November 2025

Digital finance and retirement planning: The role of information cost reduction and trust enhancement channels

By Liang Liu & Zhen Ju With the rapid development of digitalization, retirement decisions are increasingly being mediated by digital finance platforms, which help individuals in effectively managing and planning their retirement. Existing literature primarily focuses on the impacts of financial literacy, risk attitudes, and awareness of retirement goals. Using data from the 2015 China Household Finance Survey, we investigate the effect of digital finance on household retirement planning. Our analysis reveals that digital payment lowers the acquisition cost of pension finance...

How America Retires: Turning complexity into clarity

By Vanguard This year, roughly 4.2 million people will turn age 65.* These individuals, collectively the so-called silver tsunami, are preparing to leave working life behind and enter a fulfilling and rewarding retirement. That’s exactly why we’ve created How America Retires, Vanguard’s new report that spotlights behavioral trends, insights, and plan design best practices to help today’s retirees make the life-changing transition from saving their money to spending it. Get the report here

Household financial literacy and retirement planning in rural China

By Yuting Qian, Weiqiang Tan & Jingbo Wu Amid the prevailing importance of discussing rural villagers' retirement in China, this study analyzes the relationship between the financial literacy of rural residents and their plans for retirement. Using in-depth survey data from the Greater Bay Area, this work examines the region's demographic structures and presents the different levels of rural residents' financial literacy. The findings are robust and indicate a positive correlation between financial literacy and retirement planning. The examination also reveals the moderating...

October 2025

Behavioral Biases of Financial Planners: The Case of Retirement Funding Recommendations

By Vishaal Baulkaran & Pawan Jain We examine whether financial planners display common behavioral biases and whether these biases affect their recommendations for various home equity release options to fund retirement income. First, we show that different factors explain different behavioral biases. Second, we show that different behavioral biases affect financial planners’ comfort level and recommendations for various options to fund extra income during retirement. For instance, female planners, planners with advanced degrees and those from non-bank institutions display less...

Latest Retirement Living Standards show costs for Minimum retiree needs have fallen, while Moderate and Comfortable Standards see modest rises

By Pensions UK The latest update of the PLSA's Retirement Living Standards (RLS) shows a decrease in the cost of the Minimum retirement lifestyle, down to £21,600 per year for a two-person household, due to the impact of lower energy prices and changes in the public's expectations for this standard. Meanwhile, the Moderate and Comfortable standards have risen modestly, reflecting the impact of inflation across many expenditure categories offset by decreases in energy costs. This year, the cost of a Minimum Retirement...

2025 Global Retirement Index

By Dave Goodsell Norway has regained the top position in the 2025 Natixis Global Retirement Index, driven by its strong performance in health outcomes, low unemployment and high-income equality. Ireland surges to second place, thanks to improvements in inflation and an economic environment that supports retirement security. Since its launch in 2012, the Natixis Global Retirement Index has offered a comparative assessment of retirement security in 44 developed countries. The index evaluated 18 key indicators grouped into four subindexes: Finances in...

August 2025

IORPs in Focus Report 2024

By European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority This report outlines the latest market developments in the occupational pensions sector, with a focus on IORPs and their cross-border arrangements. A factsheet summarizing the key findings accompanies the publication, providing a visual overview of the main trends in Europe's IORP sector for interested readers. Get the report here

July 2025

The Pensions Review: final recommendations

By Jonathan Cribb, Carl Emmerson, Paul Johnson, Heidi Karjalainen & Laurence O’Brien This final report of the Pensions Review, a major project launched in April 2023 by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, in partnership with abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, examines the main risks to today’s working-age individuals in the UK pension system and sets out policy proposals primarily focused on improving outcomes for future generations of retirees. This report does further analysis and draws on the large number of reports...

June 2025

The At Retirement Reckoning: Barnett Waddingham’s investigation into the UK’s retirement landscape

By Barnett Waddingham The British pensions industry is, once again, at a critical juncture. It seems every provider, regulator, and adviser is watching with bated breath as the time bomb of UK retirement saving ticks closer to detonation. And with every new day, the likely ripple effects of the impending disaster get bigger. The past 14 years of Conservative rule saw the pension landscape shift notably. The introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012 successfully widened the UK’s saving base and helped tackle...

Planning: The Missing Link to Retirement Security. Retirement Survey & Insights Report 2024

By Goldman Sachs Michael Moran, a pension strategist in Goldman Sachs Asset Management, explains how the current macro environment is changing the retirement picture for both savers and retirees. Mike and his team are out with a new report that describes what they see as a missing link to retirement security. Get the report here