February 2026

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...

January 2026

México. Afores superan el billón de pesos en ganancias durante 2025; logran récord, según cifras de la Consar

El cierre de 2025 llegó con la noticia de que las Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro (Afores) registraron plusvalías históricas, alcanzando un monto de un billón 141 mil 766 millones de pesos, según cifras oficiales de la Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (Consar). Fue el mejor desempeño desde que el sistema Afore entró en operación hace 29 años, según indicó una publicación de La Jornada, y aunque el año estuvo marcado por tensiones geopolíticas y...

October 2025

Ghana. SSNIT is financially viable despite past challenges – Director

Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kwesi Afreh Biney, says his outfit is financially viable despite past challenges. According to him, the entity managing contributors’ funds pays over 257,000 pensioners each month. Mr. Biney explained that while SSNIT, as an institution, had faced hurdles in the past, it has also seized opportunities to strengthen its operations, thus making the Trust financially viable and sustainable. Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM on Thursday, October 30, ahead of...

UK. Reeves urged to cut pension lump sum withdrawals to £100k

A pressure group of which Rachel Reeves is a member has urged her to cut the tax-free pension lump sum to £100,000. At present, most savers can take 25pc of their pension pot tax-free once they reach the age of 55, up to a maximum of £268,275. However, the Fabian Society, a prominent Labour-associated think tank, has suggested cutting the allowance by two-thirds at the Budget on Nov 26 in an attempt to raise £2bn. It claimed that pensions were “systemically” under-taxed and...

Ghana. Gov’t urged to raise salaries and extend retirement age to 65

“Someone is receiving as high as GH₵140,000 monthly pension, while others get as little as GH₵400. For such people, nothing will change even in 200 years if they were to live that long, because their salaries were too low and they didn’t adequately plan for retirement,” he lamented. He explained that improving public sector salaries would not only ensure a decent standard of living for workers but also guarantee better pension benefits after retirement. Dr. Sefa Twum also proposed that Ghana’s...

September 2025

Ghana Unlocks Pension Assets for Economic Transformation

Ghana’s ambitious 24-Hour Economy initiative has secured a groundbreaking partnership with the country’s largest pension fund to channel retirement savings into infrastructure development and small business financing, addressing the program’s estimated $4 billion funding gap through domestic capital mobilization. With domestic pension assets projected to reach GHC 100 billion (≈$8.3 billion) by 2025, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with Petra Trust Company Limited, Ghana’s leading corporate pension trustee, to invest retirement funds through Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF)...

Perú. Moody’s sobre octavo retiro de AFP: “Sin duda, en el largo plazo, eso sí puede pesar sobre la calificación crediticia”

Representante de Moody's, advirtió que aunque la medida no tiene un efecto inmediato, sí genera una "connotación negativa" para el futuro económico del país al reducir el ahorro y debilitar el mercado de capitales. La reciente aprobación de un octavo retiro de los fondos de las Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP) en Perú no tendrá un impacto directo e inmediato en la calificación crediticia del país; sin embargo, sus repercusiones sí podrían pesar negativamente en el largo plazo. Así lo advirtió Jaime Reusche,...

August 2025

Japan and South Korea Task Force To Tackle Birth Rate Crisis

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have agreed to launch a joint task force to tackle shared issues of concern, including birth rates. Why It Matters More than half of the world's countries now have total fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman needed to sustain a population. Longer lifespans, rising living costs and shifting social attitudes among younger generations have contributed to the decline. South Korea (0.75) and Japan (1.15) have among the...

Cientos de profesores se manifiestan en Perú para exigir la subida de sus pensiones

Cientos de profesores de Perú se manifestaron este miércoles en la capital Lima en una marcha hacia el Congreso de la República para exigir que se apruebe la subida de sus pensiones en una segunda y definitiva votación, después de que el parlamentario fujimorista César Revilla retirase su moción para reconsiderar el primer resultado. La movilización, convocada por el Sindicato Unitario de Trabajadores en la Educación del Perú (Sutep), la principal organización gremial de los profesores peruanos, se desarrolló por...

July 2025

Kenya. Why caution is need as pension funds step into PPP space

Infrastructure is increasingly being positioned as a strategic investment class for long-term institutional investors across the world. For pension funds, the allure is understandable as well-structured projects like roads, ports, and energy grids promise stable, long-term cash flows that align well with the long-term liabilities of the fund. However, while the promise of infrastructure is compelling, the reality, especially in emerging markets like Kenya, demands a cautious and informed approach. The Kenya National Highways Authority recently announced that it had received...