August 2026
17Aug

US. Milliman analysis: Multiemployer pensions’ aggregate funding level reaches 106% at midyear 2026, highest in study history

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the midyear 2026 results of its Multiemployer Pension Funding Study (MPFS), an interim update to its annual study, which analyzes the funded status of all U.S. multiemployer defined benefit pension plans based on assumptions and data in the latest Form 5500 filings. As of June 30, 2026, Milliman estimates that the aggregate funded percentage of all multiemployer plans has reached 106%, up from 103% at year-end 2025. This is...

August 17, 2026
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13Aug

Canada. Nova Scotia Pension Services Corp. assets increase to $15.2 billion

The Nova Scotia Pension Services Corp. — which administers the investment assets of the Public Service Superannuation Plan and the Teachers’ Pension Plan — reported an increase in combined assets under management to roughly $15.2 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of about $800 million, according to the investment organization’s 2025/26 report. It noted the PSSP reported a net investment return of 6.55 per cent for the 2025/26 fiscal year, exceeding its 6.25 per cent actuarial assumed rate of return but...

August 13, 2026
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07Aug

State of Pensions 2026: 7th Annual Edition

By Equable Institute State of Pensions is Equable Institute’s annual report on the status of statewide public pension systems, put into a historic context. Governments face a wide range of challenges in general – and some of the largest are growing, and often unpredictable, pension costs. State of Pensions analyzes trends in public pension funding, investments, contributions, cash flows, and benefits for 253 of the largest statewide and municipal retirement systems in all 50 states to illuminate the scale and...

August 7, 2026
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07Aug

U.S. Public Pension Funds Consider AI for Productivity Uses

As artificial intelligence influences more day-to-day operations across investment organizations, public pension fund sponsors report being cautious about its use for investment functions and plan administration, according to a recent National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems study. The NCPERS research brief, “AI Adoption and Strategy in Public Pension Administration,” found that 58% of DB plan sponsor respondents reported being “optimistic or very optimistic” about AI’s impact on DB administration over the next decade. Some 63% of respondents cited a...

August 7, 2026
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06Aug

The political economy of pension management in Ghana

Decisions about who contributes, who receives benefits, where pension funds are invested and how institutions are governed are influenced by government policy, economic conditions, organised labour, financial markets and competing national interests. The political economy of pension management, therefore, concerns the interaction between political power and economic decision-making within the pension system. In Ghana, this interaction has become increasingly important because pension funds represent both the retirement savings of workers and a substantial pool of long-term national capital. Ghana’s pension system...

August 6, 2026
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05Aug

US pensions are better funded on average but high exposure to AI a concern

The Equable Institute’s 2026 survey of the 253 US state and local pension plans shows that their funded ratio has reached 85%, the best since hitting bottom during the 2008 global financial crisis.Their average return on investment was 9.4%, higher than the average target of 6.9%. Set against this strong performance, however, is the US$1.37 trillion in outstanding liabilities, higher than the institute’s $1.27 trillion prediction in January. The figure is “just $210 billion better than 2009’s $1.34 trillion gap...

August 5, 2026
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04Aug

Evidence reveals how African pension and sovereign wealth funds are increasingly allocating to alternative assets like private equity

Ghana is increasingly positioning itself as one of Africa’s most credible examples of how domestic pension savings can be channeled into private equity, venture capital and SME growth financing with industry initiatives focused on shifting domestic African capital pools towards local real economy investments, including the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association GVCA 5% Pension and Insurance Industry Compact launched in April 2025 and the $70m Fund of Funds Ci Gaba managed by Savannah Impact Advisory. At a recent...

August 4, 2026
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July 2026
30Jul

U.S. pension risk transfer costs decrease slightly in June: report

U.S. pension plan sponsors’ derisking costs decreased from 99.7 per cent to 99.6 per cent of accounting liabilities in June, according to a new report by Milliman Inc. It found the average annuity purchase cost across all insurers increased from 102.5 per cent to 102.6 per cent during the month. As of June 30, the competitive bidding process was estimated to save plan sponsors about three per cent on pension risk transfer buyout costs. “Competitive buyout costs remained below 100 per...

July 30, 2026
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28Jul

Africa’s Largest Fund Manager Is Under Investigation. Who Is Protecting Public Servants’ Pensions?

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) manages the retirement savings of more than a million public servants in South  Africa, making any question over its governance a matter of public concern. Development Diaries reports that the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has opened a formal investigation into the PIC, which is  Africa’s largest asset manager, following the suspension of its chief executive. According to Daily Maverick, the regulator’s intervention has deepened a governance crisis already facing the institution, while TimesLIVE reported that the developments have also fuelled tensions...

July 28, 2026
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24Jul

2026 Read on Retirement: A new era of retirement

By Black Rock When we look at confidence, we see savers who feel better about retirement than they have in years. But beneath that optimism, retirement income expectations and savings behavior tell a different story. And that gap is not experienced equally. Retirement challenges increasingly vary by generation and gender— revealing a retirement system that is becoming more individualized. Workplace savers increasingly know what they need to do, but competing financial priorities are making it harder to act. The challenge is less...

July 24, 2026
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