November 2025
27Nov

Germany’s pension reform becomes a generational conflict

As in France, pensions have become a source of political instability in Germany. For several weeks, the future of the system has poisoned the atmosphere within the government led by conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in office since May 6. Returning from his international trips focused on Ukraine, Merz has had to confront internal rebellion, described as the coalition's most serious crisis yet. The young elected members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), gathered in the Junge Union organization, have challenged...

November 27, 2025
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18Nov

Germany’s Merz confronts conservative rebellion over pension reform

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing rising opposition — but this time it’s from within his own conservative ranks. A group of 18 young lawmakers in Merz’s conservative bloc are threatening to stop a pension reform bill put forth by the chancellor’s coalition government, arguing the benefits pledged in the agreement aren’t sustainable and “cannot be justified to the younger generation.” The revolt has turned into a test of Merz’s authority and the durability of his relatively weak government — a coalition between...

November 18, 2025
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18Nov

ILO Advances Its Work on Social Protection in Ukraine, Supporting the Country’s Ongoing Pension Reform

The ILO team engaged in constructive dialogue with Ukrainian partners. A key discussion took place with Denys Ulutin, Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity, who shared the Government’s approach to building a system that is resilient and forward-looking. The goal of the policies we are working on is a contemporary, sustainable system that supports people and the economy. It is not only about benefits, but also about creating conditions for development. Denys Ulutin, Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity...

November 18, 2025
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07Nov

The real obstacle to EU capital market integration is unreformed pension systems

A pension system crisis is looming in the European Union. As their populations age, EU countries must address their often alarmingly high levels of unfunded public pension liabilities, which typically vastly exceed countries’ gross public debt levels (Figure 1). These liabilities are calculated from current life expectancies, effective retirement ages and pension benefit levels. Many, if not all, EU governments will in the coming years have to change these pension system provisions and renege on earlier promises made to...

November 7, 2025
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October 2025
31Oct

The Future of Retirement Security An International Comparison through the Lens of Adequacy, Sustainability, Equity and Plan Design

By Surya Kolluri, Catherine Reilly & David P. Richardson Countries around the world are considering and implementing reforms to their retirement systems for a variety of reasons, including increasing demographic and economic pressures. A key demographic driver is human longevity. For example, the average retiree can expect to spend about two decades in retirement, roughly double the time from 50 years ago. In the United States, life expectancy has risen by 17 years since the Social Security program debuted nearly 90...

October 31, 2025
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17Oct

French PM survives no-confidence votes after making pension concession

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday, winning crucial backing from the Socialist Party thanks to his pledge to suspend President Emmanuel Macron’s contested pension reform. The two motions presented by the hard-left France Unbowed and the far-right National Rally (RN) secured just 271 and 144 votes respectively — well short of the 289 votes needed to bring down Lecornu’s days-old government. Lecornu’s offer to mothball the pension reform until after the 2027 presidential election...

October 17, 2025
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16Oct

UK. Savers back pension reforms despite cost-of-living strains

Despite the cost-of-living strain, most savers are continuing to save into their pension, research from Pensions UK has found, with 4 per cent of savers having reduced pension contributions. The research showed that many are struggling, as 44 per cent of people say their financial situation is worse than 12 months ago, up from 34 per cent in 2024. As a result, many are cutting back on everyday spending, including eating out (39 per cent), takeaways (35 per cent), holidays (32...

October 16, 2025
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16Oct

Why Europe can’t face its pension black hole

France's political standoff shows how European governments, caught between the demands of their ageing electorates and the need to keep spending in check, keep struggling to fix the pension-shaped holes in their budgets. The right to a pension has been a central plank of the European social contract for decades. But longer life spans and fewer births mean most governments can't afford to have people retiring on a full pension in their early 60s, as was once the norm. The Week...

October 16, 2025
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15Oct

French PM backs freezing Macron’s pension reform to save government

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has told parliament he backs suspending controversial 2023 pension reforms, in the face of crucial votes of no-confidence later this week. The changes, which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, were seen as signature reforms in Emmanuel Macron's presidency. "This autumn I will propose to parliament that we suspend the 2023 pension reform until the [2027] presidential election," Lecornu said to applause from left-wing parties. Lecornu was reappointed prime minister last week only four days...

October 15, 2025
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09Oct

Modifying pension reform would be very costly for France, says finance minister

Any plans to modify France's pension reforms - whose unpopularity is one of the reasons behind the country's political crisis - would be very costly for the economy, said acting French finance minister Roland Lescure on Wednesday. "Modifying the pension reform will cost hundreds of millions in 2026, and billions in 2027," Lescure told France Inter radio. Elisabeth Borne, a former Prime Minister and the country's current caretaker education minister, told Le Parisien newspaper on Tuesday that she was open to suspending the pension overhaul...

October 9, 2025
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