September 2025
04Sep

Pension risk transfer: The U.S. and the U.K. compared

Growth in the pension risk transfer (PRT) industry is accelerating, with new research forecasting insurance companies will secure more than $335 billion of liabilities across the U.K. and the U.S. markets over the next three years. But with many insurers now looking at opportunities in both countries, it is vital to recognize the differences between the U.K. and the U.S., particularly when it comes to deferred lives. PRT transactions — often described as bulk purchase annuity deals in the U.K. —...

September 4, 2025
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04Sep

US. Don’t Plan Your Retirement Around Working Longer

You're fast approaching retirement, but don't have enough money to comfortably retire just yet. Instead of stashing more money in your 401(k), what if you just worked longer, delaying retirement until you saved enough? While this may seem like a good idea in theory, in practice it might not work out. We connected with policy experts to understand at what age people are retiring and why working forever won't solve your retirement woes. When Are People Actually Retiring? Most Americans retire before...

September 4, 2025
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03Sep

US. Public Pension Fund Returns Beat Their Benchmarks

U.S. public pension funds’ returns were well beyond their targets for the third consecutive year, reporting a median investment return of 11.3% for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to investment consulting firm Callan. All of the major asset classes reported gains for the year ending June 30, 2025. The plans’ returns, which left their average assumed rate of return of 7.0% in the dust by 430 basis points, were led by foreign equities and domestic equities, which gained 17.7%...

September 3, 2025
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03Sep

Colgate-Palmolive reaches $332-million settlement with employees over pensions

Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N), opens new tab agreed to pay $332 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit accusing the consumer products company of making mistakes in calculating its employees' pensions. A preliminary settlement covering 1,177 employees was filed on Friday night in Manhattan federal court and requires a judge's approval. Employees would receive about $232.7 million after lawyers' fees and expenses are deducted. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. The case had its...

September 3, 2025
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02Sep

US. Retirement Planning In 2025: What’s On People’s Minds

If retirement has been on your mind lately, you’re not alone. A record number of Americans are hitting retirement age this year, and it’s clear that rising living expenses and health care costs are giving many people pause. Whether you're approaching retirement or already settling into your golden years, now’s the time to check in on your financial game plan. Confidence Is Shaky And Inflation Is a Big Culprit According to Fidelity’s latest State of Retirement Planning study, just 67% of...

September 2, 2025
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02Sep

US. Big Change To Workplace Investing

Ordinary Americans are about to see the biggest change to retirement investing perhaps since 401(k) plans replaced traditional pension plans. President Trump’s executive order permitting private equity and private credit plans, presumably along with crypto investments, to be included in qualified plans will democratize the investing world—at least in theory. For at least a decade, prominent people like former Blackstone No. 2 executive Hamilton James have made this argument: that since 401(k) investors in their 20s and 30s were locking...

September 2, 2025
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August 2025
29Aug

Other nations mandate retirement savings — the U.S. does not. Here’s why it matters

Retirement funding looks very different depending on where you live. While the United States leans heavily on voluntary 401(k)-style savings plans, other nations rely on mandatory contributions or more traditional pensions to ensure broad coverage and steady income. Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index takes these structural differences into consideration when ranking some of the world’s biggest retirement systems. “We do it because we want to give a picture of the retirement landscape,” said Christine Mahoney, global pensions leader at Mercer, a consulting firm. “We try...

August 29, 2025
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28Aug

Financial regret at older ages and longevity awareness

By Abigail Hurwitz & Olivia S. Mitchell To investigate financial regret among older Americans, we conduct a controlled experiment in the Health and Retirement Study. We document that many older people regret not having bought longevity protection or long-term care insurance, as well as having retired and claimed social security benefits too early. This is especially true for women, Black, and less wealthy older individuals. Additionally, we find that informing participants about objective survival probabilities boosts regret by 43% regarding not...

August 28, 2025
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28Aug

US. BlackRock decries ‘politicizing’ pension fund management

Top asset manager BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab on Wednesday pushed back against pressure from U.S. Republican and Democratic officials, saying both sides have injected politics into the running of retirement assets and it only seeks to fulfill its fiduciary duties to clients. The message isn't new but it came in an unusual memo the company sent to 43 state treasurers, auditors and other officials of both major political parties, seen by Reuters. In late July, 26 Republicans signed on to a letter, opens...

August 28, 2025
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25Aug

US. Bitcoin 401(k)s thrill crypto investors but carry serious risks

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 7, allowing crypto in 401(k) retirement plans. The crypto industry has called the move a win for adoption, but investment professionals warn it comes with significant risk. The order “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors” directed US financial regulators to expand access to crypto and private companies in 401(k) plans. The 401(k) employee-sponsored investment scheme is one of the most popular retirement plans in the US. As of 2024,...

August 25, 2025
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