May 2025
09May

The Purple Book 2024. DB pensions universe risk profile

By Pension Protection Fund The Purple Book, also known as the Pensions Universe Risk Profile, highlights trends in DB scheme funding, demographics and asset allocation. It provides us with an in-depth understanding of the risks we face from the universe of schemes we protect. The 19th edition of the Purple Book shows the strong net funding position of the universe of DB pension schemes has remained largely stable over the past year. For this year’s Purple Book, we’ve used an enhanced roll-forward...

May 9, 2025
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09May

Participation in Pension Programs in Low and Middle Income Countries

By John Giles, Clement Joubert & Tomoaki Tanaka Low- and middle-income countries are aging rapidly but stagnation of growth in participation in pension programs, due to widespread informal employment, presents a major fiscal challenge. Some claim that improving the design of pension program rules can encourage more pension contributions, while others push for universal non-contributory pensions. This paper reviews the recent academic literature on the determinants of active participation in pension systems in high-informality settings. An emerging body of evidence...

May 9, 2025
Articles, Pension design, ,
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08May

Nigeria. PenCom DG laments negative growth in pension industry

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, has lamented the negative growth recorded in the pension industry since 2021. Oloworaran expressed this concern on Thursday at the 2025 Pension Industry Leadership Retreat organised under the theme, ‘Sustainable Retirement – Strategic Blueprint for Economic Development and Inclusion.’ The Pension Reform Act 2004 empowers PenCom to regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters in Nigeria. The functions of the Commission include: Regulation and supervision of the Contributory Pension...

May 8, 2025
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April 2025
09Apr

State of Social Protection Report 2025: The 2-Billion-Person Challenge

By The World Bank   Today, more people have access to social protection now than at any point in history. Over the last decade, 4.7 billion people across low- and middle-income countries gained access to social protection. However, critical gaps remain. Two billion people in those countries remain uncovered or inadequately covered by social protection. The State of Social Protection Report 2025: The 2-Billion-Person Challenge documents advances and challenges to strengthening social protection and labor systems across low- and middle-income countries and...

April 9, 2025
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March 2025
26Mar

“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...

March 26, 2025
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25Mar

US. Closing the Retirement Gap: Challenges and Opportunities

There is progress in expanding retirement plan coverage, but there still is work to be done. An expert panel recently highlighted some of the challenges to be met in building on that progress. They offered their insights in a discussion that was part of the recent 16th annual National Institute on Retirement Security Retirement Policy Conference. Moderated by National Institute on Retirement Security Executive Director Dan Doonan, the panel included Lilach Frenkel, Director, Product Innovation, CAAT Pension Plan; Joelle Saad-Lessler,...

March 25, 2025
News, Slider,
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07Mar

How and Why the Gender Pension Gap in Urban China Decreased between 1988 and 2018

By Björn Gustafsson, Peng Zhan & Hanrui Jia In urban China, gender gaps in employment and earnings have steadily increased since the 1990s. Such gender gaps are important because pension rights and amounts are based on labor force participation and wages. However, as this study demonstrates, despite the rise in gender differences in the urban labor market, the average gender pension gap decreased between 1988 and 2018. In this paper, we describe the evolution of the fragmented pension system in...

March 7, 2025
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February 2025
27Feb

Kenya. The transformative approaches for broader pension coverage

Kenya’s pension penetration rate, at 26 percent, is the third lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, trailing far behind countries such as South Africa, which boasts a 66 percent reach. This disparity underscores a major financial vulnerability for many Kenyans, particularly in the informal sector where pension schemes are either underutilised or deemed inconsequential. The rising cost of living and limited incomes have further constrained the ability of many to save, leaving a substantial portion of the population without a reliable safety net...

February 27, 2025
News, Slider,
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25Feb

India. Voluntary pension scheme for all on cards: Won’t be tied to employment, will be open for all

The ministry of labour and employment has started deliberations on the umbrella pension scheme. "The scheme, which would be voluntary and contributory, will not be tied to employment and hence will be open for everyone to contribute and earn a pension," a senior government official told ET. The broad contours of the scheme under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are being worked on, said the people cited. Pooling of Cess Once this exercise is over, the ministry will hold stakeholder consultations to...

February 25, 2025
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January 2025
31Jan

Allianz Global Pension Report 2025: Time to walk the talk

By Allianz Research  Allianz published the third edition of its “Global Pension Report”, which analyzes 71 pension systems around the globe with the help of the company's own “Allianz Pension Index” (API). The indicator consists of three pillars: analysis of the demographic and fiscal situation, and an assessment of the sustainability (e.g. financing and contribution periods) and adequacy (e.g. coverage and pension levels) of the pension system. A total of 40 parameters are taken into account, with scores between 1...

January 31, 2025
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