January 2026

How our fear of aging is speeding it up

After I turned 60 last October, I became consumed with thoughts of mortality. I worried that I was now on a fast track toward ill health, retirement blues and forgetful conversations filled with non-sequiturs. It’s not hard to see why. In 2023, the American Psychological Association wrote that “ageism is one of the last socially acceptable prejudices” in American culture. From shelves lined with anti-aging products, to punchlines about getting older to workplace bias, the message is clear: entering...

Without pension reform, China is leaving its rural elderly out in the cold

“Rural heating problems in Hebei cannot wait any longer” declared a recent report in Farmers’ Daily. It described a disturbing reality in parts of northern China: elderly villagers who would rather shiver through freezing temperatures than turn on their heaters, because they simply cannot afford the cost. For many urban readers, this may sound implausible. For millions of rural elderly, it is routine. On the surface, the problem appears to be a side effect of China’s well-intentioned environmental reforms. Beginning...

Nigeria. Driving growth with recapitalisation

With macroeconomic headwinds still blowing, regulatory shakeups underway, and citizens demanding more value for their trust, Omobola Tolu-Kusimo writes on whether 2026 could be the year these industries either break new ground or stay stuck in the cycle of unrealized potential. The year 2025 ended with increased premiums, improved regulatory oversight, and renewed investor interest following NAICOM’s enforcement of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2025 (NIIRA 2025).reforms and recapitalisation efforts. However, insurance penetration remains below 1per cent, a stubborn reminder...

Ghana. President Mahama pledges to review Single Spine Salary Structure and pensions

President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to carry out a review of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and pensions, as part of government efforts to address concerns of public sector workers. The President made the promise in his address at the opening of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) 54th National Delegates Congress and Seventh Quadrennial Conference in Accra, on the theme, “Education and Development: The Ghana Education Service (GES) at 50: Reflecting, Reviewing, Revising, and Growing the Profession and...

2026 marks beginning of ‘decade of pensions transformation’

UK pension schemes enter 2026 in a robust position with strong funding levels, but the year ahead is expected to mark the start of significant structural change for the system, Penfold has stated. The digital pensions provider noted that defined benefit (DB) pension schemes were collectively running an estimated £223bn surplus, with assets exceeding long-term liabilities by around 24-25 per cent. Meanwhile, defined contribution (DC) assets under management have continued to grow, reaching around £650bn - an increase of roughly 40...

December 2025

Comparing Socialist Approaches: Economics and Social Security in Cuba, China, and Vietnam

By Carmelo Mesa-Lago In Comparing Socialist Approaches, Carmelo Mesa-Lago examines the two main socialist models across Cuba, China, and Vietnam to compare central planning and socialist markets. Under the Cuban central plan, large state enterprises have been unable to generate economic growth, even with mild structural market reforms and a small controlled private sector. In the Sino-Vietnamese model of a socialist marketplace, dynamic private enterprises of all sizes, together with large state enterprises, operate under a decentralized plan with state regulation and...

Social Security Reforms and Inequality among Older Workers in Spain

By Cristina Bellés-Obrero, Manuel Flores, Pilar Garcia-Gomez, Sergi Jimenez-Martin & Judit Vall Castelló This chapter studies social security reforms and trends in inequalities among older workers over the last decades in Spain. Its main goal is to analyze the redistributive impact of the various pension reforms on older income inequality. Compared to the rules in 1985, recent pension reforms have led to an average increase on Social Security Wealth of approximately 18,000€ for men and 15,000€ for women. This represents...

Germany. Bundestag Passes Second Act Strengthening Company Pensions

The aim of the BRSG II is the necessary expansion of company pension schemes in Germany and it contains important new regulations. The Act will come into force in several stages from 1 January 2026. The most important points are summarised here. Following lengthy deliberations, which were also delayed by the new Bundestag elections, the Bundestag passed the BRSG II on 5 December. In particular, the Act includes options for introducing opting-out systems at company level, higher settlement caps for...

French MPs adopt social security budget, suspend pension reform

French lawmakers on Tuesday, December 16, adopted a social security budget, which includes the suspension of an unpopular pension reform, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu races to finalize a 2026 spending plan by year-end. The Assemblée Nationale approved the measure by 247 votes to 232, the first of two budget bills needed to pass before the December 31 deadline. The version of the bill lawmakers approved includes the suspension of a 2023 reform to raise the retirement age from 62...

Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) has scheduled for December 18th the trial that could increase benefits in 2026.

The Supreme Federal Court set a date for December 18, 2025 the trial that could directly affect minimum age for special retirement, with significant implications for workers exposed to harmful conditions and for those who have already reorganized their lives after retirement. Beyond the minimum age for special retirementThe agenda involves the possibility of resuming full retirement benefits and allowing the conversion of special time into common time, forming a set of decisions that, if they move forward, could alter retirement planning, values, and...