication of different fee structures on individuals saving for retirement and on providers. The 2022 edition focuses on describing best practices for developing mortality tables and providing policy guidance on how to design, implement and continue the operation of non-guaranteed lifetime retirement income arrangements. Get the report here

June 2022

Hong Kong passes long-awaited labour bill to scrap MPF offsetting mechanism, protecting workers’ pensions

Move ends decade-long debate between bosses and unions, preventing employers from dipping into staff pensions to cover severance and long-service payments Three legislators from pro-business Liberal Party were among those who opposed bill Hong Kong’s legislature has passed a long-awaited labour bill that will stop bosses from dipping into staff pensions to cover severance and long-service payments, ensuring the city’s workers have better retirement protection. The Legislative Council on Thursday voted 72-5 to approve the Employment and Retirement Schemes Legislation...

April 2022

Swedish regulator to screen funds for ‘green painting’

Sweden's financial regulator said it will start reviewing funds to enforce new sustainable regulations and to prevent "green painting." The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, or Finansinspektionen, said it will review "whether the information provided about the funds that are classified as most sustainable meets the strict requirements" of sustainable finance disclosure regulation rules implemented in March 2021. In a notice on its website Tuesday, FI said that as demand for green and sustainable funds increases rapidly, "this entails the risk of...

Bad Retirement Savers Expect to Die Young

By Allison Bell What workers think about their retirement savings is closely related to how long they think they will live, according to a new Club Vita life expectancy survey. Workers who said that their savings would be enough to pay for a comfortable retirement agreed with Club Vita about how long they might live. Workers who said their savings would be too small to pay for a comfortable retirement predicted that they would die about 7.1 years earlier than Club Vita would have...