April 2026
14Apr

UK. Longevity risk climbs agenda as DB schemes assess run-on strategies

Tackling longevity risk is becoming an increasing priority for UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, as more schemes reassess their endgame strategies amid a growing focus on run-on, according to Aon. The firm explained that improved funding levels in recent years have created both new opportunities and challenges for schemes, prompting trustees and sponsors to revisit their risk management approaches. This includes considering whether to run-on for a period before buyout, or to adopt a long-term run-on strategy, with longevity risk...

April 14, 2026
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March 2026
26Mar

​Climate risks ‘still mispriced’ despite $1.3trn corporate exposure

Financial markets may still be underestimating the investment impact of extreme weather, despite listed companies facing an estimated $1.3trn (£1trn) in losses over the next year alone, according to a new report from the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI). The report, developed by Marsh Risk along with Impax Asset Management’s Sustainability Centre, argues that physical climate risks are already affecting portfolios through asset damage, supply chain disruption, and impaired company performance – but are not yet being fully reflected in valuations. Its...

March 26, 2026
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20Mar

The Retirement System Is Breaking – 8 Risks Most Investors Still Ignore

In recent weeks, I have put a lot more focus on actionable ideas, including higher-yielding stocks (see this article). However, that’s just the start. Especially for income-focused investors, I want to provide more food for thought. That’s based on various reasons, including these ones: Many of my readers are retired or getting close to retirement. Heck, even many of my younger followers are looking to add some income to their portfolios. I believe that “value” stocks are a great place to...

March 20, 2026
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19Mar

Risks, returns and realism: Mapping the future of pension investment

By Nicolas Firzli and Nick Sherry  Former Australian pensions minister Nick Sherry and World Pensions Forum director M Nicolas J Firzli explain their new model for visualising the future of asset allocation as interest in private markets and productive finance increases. We are living in the Age of Geo-Economics – defined by the second Trump presidency, the accelerating Sino-American technological rivalry, and the weaponisation of trade, finance and central banking – shaping the Fifth Industrial Revolution – bringing us artificial intelligence, advanced...

March 19, 2026
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13Mar

Mortality Risk Valuation in Policy Assessment. A Global Meta-Analysis of Value of Statistical Life Studies

By OECD Policymakers are often faced with decisions affecting human health and mortality risk. For example, new vehicle fuel efficiency standards may lead to higher costs for consumers but could also save lives by improving air quality in urban areas, thus creating a trade-off between economic costs and the value of reducing mortality risk. Yet, too often, these economic trade-offs are not assessed in a systematic manner using a consistent methodology. This report aims to equip policymakers with the methodologies and economic...

March 13, 2026
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10Mar

Gen X Americans Face New Retirement Savings Threat

Generation X Americans could face new pressure on their retirement savings as the economic fallout from the war in Iran ripples through global markets. Now in its second week, the U.S. helmed conflict has pushed oil prices up sharply as bombing impacts regions critical to the production and movement of energy from the Persian Gulf. The price of Brent crude, which is the international benchmark, has surged to $119.50 per barrel. This morning, the NASDAQ fell by more than 1...

March 10, 2026
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February 2026
06Feb

Liability-Driven Portfolio Choice for Pension Funds under Regime-Switching Inflation

By Myung Jun Kim, Hyeontae Jo & Bong-Gyu Jang This paper studies optimal portfolio choice for a pension fund with inflation-linked liabilities under regime-switching market dynamics. We consider a fund manager who invests in stocks, inflation-indexed bonds (IIBs), and a risk-free asset to maximize expected utility of the terminal funding ratio, subject to a Value-at-Risk (VaR) constraint. Asset returns and inflation expectations follow a two-state Markov chain representing high and low inflation regimes. The main methodological challenge is solving the...

February 6, 2026
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January 2026
23Jan

Artificial Intelligence and Retirement Planning

By John Cutler, J.D Any views and ideas expressed in the essay are the author’s alone and may not reflect the views and ideas of the Society of Actuaries, the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, Society of Actuaries members, nor the author’s employer. The premise for this essay is that retirees (and pre-retirees) are unlikely to have had experience with artificial intelligence (AI) to any great degree. If you think about most advanced technologies, individuals learn about them in the workplace...

January 23, 2026
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20Jan

UN Pension Review Raises Concerns Among Staff and Retirees

The United Nations General Assembly’s latest pension fund resolution — adopted at the end of December 2025 — has triggered concerns among current and former staff members of the organization that their retirement security may be at risk. The resolution invites the UN Pension Board to carry out a full review of the pension system, including consideration of defined-contribution and hybrid models and exploring ways to “lower contributions.” That last phrase signals the review’s underlying intent: cost reduction rather than benefit enhancement. While framed...

January 20, 2026
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December 2025
19Dec

Dynamic asset allocation on the rise as pension plans face an era of controlled disorder

By Prof. Amin Rajan This question has come to the fore as the swirling clouds of geopolitical events have elevated the role of dynamic asset allocation (DAA). They have challenged the timehonoured primacy of strategic asset allocation (SAA), with fixed weights for different asset classes with long-term return targets. This rigid set-it/forget-it approach worked well in the longest bull run after the 2008 global financial crisis. Since 2022, however, concerted steep rises in interest rates by key central banks to curb...

December 19, 2025
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