July 2025

UK. IFS recommends state pension and auto-enrolment changes to boost adequacy

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has made four recommendations for improving pensions adequacy that it believes would improve the state pension and boost private pension savings by around £11bn a year. The recommendations are the result of a two-and-a-half-year research project exploring how to improve retirement outcomes, and come as the government has promised to begin its own pension adequacy review in the coming months. The report calls for changes that take into account the needs of low earners who...

June 2025

UK. Govt urged to adopt relative pension adequacy measure over ‘pounds and pence’ approach

The government has been urged to adopt a relative pension adequacy measure, rather than a 'pounds and pence approach', with analysis from Hargreaves Lansdown suggesting that relative measures better reflect the income needs of different groups. The research from Hargreaves Lansdown, in partnership with Oxford Economics, looked at four different ways to measure pension adequacy, revealing that there are "clearly" challenges with all of the approaches. In particular, the research found that whilst 'pounds and pence measures', such as the Pensions...

Ghana’s pension crisis: low incomes, shrinking returns, and an uncertain future

As Ghana grapples with the rising cost of living, concerns over the adequacy and sustainability of pensions continue to dominate public discourse. Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday (19 June), leading voices in pension regulation, fund management, and retirees’ welfare painted a sobering picture of a system straining under low contributions, limited investment options, and rising economic pressure. Hayford Atta Krufi, former Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), laid bare a fundamental truth: the nation’s pension crisis begins...

May 2025

European semester thematic factsheet adequacy and sustainability of pensions

Pensions are the main source of income for older people in Europe, coming mostly from 'pay-as-you-go' public schemes. Retired people drawing a pension are a significant and — due to demographic ageing — a growing part of the EU population (about 124 million, or a quarter of the total population1). European pension systems are facing the dual challenge of remaining financially sustainable and being able to provide Europeans with an adequate income in retirement. The key purpose of pension...

Seven out of 10 Kenyans struggle financially after retirement- CEO RBA

According to CEO Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), Charles Mathira, seven out of 10 Kenyans are struggling after retirement because of lack of a savings plan to cushion them. Mathira noted that according to their statistics most Kenyans do not subscribe to any retirement benefits scheme and as of last year December, only 26% of workers had been saving for retirement and they are targeting it to reach 34% by 2029 through various sensitizations. In a speech read on his behalf by...

UK. Nearly nine million savers remain ‘significantly underpensioned’

Nearly nine million savers in the UK remain "significantly underpensioned" compared to the broader population, with research from Now Pensions revealing that private pension incomes for under-pensioned groups are around 43 per cent to 80 per cent of the population average. The report, produced in partnership with the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), showed that while progress has been made in some areas, such as rising eligibility for auto enrolment, the underpensioned challenge is far from resolved. Indeed, the report showed that...

April 2025

96% of Ghanaian pensioners live on GH¢5,000 or less monthly – Paul Kofi Mante

At the 2025 edition of the Money Summit organized by the Business and Financial Times (B&FT), Paul Kofi Mante, Managing Director of EDC Investment Limited, raised urgent concerns about the state of pensions in Ghana, revealing that a staggering 96% of pensioners receive GH¢5,000 or less per month. Speaking as a panelist during a session focused on investment and retirement planning, Mr. Mante described the current pension reality as deeply worrying. He disclosed that out of the over 2 million Ghanaians aged 60 and above, fewer than 300,000 are enrolled on...

March 2025

“The Cuban lives to eat”: This is what one could buy with the minimum pension of a retired Cuban

A young Cuban identified on TikTok as @brianna4258, residing in the province of Matanzas, posted a viral video documenting what can currently be purchased in Cuba with the minimum pension of a retiree: 1,500 Cuban pesos, equivalent to about 4 dollars at the informal exchange rate. “This is the basic salary of a retiree in Cuba,” he says at the beginning of the video while showing the cash. He then walks through the streets and kiosks of his area to highlight the scarcity and...

UK. DWP State Pension age to rise next year for thousands

The State Pension age will be rising from next year, the age is currently 66 for both men and women. It will gradually increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028 for those born after April 1960. The transition process is then expected to be completed for everyone by March 2028. The planned change to the official age of retirement has been in legislation since 2014, with a further rise from 67 to 68, which is set to be implemented between...

Argentina: Pensioners and soccer fans unite in protests

Argentine pensioners and soccer fans clashed with police on Wednesday as a protest unfolded in front of Congress, with citizens rallying against the economic policies brought in by the government of President Javier Milei. It was an unlikely mix with retirees gathered in Buenos Aires flanked by soccer fans from teams normally at odds with one another. What started as a peaceful event escalated into violent clashes as police fired water cannons, tear gas and pellets while protesters threw stones. The crowd...