August 2025
28Aug

1 in 5 Europeans will retire in poverty without urgent reform, EU watchdog warns

Poverty in old age will be the norm for a large chunk of Europe's population unless current retirement policies undergo deep reform, the EU's workplace pensions regulator has warned. "One in five Europeans is already at risk of living in poverty at old age," said Petra Hielkema, chief of the Frankfurt-based European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. "[That's] a ridiculously high percentage, frankly. And if you then look at women, they have a 30 percent larger risk for that," she told...

August 28, 2025
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27Aug

Nigeria’s wage and pension crisis

By Shu’aibu Usman Leman   Earlier this month, the United States government released a sobering assessment of Nigeria’s human rights record in its 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Among the stark revelations was the shamefully low national minimum wage of ₦70,000—a figure described as “woefully inadequate” amid rising inflation, a weakened naira, and an ever-worsening cost of living. At just $47.90 per month by current exchange rates, this wage is not merely insufficient—it is an affront to human dignity. In...

August 27, 2025
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15Aug

UK hospital workers vote for historic NHS strike over pay inequality

Nearly 400 essential facilities staff at St Helier and Epsom hospitals in the UK have voted overwhelmingly to strike in a dispute over pay and conditions, delivering what their union has described as a “historic” ballot result. The United Voices of the World (UVW) members – most of whom are from migrant and minority ethnic backgrounds – recorded an 81% turnout, with 98% voting in favour of industrial action. They are employed directly by the National Health Service (NHS) but...

August 15, 2025
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12Aug

One in Three Older Households Is Cost Burdened

The recently released State of the Nation’s Housing 2025 report highlights worrying trends in housing affordability for older households (those led by someone age 65 or over). In 2023, over a third (34 percent) of older households were cost burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing. This represents a new high of over 12.4 million households and an increase of nearly 2.3 million households just since 2019. More than half of these households, 6.7 million, pay over...

August 12, 2025
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11Aug

The Silent Crisis: Aging Populations and the Retirement Security Imperative

The global demographic shift toward an aging population is no longer a distant forecast—it is a present-day reality. By 2025, over 16% of the world's population will be aged 65 or older, a figure projected to rise to 25% by 2050. Yet, as lifespans extend, so too does a parallel crisis: the erosion of financial literacy among the elderly. This decline, driven by cognitive aging, digital disengagement, and systemic gaps in education, is creating a perfect storm of vulnerability...

August 11, 2025
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July 2025
22Jul

Germany. Alarming Wage Statistics Indicate Increased Risk of Poverty in Retirement

The risk of poverty in retirement is on the rise in Germany, as indicated by recent statistics that reveal alarming trends. A report suggests that millions may face financial difficulties in their later years due to inadequate income levels. According to data, almost one in five individuals over the age of 65 were considered at risk of poverty last year, a figure that has been steadily increasing in recent years. A recent response from the German government to a query...

July 22, 2025
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18Jul

Developing Retirement Living Standards

By Matt Padley & Claire Shepherd The Retirement Living Standards (RLS), first published in 2019 and funded by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), set out what the public agree is needed to retire at two living standards above a minimum standard of living, based on extensive research with members of the public. The research uses the established approach to defining minimum living standards pioneered at CRSP and describes in detail what the public agree single and partnered retirees...

July 18, 2025
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18Jul

Individuals’ challenges managing pensions through retirement

By Bee Boileau, Jonathan Cribb & Carl Emmerson This report is one of two reports on the management of pension wealth in retirement conducted as part of the Pensions Review, led by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust. In this report, we examine the decisions that older individuals face as they draw on and manage their private pension wealth through retirement. In particular, we highlight the growing importance of defined contribution (DC) wealth,...

July 18, 2025
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11Jul

Roadmap for Retirement: The Case for a National Pension Dashboard

By Kathryn Bush Retirement planning is getting harder for Canadians as more savings shift to definedcontribution plans, and account information is scattered across institutions. Given current financial literacy levels in Canada, many people struggle to understand what they'll have to live on in retirement. A pension dashboard could help by bringing all their retirement savings and benefits into one place. A pension dashboard is a government or government-sanctioned online tool that shows individuals all their retirement income sources-including government benefits,...

July 11, 2025
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01Jul

Some 54% in Germany would work post-retirement to maintain lifestyle

Nearly 75% of people surveyed in Germany believe they will not be able to maintain their current standard of living when they retire, because their pensions will be insufficient and slightly more than half plan to keep working because of that. To maintain their standard of living, 54.3% of the of the 1,163 working respondents queried in a YouGov poll released on Monday, said they would be willing to work beyond the legal retirement age, mostly in part-time and up...

July 1, 2025
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