June 2026

Nigeria. Unremitted pensions: The silent threat to workers’ retirement security

For millions of Nigerian workers enrolled under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), monthly pension deductions are expected to provide financial security after retirement. However, a growing challenge within the system is threatening that promise: The persistent failure of some employers to remit pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries. Despite nearly two decades of pension reform and significant growth in pension assets, non-remittance of pension contributions remains one of the biggest compliance concerns facing Nigeria’s pension industry. The practice cuts across...

Vietnam to raise pensions and social security benefits from July 1

Around 3.4 million pensioners and social insurance beneficiaries will receive an 8% increase under the government's latest social welfare measures. Vietnam will implement a series of social welfare adjustments from July 1, increasing pensions, social insurance benefits and assistance payments for millions of people as part of efforts to offset inflation and improve living standards. Under Government Decree No. 161/2026, the statutory base salary will increase from VND2.34 million ($92) to VND2.53 million ($100) per month from July 1. The adjustment...

May 2026

Most people in the US are at risk of outliving their retirement savings

Retirement savings may have hit record levels, but a mere 12% of retirement savers in the U.S. have enough funds set aside to last more than 10 years, a new survey warns. The survey of 1,000 U.S. retirement savers by online retirement pension provider PensionBee also found that just 13% of respondents could not survive one month on their funds. Increasing lifespans are also adding to the retirement savings pressure. Life expectancy for the U.S. population was 79 years in 2024, according to CDC data,...

Lithuania’s Second-Pillar Exits Expose Pension Saving Gap

About 40 percent of participants in Lithuania’s second-pillar pension saving system left the scheme in the first quarter of 2026. The figure does not by itself show that residents have given up on preparing for retirement, but it raises a practical question: will the returned money become part of a long-term plan, or be absorbed into short-term spending? This international adaptation is based on a BNS-published comment by Giedrius Rimša, president of the Lithuanian Life Insurance Companies Association, and survey...

Why millions of Britons face a pension cliff edge

In today’s newsletter: A new report warns that many in the UK are under-saving for later life, leaving some with little choice but to work longer. Good morning. I am going to whisper this gently so you don’t get spooked back under the duvet – there is a good chance that you are one of at least 15 million Britons not saving adequately for retirement. That is according to a report published this week by the Pensions Commission. The pensions “cliff edge” is...

UK. Asking people to save 12% of salary into pensions could tackle looming retirement poverty crisis

Poverty in retirement could be drastically reduced if minimum work pension contributions were boosted, a new report finds. Some 12.2 million people or nearly a third of adults face hardship in later life on current forecasts. That is the number of people heading for an income of less than the Pensions UK benchmark for a basic standard of living - £13,400 if you are single or £21,600 for a couple. The figures do not account for income tax, housing or care costs. However,...

Millions of Britons not saving enough for retirement, warns Pensions Commission

Report highlights ‘stark’ issue of self-employed workers struggling to save for later life. Millions of Britons are not saving enough under the current pension system, a government-backed commission will announce in an interim report published on Tuesday. The problem is particularly acute among those who are wholly self-employed, only 4 per cent of whom have any pension, the Pensions Commission has found. “The degree of the issue on self-employed is much starker than [we] would have thought,” said Sir...

Ghana Financial Sector Assets Jump 23.3% in 2025

Ghana’s financial sector assets rose 23.3 per cent to GH¢647.25 billion in 2025, equal to 45.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), regulators said in their maiden stability review. The expansion was driven by steadier macroeconomic conditions, stronger capital buffers, and heavy bank holdings of government instruments, according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG). Profitability and solvency positions strengthened across all four supervised industries, namely banking, insurance, securities, and pensions. The figures were unveiled at the maiden launch of the...

US. Why Your $1 Million 401(k) May Be Worth Far Less Than You Think

A million bucks in a 401(k) doesn't mean you have a seven-figure fortune to spend in retirement. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam takes his tax cut. Suddenly, the $1 million sitting in a traditional retirement account isn't as well fortified as you thought. "One million dollars in a 401(k) isn't really worth a million dollars," said David Schneider, a certified financial planner and president of Schneider Wealth Strategies. It's important for retirees and workers still saving for retirement to keep that in mind. And...

US. Retirement Savings Fall Far Short of Longevity Expectations

The current life expectancy is 79 years old, but on average U.S. adults surveyed by Pew Research hope to live until 91, according to the 2026 Mind, Body and Wallet report by the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America, a provider of workforce benefits, retirement and wealth solutions.  The wish for longer life, however, did not align with Guardian respondents’ preparedness for a longer retirement. Compared with the previous 15 years that Guardian published its Mind, Body and Wallet report, 2026 results showed persistently low levels of overall wellbeing and financial health. For the third consecutive...