March 2026
13Mar

Why Social Security Is Essential to Measuring Wealth Inequality

By Knowledge at Wharton Staff In this Q&A, professor Sylvain Catherine discusses why including Social Security fundamentally changes how we measure wealth inequality. His paper “Social Security and Trends in Wealth Inequality” was co-authored by Max Miller and Natasha Sarin and recently won the Dimensional Fund Advisors First Prize from the American Finance Association. The paper was previously awarded the Marshall Blume Prize in Financial Research from Wharton’s Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research, given annually to the best...

March 13, 2026
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13Mar

It’s thanks to Social Security wealth inequality isn’t even worse, Wharton economist says. Trump’s policies will push it to insolvency in 6 years

America’s debt burden is caught in a death loop, and President Donald Trump’s policy agenda has accelerated that spiral. Among other consequences, the country’s race towards fiscal chaos might also plunge Social Security into insolvency, potentially erasing a $40 trillion buffer that has helped moderate wealth inequality over the past few decades. Modern-day America’s chasm between the ultra-rich and the rest of the country hasn’t been this wide since the Gilded Age, when the wealthiest 5% held a third of...

March 13, 2026
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10Mar

Five ‘critical forces’ reshaping global retirement systems

There are five 'critical forces' reshaping retirement systems around the world, with countries facing challenges balancing fiscal sustainability and retirement adequacy, according to a report from State Street. Its analysis identified these global forces as: demographic ageing, socioeconomic shifts (including the rise of gig working), technological disruption, rising longevity, and mounting fiscal pressures. The report highlighted that while countries had vastly different system designs, every nation was facing similar challenges and most were converging towards portable defined contribution models and flexible...

March 10, 2026
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February 2026
12Feb

As China Ages, a Pension Crisis Looms

On October 23, 2025, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee concluded with approval of the 15th Five-Year Plan, covering the period from 2026 to 2030. Chinese leaders have described this plan as a “crucial link” in the country’s long-term goal of achieving fundamental modernization by 2035. Yet beneath these ambitions lies a structural challenge that threatens to erode many of its gains. Amid rapid economic growth and ambitions for a highly modernized industrial system,...

February 12, 2026
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January 2026
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

European Financial Ecosystems. Comparing France, Sweden, UK and Italy.

By Stefano Caselli & Marta Zava The study examines the structure, functioning, and strategic implications of financial ecosystems across four European countries-France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Italy-to identify institutional best practices relevant to the ongoing transformation of Italy's financial system. Building on a comparative analysis of legislation and regulation, taxation, investor bases, and financial intermediation, the report highlights how distinct historical and institutional trajectories have shaped divergent models: the French dirigiste system anchored by powerful state-backed institutions and deep...

December 19, 2025
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15Dec

Luxembourg’s Pension Outlook: Strong Forecasting Today, Hard Reform Choices Ahead

A study on the IMF's December 2025 Technical Assistance Report on Luxembourg's pension projections offers a detailed examination of how reliably the country has been forecasting the financial future of its public pension system. Prepared by the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department in cooperation with Luxembourg's General Inspectorate of Social Security (IGSS), the national statistical institute STATEC, and within the EU framework coordinated by the Ageing Working Group (AWG), the report reflects a collaborative, evidence-based effort to assess...

December 15, 2025
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08Dec

Albania. 13 thousand pensioners added, scheme at risk, growing faster than contributors

The number of beneficiaries in the public pension scheme expanded further during 2022, reaching a total of 686,923 people or over 13 thousand more than in 2021. Official data from the Institute of Social Insurance show that the number of pensioners is growing faster than the number of contributors. Pensioners increased by 13 thousand, while contributors by 10 thousand. In 2022 for every beneficiary there were only 1.1 contributors from 1.2 which was this ratio in 2018. In the following years,...

December 8, 2025
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05Dec

Adequacy and Sustainability of Pensions

By Commission European Pensions are the main source of income for older people in Europe, coming mostly from 'pay-as-you-go' public schemes. Retired people drawing a pension are a significant and — due to demographic ageing — a growing part of the EU population (about 124 million, or a quarter of the total population1). European pension systems are facing the dual challenge of remaining financially sustainable and being able to provide Europeans with an adequate income in retirement. The key purpose of...

December 5, 2025
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November 2025
28Nov

PPI Digest: Autumn Budget 2025

By Pensions Policy Institute Clearly, very difficult choices have had to be made in the Budget today. It was always unlikely that pensions would escape completely from this, even though both the Pensions Schemes Bill and the new Pensions Commission are seeking ways to increase the amount of money that future generations will have to support themselves in retirement. The introduction of a contributions cap of £2,000 on salary sacrificed pension contributions from 2029 will not affect many of those who...

November 28, 2025
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