June 2025
06Jun

Milliman Pension Buyout Index May 2025

By Jake Pringle & Ryan Cook Estimated competitive retiree buyout cost, as a percentage of accounting liability, decreased by 140 bps from 102.5% to 101.1% during April As the pension risk transfer market continues to grow, it has become increasingly important for plan sponsors to monitor the annuity buyout market when considering a plan termination or de-risking strategy. Figure 1 illustrates retiree buyout costs with two different metrics: The red line represents only the most competitive insurers' rates from each month,...

June 6, 2025
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06Jun

UK. FCA leads global crackdown on rogue finfluencers

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has led a coordinated international crackdown on illegal financial promotions by unauthorised online influencers, known as “finfluencers”. Nine regulators from countries, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, the UAE and the UK, took part in a global enforcement effort that began on 2 June 2025. In the UK, the FCA made three arrests in collaboration with the City of London Police, initiated criminal proceedings against three individuals and invited four others for interview. It also sent seven...

June 6, 2025
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04Jun

Rising Discount Rates Push Pension Risk Transfer Costs Lower in April

Offloading retiree pension risk to an insurance company became less expensive in April, according to consulting and actuary firm Milliman, which tracks the cost of de–risking pension funds with its Milliman Pension Buyout Index. The firm estimated that in a competitive bidding process, average costs of a pension risk transfer declined to 101.1% of a plan’s accounting liabilities in April from 102.5% in March. At the same time, average annuity purchase costs among all insurers in Milliman’s index decreased to...

June 4, 2025
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May 2025
29May

​Germany. Aon recommends halt in US investments as capital shifts to safer havens

Aon is recommending German corporate pension funds to refrain from making new investments in the US, and carefully rebalance allocations as capital moves to safer havens. Volatility on the equity markets, particularly in the US, continues, and it is likely to result in capital shifts to safe havens such as Europe and Japan, and possibly Canada and Australia, the consultancy wrote in a blog (published in German) to highlight the impact of capital market turbulences on occupational pensions in Germany. Companies offering funded...

May 29, 2025
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20May

US. Outliving Savings: A Growing Risk

Changes in financial planning that will account for increasing longevity haven't necessarily kept pace with expectations that the number of Americans living to 100 and beyond will quadruple over the next 30 years, warns a new study. In fact, the research from the Nationwide Retirement Institute and the American College of Financial Services finds that extending a retirement by just five years from 30 to 35 years increases the risk of depleting savings by 41%, based on historical market returns. Conducted...

May 20, 2025
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16May

The Longevity Story: Opportunities and Considerations

By World Governments Summit   This report delves into the concept of longevity, highlighting how advancements in medical technology, sanitation, preventive care, and lifestyle choices have significantly increased human lifespans—from an average of 45 years in the 1950s to over 73 years today. While early efforts to extend life overlooked aging itself, recent focus on understanding and potentially reversing the aging process has fueled the growth of the longevity industry. Organizations like Altos Labs, Hevolution Foundation, and Pure Health are pioneering...

May 16, 2025
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16May

Till Death Us do Part: Liquidity and the Annuity Puzzle

By Barbara Summers & Robert Hudson The annuity puzzle refers to the phenomenon that voluntary annuity take-up is typically much lower than predicted by mainstream economic models. Such models typically make strong assumptions regarding the risk and uncertainty facing individuals and neglect the role of liquidity. Often individuals are assumed to face only longevity risk or to have hedged all other risks in complete markets. In practice individuals need an element of liquidity in their portfolios to control the risks...

May 16, 2025
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15May

One-in-four UK pension schemes consider reducing US exposure amid tariff uncertainty

A new pulse survey by WTW reveals that a segment of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are actively reconsidering their US exposures, amid mounting trade policy uncertainty and investor concern about global volatility. Polling conducted at WTW’s recent client forum (8th May) showed that while the majority of schemes are maintaining current allocations, around a quarter are now considering pulling back from U.S. assets and dollar exposure. This includes 25% of schemes considering a reduction in U.S. asset holdings. Meanwhile, 34% of...

May 15, 2025
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April 2025
30Apr

Longevity v interest rates – which poses the biggest risk for schemes?

Rising life expectancy poses a greater risk to UK corporate pension schemes than low interest rates, a report this week has suggested, but some industry experts have challenged the finding. Low interest rates have wreaked havoc on many schemes’ funding levels as liability calculations are revised up. Earlier this month the aggregate deficit of the Pension Protection Fund’s 7800 Index reached £254.2bn, up from £93.2bn a year ago. The cost of not hedging longevity in a low interest rate environment is proportionately greater...

April 30, 2025
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15Apr

US. The Real Retirement Crisis

Not long ago, I picked up a book that states “why (almost) everything you know about the US retirement system is wrong” — and it’s definitely worth a read. The book — entitled The Real Retirement Crisis: Why (Almost) Everything You Know About the US Retirement System Is Wrong — is the work of American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Andrew Biggs — and it’s a comprehensive assessment of any number of the misstatements, mischaracterizations, flawed assumptions and downright obfuscations that plague any...

April 15, 2025
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