September 2026

Will Europe dismantle the welfare state? Pension cuts and healthcare collapse threat looms

The economic decline of the once-mighty West is becoming so obvious that even leading economists are starting to acknowledge that the Western economic model faces severe structural problems. For decades, Western media presented the economies of the US and Europe as benchmarks of growth and prosperity, backed by robust markets, high returns, and a generous welfare state capable of funding pensions, healthcare, and social benefits. Today, however, the picture has shifted dramatically. Those same media outlets now admit that...

August 2026

European Commission approves non-binding guidelines for supplementary retirement savings

Set out in Recommendation (EU) 2025/2384, approved in November 2025 as part of the Savings and Investment Union initiative led by Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque, these measures aim to boost future retirement income. However, under Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, these recommendations are non-binding; the decision on whether and how to implement them at the national level rests entirely with each Member State. Free national service A key proposal from Brussels is the creation of...

Fewer babies, more retirees: How Europe’s demographic math is changing

Europe is confronting a demographic problem that is becoming increasingly difficult for governments to ignore: fewer children are being born while the number of older people continues to rise. The trend is already visible in shrinking schools, ageing communities and growing pressure on pension and healthcare systems. In the Spanish village of Vilardevos, the change is particularly stark. A primary school originally built for around 700 children now has only 31 pupils. Classes have to be combined because there are not...

The macroeconomic and fiscal impact of population ageing

By Katalin Bodnár & Carolin Nerlich The euro area, like many other advanced economies, has entered an era of drastic demographic change. Without appropriate policy responses, population ageing in the euro area is posing formidable challenges for potential growth, monetary policy and public finances. This paper examines – from a central bank’s perspective – the macroeconomic and fiscal effects of population ageing in the euro area and looks at the main challenges ahead in the next decades. Total population in the...

July 2026

US. Pension giants warn SEC climate rule rescission will cost investors

The SEC announced its rescission proposal in May, saying the rules exceed the scope of its statutory authority and are “unnecessary and inconsistent” with a registrant-specific, materiality-based approach to disclosure. In the proposal document, the US financial regulator also said it expects the market-driven flow of information to continue following a rescission of the rules. Several major pension funds have submitted responses in recent days, including US heavyweights CalPERs, and the New York City and Maryland comptrollers, as well as Sweden’s...

Ticking time bomb? Europe’s aging population brings challenges

The population of the 27-nation European Union will peak in 2029 before falling in the coming decades, according to a report published Tuesday that spotlights the major challenges the bloc faces from an aging population. Today, there are 450.6 million people, but researchers say this will peak at 453.3 million in 2029 before a slow, long-term decline. The population will fall to 398.8 million people by 2100, an overall drop of 11.7 percent and a level last experienced in the 1970s. Europeans...

June 2026

European pension systems face demographic and labor market pressures – PensionsEurope

European pension systems, while built on different national models, are facing broadly similar structural challenges, according to PensionsEurope, Trend's correspondent reports from the event. Speaking at the 11th Azerbaijan International Insurance Forum in Baku, Matti Leppäla, Secretary General and CEO of PensionsEurope, said that although each European country has its own pension framework, many of the underlying problems are shared. He noted that countries such as France, Italy, and Spain rely primarily on state-financed pay-as-you-go pension systems, while several other European states...

Retirement Wealth Across Europe: A Country-by-Country Comparison

Retirement wealth differs greatly across European nations, affecting living standards in ways that go beyond what pension income alone can provide, according to the European Central Bank's Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) released in mid-2023. In certain countries, older households possess more than 30 times the wealth of their counterparts elsewhere, illustrating how housing, pensions, and family assistance influence financial security in later years. Within the euro area, households aged 65 to 74 have a median net wealth of EUR185,300....

May 2026

Old and new welfare states retaining older workers in the face of crisis: the case of COVID-19 in Europe

By Kun Lee The Coronavirus pandemic was a unique crisis in Europe as an unprecedented health and labour market shock barely disrupted long-term trends towards active ageing. We study the role of social policy responses and pre-existing welfare state institutions in moderating older workers’ early exit following the crisis. Using a cross-nationally harmonized panel survey in Europe, we examine whether variations in national labour market policies and pension institutions explain older workers’ exit outcomes following COVID-19, net of the economic...

Europe’s wage and pension gaps reveal deep east-west divide

Who earns most?: Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Iceland top average wage rankings, while Eastern and Southern nations remain at the lower end. Pensions vs. costs: In 20 of 39 European countries, pensions fail to cover living costs, with the worst gaps in Georgia, Albania, and Ukraine. Minimum wage spread: Luxembourg, Ireland, and Germany lead nominal minimum wages, but purchasing power narrows the gap between east and west. OECD’s 2026 wage report shows stark disparities The OECD’s 2026 data reveals average gross wages ranging from €18,590 in Turkey...