May 2026
21May

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...

May 21, 2026
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20May

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,...

May 20, 2026
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19May

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...

May 19, 2026
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18May

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...

May 18, 2026
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15May

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...

May 15, 2026
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07May

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...

May 7, 2026
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07May

Geopolitical conflict wipes out R200 billion in South African pension funds

The war in Iran revealed that South African pension funds are over-exposed to geopolitical events, which is forcing some of the country’s biggest funds to rethink their investment strategy. This is the feedback from Frans Baleni, chair of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), who noted that the fund took a major hit from the war in the Middle East. Speaking in an interview with Moneyweb Radio, Baleni said the GEPF had built a strong track record of protecting public servants’ retirement...

May 7, 2026
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04May

UK Pension Assets Fall £232 Billion in Six Years: deVere Group Analysis

The total value of UK-funded occupational pension schemes has fallen by £232 billion since 2019, new data shows. The dramatic slide comes despite the fact that overall membership grew by 1.6 million people in the same period. The fall reveals the full impact of the 2022 Truss Mini-budget, from which UK defined benefit contributions have yet to recover. Analysis by the deVere Group of ONS data shows a peak-to-trough of minus £757 bn, or −37.4 per cent. The market-value measure (assets minus non-pension...

May 4, 2026
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April 2026
30Apr

US. These workers are allowed to save $35,000 a year in their 401(k)s. Here’s how many actually do it.

Super catch-up contribution rates are low: ‘Most people don’t have that kind of discretionary income’ Super catch-up contributions — which allow older workers to pack their 401(k) accounts to the tune of nearly $35,000 a year — might be a little less than super when it comes to participation rates, in part because most workers can’t afford to make them. Under the Secure 2.0 legislation passed by Congress in 2022, people ages 60 to 63 who participate in workplace retirement plans...

April 30, 2026
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29Apr

Gambling for Retirement: The Economics of Savings Lotteries

By Jared Gars, Justin Holz, Rodemeier & Juan Miguel Villa Governments frequently use lottery-like incentives to encourage socially desirable behavior ("Pigouvian lotteries"). We study lotteries that encourage retirement savings in a nationwide field experiment with over 380,000 participants in Colombia's public pension system. Lotteries increase savings during the qualification period, but this effect is almost entirely offset by subsequent declines in savings, as workers strategically shift the timing of deposits. Lotteries also crowd out demand for valuable life and disability...

April 29, 2026
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