September 2025
17Sep

Balancing sustainability and social welfare: The controversial 2025 ‘pension age’ reform in Mauritius

The government of Mauritius has amended the National Pensions Act 1976 through Section 39 of the Finance Act 2025 to address rising national debt and ensure the long-term sustainability of the Basic Retirement Pension (BRP). The reform introduces a new definition of 'pension age,' gradually increasing the eligibility age for the BRP from 60 to 65 years over a ten-year period, starting from September 2026. The Income Tax Act has been amended to provide income support to individuals...

September 17, 2025
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15Sep

More than half of UK adults unaware of key pension policy changes

More than half of UK adults (51 per cent) are unaware of upcoming pension policy changes that could have a major impact on their retirement plans, according to new research from Schroders Personal Wealth (SPW). The 2025 SPW Retirement Report, based on a survey of 1,500 UK adults, revealed significant knowledge gaps around shifting pension rules and wider financial planning, with many people still working on assumptions that may no longer hold true. For example, despite 29 per cent of respondents saying...

September 15, 2025
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01Sep

A “major trouble” of €2 trillion! Is the pension reform in the Netherlands about to ignite the European bond market?

The Zhito Finance APP has learned that a transformation nearing €2 trillion (approximately $2.3 trillion) is sweeping across the European bond market, adding further turbulence to the already unpredictable year of 2025—tariff upheavals, concerns over deficits, and a political crisis in France are all unfolding, and now the reform of the Dutch pension system has become the new eye of the storm. As the largest pension market in the European Union, this long-anticipated reform in the Netherlands has driven up...

September 1, 2025
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August 2025
29Aug

Modeling pension reform: The World Bank’s pension reform options simulation toolkit

By World Bank Group Today's pension policies can affect retirement incomes and the public finances for decades to come. Retirement income systems that are affordable today, will often prove unsustainable in the future, given the twin pressures of demographic aging and the maturing of pension schemes. The World Bank's pension reform options simulation toolkit (PROST) models pension contributions, entitlements, system revenues, and system expenditures over a long time frame. The model is designed to promote informed policymaking, bridging the gap between...

August 29, 2025
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28Aug

1 in 5 Europeans will retire in poverty without urgent reform, EU watchdog warns

Poverty in old age will be the norm for a large chunk of Europe's population unless current retirement policies undergo deep reform, the EU's workplace pensions regulator has warned. "One in five Europeans is already at risk of living in poverty at old age," said Petra Hielkema, chief of the Frankfurt-based European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. "[That's] a ridiculously high percentage, frankly. And if you then look at women, they have a 30 percent larger risk for that," she told...

August 28, 2025
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14Aug

Romania proposes pension reforms as it moves to join OECD

Romanians will be limited to withdrawing a quarter of their private pension funds upon retirement and will receive the rest in monthly payments under a draft reform of the system unveiled on Friday that aims to boost the country's OECD candidacy. The EU member state overhauled its communist-era pension system in 2008, making it compulsory for working Romanians under 35 to contribute to a so-called "second pillar" of private pension schemes in addition to their state pension. Under the scheme, more...

August 14, 2025
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13Aug

Bulgaria’s Pension System Faces Challenges Ahead of Eurozone Entry in 2026

Bulgaria’s pension system stands at a critical juncture as the country prepares to join the Eurozone in 2026. This transition will bring pensions denominated in euros instead of leva, prompting questions about the system’s future stability amid demographic shifts and budgetary pressures. Our analysis explores the structure of Bulgaria’s pension scheme, current challenges, and projections looking ahead to 2070. The Bulgarian pension system consists of three pillars. The first pillar is the state social security system, funded through the pay-as-you-go...

August 13, 2025
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12Aug

China’s pension system needs an overhaul because it is neither fair nor sustainable

By Zhou Xin Mainland China’s pension system has again become an issue of debate after the Supreme People’s Court ruled that any private agreement between employers and employees to evade payment of retirement funds was invalid. While the legal interpretation reiterated existing laws and regulations, it struck a nerve with the population and triggered doubts about the pension system’s fairness and sustainability. China’s pay-as-you-go system, which requires workers to contribute funds into a state-managed pool to pay for their retirement, essentially serves as a...

August 12, 2025
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12Aug

German second pillar reform ‘falls short’, say industry bodies

Germany’s occupational pensions industry has expressed disappointment with draft legislation to reform the second pillar pension system, calling for further changes to fully unlock the potential of company pensions. The draft law, prepared by the finance ministry and the ministry of labour and social affairs, aims to extend occupational pensions in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via defined contribution (DC) schemes under the so-called social partner model, widen automatic enrolment, and allow occupational pension vehicles such as Pensionskassen and Pensionsfonds...

August 12, 2025
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06Aug

Update to German pension legislation sets out comprehensive reform

New draft legislation from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) aims to comprehensively reform and strengthen occupational pension schemes, but it remains to be seen whether this idea will be realised, experts have said. Dr. Andreas Schöberle and Felix Pickert, employment law experts at Pinsent Masons, were commenting following the publication of the draft bill (56 pages/516 KB PDF). The aim is to increase the prevalence of occupational pensions schemes, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises and among low-income earners. According to...

August 6, 2025
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