May 2026
29May

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...

May 29, 2026
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20May

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...

May 20, 2026
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April 2026
13Apr

Europe’s biggest pension investor eyes private markets boost

 Europe's biggest pension investor, APG, will increase its allocation to private markets to ​just over 30% and sees current credit market flux as a potential buying opportunity, its chief investment ‌officer for private investments told Reuters. APG invests around 600 billion euros ($702.00 billion) for clients including ABP, the Netherlands' biggest pension fund. Around 26% of its assets are currently in private markets but it would add more after ongoing changes to investment rules in the Netherlands, Patrick ​Kanters said. The...

April 13, 2026
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March 2026
25Mar

Oil shock opens pension fund checkbooks for Europe’s climate – er, ‘energy security’ – fund managers

While the conflict with Iran has choked off the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, it has opened the tap from European pension funds and other investors looking to capitalize on increased urgency around the continent’s energy security. Clean energy and other infrastructure project developers, along with climate tech fund managers, are finding a suddenly more welcoming reception from institutional investors in Europe, even as dealmaking in the Middle East itself has stalled (see, “Middle East sovereign wealth financed...

March 25, 2026
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January 2026
07Jan

Gender Pension Gap in Europe Averaged 22% in 2024

Women in Europe receive significantly lower pensions than men, with the average gap across 27 European countries standing at 22%, according to data from the OECD and Eurostat reported by Euronews Business. This means that, on average across Europe, women receive just EUR78 in pension income, whereas men receive EUR100. The gender pay gap is a related phenomenon, with women in the EU earning 12% less than men in 2023. However, the pension gap is wider. In 2024, the gender...

January 7, 2026
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November 2025
20Nov

Why private pensions can’t fix the ageing problem

Across Europe, politicians increasingly tout private pensions as a cure-all for reviving stagnant stock exchanges, fostering entrepreneurship and curbing ballooning public spending as populations age. But any governments that bet on this solution may be disappointed. A proliferation of individual piggybanks will not solve the deeper challenges that flow from having purchasing power ever-more concentrated in older hands. According to the United Nations, Europe’s population aged 20 to 64 will shrink by 31% between now and 2100, while longer lifespans...

November 20, 2025
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10Nov

European nations have no choice but to raise retirement ages – our case study shows why

In early October 2025, with his political future hanging by a thread, France’s resigned-and-reappointed prime minister Sébastien Lecornu pledged to suspend unpopular pension reforms until 2027, when presidential elections will be held. Socialist MPs declared victory. The French business community groaned. The S&P downgraded France’s credit rating, citing budget concerns. With France kicking inevitable reforms at least two years down the road, and many European countries facing pension crises of their own, it is worth considering how to design pension reforms...

November 10, 2025
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October 2025
24Oct

European pension providers back calls for governments to stop deforestation

Institutional investors, including European pension providers, have urged global governments to adopt strong policies to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 and to prevent further loss of natural ecosystems. The Belém Investor Statement on Rainforests highlighted investor concerns about the financial risks posed by tropical deforestation and nature loss, warning that exposure to commodities produced on deforested land creates material vulnerabilities across global investment and lending portfolios. It also said that the degradation of forests threatens the ecosystem...

October 24, 2025
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16Oct

Why Europe can’t face its pension black hole

France's political standoff shows how European governments, caught between the demands of their ageing electorates and the need to keep spending in check, keep struggling to fix the pension-shaped holes in their budgets. The right to a pension has been a central plank of the European social contract for decades. But longer life spans and fewer births mean most governments can't afford to have people retiring on a full pension in their early 60s, as was once the norm. The Week...

October 16, 2025
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14Oct

Saudi Arabia Named Arab Regional Center for Social Insurance Training by ISSA

The Liaison Office for Arab Countries at the International Social Security Association (ISSA) has approved Saudi Arabia as the headquarters of the regional center for training specialists in social insurance, underscoring the Kingdom’s leading role in pension and social protection systems at both regional and international levels. The center will focus on training national and regional professionals in social insurance and pension systems, enhancing their ability to keep pace with economic and social developments, and improving the efficiency of insurance...

October 14, 2025
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