August 2024

Argentina police pepper spray pension protesters

People took to the streets of Buenos Aires after President Javier Milei announced he would block plans to raise pensions in line with Argentina's triple-digit inflation rates. Police used pepper spray on demonstrators and hit them with batons during violent clashes. The president announced his plans to veto the reforms tabled by the opposition-controlled Congress in a statement posted by his office on X, formerly Twitter. The statement claimed the bill's "only objective was to destroy the government's economic program".     Read more @bbc

I’m 65 and have no pension – I’m stuck travelling the world forever

I’m officially homeless. For the first time in my life. At the age of 65. On 20 May, after putting all my worldly goods into storage, that’s what I became. By choice. Sort of. After owning property for over 30 years, both in the UK and Spain, I can no longer afford to live in the UK. I hold my hands up and admit I am responsible for the greater part of my debt. I’ve never been great with money. I...

May 2024

Global top 300 pension funds. A Thinking Ahead Institute and Pensions & Investments joint study

By The Thinking Ahead Institute and Pensions & Investments The global top 300 pension funds is an annual study conducted by the Thinking Ahead Institute, in conjunction with Pensions and Investments. The research highlights high-level trends in the pension fund industry and provides information on how the characteristics of these top funds have changed. Get the report here

UK State Pension expected to increase by over £650 next April, based on triple lock guarantee

Finance experts have predicted that the new state pension will increase by over £650 from next April, pushing it to just above £12,150 a year. This is based on the triple lock guarantee, which ensures the state pension rises in line with the highest of three measures - September inflation, May-July wage growth or 2.5 per cent. In April 2022, the state pension saw an increase of 10.1 per cent due to rampant inflation, followed by another substantial rise of...

Kenya. Bill seeks inflation-based pension raise for retirees

Retired public servants will get automatic pay raises based on the cost of living in pension computations if Parliament approves a proposed Bill. The Pensions (Amendment) Bill 2024 seeks to amend the Pensions Act, Cap 189, to include an automatic cost of living adjustment to the pensions earned by all retired public servants. The Bill seeks to cushion retirees from the effects of inflation. “In addition, the Bill seeks to provide for the use of the most current salary applicable to a...

April 2024

UK’s opposition Labour Party commits to triple-lock pension policy

Britain’s opposition Labour Party has committed to keeping for at least five years the so-called triple lock that guarantees rises to state pensions, if it wins the election, underscoring the importance of pensioners to the outcome of the vote. Labour have held an around 20-point lead in opinion polls over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party for the last nine months, but the one area where they tend to struggle is with voters over 65 years old. Labour leader Keir Starmer...

US. Inflation Concerns Still Impacting Retirement Planning Decisions

Ongoing economic challenges are changing how Americans are thinking about retirement planning, with nearly 6 in 10 pre-retirees (57%) believing that inflation poses the most immediate challenge to their retirement portfolios over the next 12 months. And this stress apparently is shifting the perception of life as a retiree, especially for those closest to retirement age. Findings from Nationwide's ninth annual Advisor Authority survey show that roughly 7 in 10 pre-retiree investors (69%)—defined as non-retired investors aged 55-65—agree that the norm...

Rwanda. Retirees’ body appeals for matching pension with cost of living

Pension should be matched with the cost of living to address situations such as when retirees’ welfare deteriorates due to increases in prices at the market, and franc depreciation, the president of Rwanda Pensioners’ Association, Dorothée Uwimana, told The New Times on April 1. She was referring to the fact that some retirees get as low as Rwf20,000 in pension benefits – with Rwf13,000 as the smallest pension – per month, which she said was too little to help...

March 2024

UK pensions failing to keep up with cost-of-living

UK pensions are failing to keep up pace with the increasing cost-of-living, as pensioners are left with just £74 after buying essentials, research from Almond Finance has shown. The research looked at the current state pension in comparison to the average cost of living in the UK and compared this across Europe to establish which country offers the most to retirees. The UK finished 17th in the Pension Breakeven Index, a fall of one place compared to the previous year’s report...

UK state pension could hit £13,000 ‘in next five years’

The UK state pension could pay out more than £13,000 a year by 2030 if the current triple lock rules remain in place, analysis by AJ Bell has found. Pensioners with a full National Insurance contributions record can currently get £10,600 a year (£203.85 per week). From April, this will rise 8.5% to £11,502 annually (£221.20 a week) in line with the rapid increase in earnings registered last summer. It has led to warnings that some pensioners could be landed with an unexpected tax...