October 2025

Mexico’s Retirement Savings Grow, Inclusion Gaps Persist

Mexico has experienced a significant shift toward formal savings and greater use of digital financial tools. Between 2021 and 2024, the share of adults with a retirement account rose from 35% to 42%, while adoption of online savings accounts and digital payment solutions tripled, according to the latest joint study by México, ¿Cómo Vamos? and Vanguard. This reflects broader progress in financial inclusion, as the share of adults with at least one formal financial product (savings account, credit, insurance, or AFORE)...

International Pension Plan Survey 2025

By WTW Employers expand plan eligibility and enhance inclusivity to become more responsive to employee needs. International Pension Plans (IPPs) and International Savings Plans (ISPs) were originally used by multinational employers to provide retirement or savings benefits to employees who may not be eligible for home country retirement plans or where local (host) solutions are unavailable or unsuitable. Today, they have evolved beyond their traditional expatriate focus to include a wider range of employees including local employees, especially in regions...

Failed low-carbon transition could wipe 33% off pension fund returns

The immediate costs of a low-carbon economy transition are significantly outweighed by the costs of continued inaction, research from Ortec Finance has found, estimating that a failed low-carbon transition could wipe up to 33 per cent off pension fund returns worldwide by 2050. As part of its analysis, Ortec Finance applied its proprietary 2025 climate scenarios to the investment portfolios of 180 pension funds across the six largest global pension systems, revealing the consequences of further delaying the net-zero transition. This...

US. Options for Overfunded Pension Plans

You’ve done a good job making sure that the pension plan is fully funded. So good, in fact, that you — and the plan — are overachievers and the plan is fully funded and then some. And THAT surplus spells…opportunity. The Grist Funding of pension plans generally has been on an upward trajectory for a number of years. The improvement in funded status has been dramatic, yet incremental. Willis Towers Watson’s figures show as much: they show that the funding of a hypothetical benchmark...

Investments, loans, insurance or pensions with a sustainable focus: what you need to know?

By European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority Through the choices we make, we all play a part in shaping our future. Are you interested in contributing to a more sustainable future? Learn more about how your financial choices can support the environment and society, and keep in mind a few tips! You may, for example, make a financial decision in a sustainable way if you put your money in an investment fund that invests in companies that recycle household waste, or in...

Is longevity a risk for pension insurers and schemes?

Insurers are better placed to pool and manage longevity risk than pension schemes, according to Ash Williams, risk settlement partner at XPS Group. Speaking on a panel at the XPS Group’s 2025 Pensions Conference, Williams explained that insurers have three tools in their box when it comes to managing longevity risk. Longevity risk is the chance that life expectancies and survival rates exceed expectations, resulting in greater-than-anticipated cash flow needs on the part of insurance companies or pension funds. Williams said insurers...

US. CalSTRS Forms Climate Co-Investment Partnership With Carlyle Alpinvest

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System is partnering with Caryle Alpinvest to expand the $374.3 billion pension fund’s ability to access co-investment climate solution opportunities, Carlyle Alpinvest announced Tuesday. “This partnership is designed to expand CalSTRS’ ability to invest alongside private equity managers in climate solution opportunities beyond CalSTRS’ direct investment program,” Carlyle Alpinvest stated. Carlyle Alpinvest is a specialist subsidiary of the Carlyle Group.  Alpinvest reports $97 billion of assets under management, the Carlyle Group manages $465 billion in total, including...

Venture & growth capital in Europe – mapping pension funds’ attitudes

By Pensions For Purpose Across Europe, pension funds manage over €3tn in assets, yet only roughly 0.12% is allocated to venture and growth capital (VC). Meanwhile, VC investment in Europe totalled €15bn in 2023. These numbers together highlight two persistent questions: can allocation to VC be compatible with the fiduciary duties of pension funds? If so, why has the historical aggregated allocation of pension funds to this asset class been so modest? To address these questions, we embarked on a journey...

UK and European pension funds laying the groundwork for VC surge

UK and European pension funds are laying the groundwork to become a more significant source of venture capital (VC) funding, according to a report from Venture Connections, European Women in VC and Pensions for Purpose, with Nordic pension funds the most active, despite growing momentum in the UK. The report, Mapping Pension Funds Attitudes to Venture & Growth in Europe, suggested that pension funds have the chance to help savers benefit and support long-term economic renewal, estimating that while only...

US. Amid Higher Funded Status, Pension Plans Consider Their Options

The assets of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans rose by $8 billion in August to $1.29 trillion, and the funded ratio of DB plans increased for the fifth consecutive month to 106.2%, according to data from Milliman. “[The current level of funding] is a significant milestone in the DB space, as the surplus funding gives plan sponsors more options for how to proceed with their plan, whether they want to continue operating their plan on a [liability-driven investment]...