February 2026
13Feb

Underpaid and under pressure: The eldercare workforce leading the US’s job growth

The U.S. added 130,000 jobs in January, according to federal data released this week. But a closer look shows that the lion's share of this growth came from one specific task: caring for older Americans. Grouped under the formal categories of "social assistance" and "healthcare," at-home care services, hospitals and long-term care facilities added 124,000 positions. Much of this expansion was among the tens of thousands of aides and assistants who help elderly and disabled people bathe, dress, eat and manage...

February 13, 2026
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12Feb

US. Older people power a gray-shaped economy

Forget K-shaped, try gray-shaped: Older Americans are powering the economy. Why it matters: The changing demographics in the U.S. — more old people, fewer young ones — are reshaping jobs and spending in all kinds of ways. The latest: Nearly all of the job growth in January came from the health care and social assistance sectors, per the BLS data out Wednesday. Health care employment also drove much of the labor market growth last year. How it works: "As the population ages, you need more doctors and nurses, but you also...

February 12, 2026
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11Feb

US. People Now Have Much More Money in IRAs than 401(k)s. Why That Leaves Workers More Vulnerable.

The most extraordinary development in the U.S. private sector retirement system is not the shift away from old-fashioned defined benefit plans, which began around 1980 and is virtually complete today, but rather the movement away from 401(k) plans, which replaced the defined benefit plans, to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Total IRA assets now exceed the money in 401(k)s by $7 trillion (see Figure 1). The shift from 401(k)s to IRAs moves the employees’ money to a different regulatory environment. 401(k)...

February 11, 2026
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06Feb

Danish pensions’ US investment dilemma

Pension funds in Denmark are under government pressure to invest more at home, with some reassessing their US exposure amid concerns over financial stability and geopolitical tensions. AkademikerPension and PFA recently cut their holdings of US Treasuries, for instance. Similarly, investors across Europe and beyond are considering – or undertaking – their own action. President Donald Trump’s threats to seize Danish-ruled Greenland, though, are of particular relevance to Copenhagen. Decisions like these cannot be taken lightly or quickly, as Menno van den Elsaker of Dutch...

February 6, 2026
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06Feb

Birthrates Are Down. That Can Be a Sign of Progress

Dear reader, Five years ago when we started Headway, an initiative at The Times that considers the world’s challenges through the lens of progress, I wrote that measurement drives nearly every area of human endeavor. We chart our impact on the climate by measuring the amount of carbon in the air and the steady climb of average temperatures; we watch inflation and G.D.P. to understand the health of the economy. On subject after subject, when these indicators point the way we...

February 6, 2026
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05Feb

US. Bitcoin price meltdown leaves these public pensions down 60% on Strategy bets

US pension funds that bet on Strategy find themselves nursing some heavy losses as share prices for Michael Saylor’s firm continue to slide. The 11 funds collectively hold nearly 1.8 million shares of Strategy, now worth about $240 million, down from $577 million when they first reported their allocations. That’s $337 million in paper losses so far, according to research platform Fintel. Moreover, 10 out of the 11 funds are down 60% on their Strategy stock buys. Strategy’s shares have lost...

February 5, 2026
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04Feb

US. More than Half of Recent Retirees Have Regrets About How They Saved for Retirement

For millions of Americans who retired in the last five years, the transition from earning a paycheck to living off savings brings an uncomfortable reality check: many wish they did things differently, according to a new Advisor Authority study, powered by the Nationwide Retirement Institute. More than half (55%) of recent retirees (those retired in the last five years) say they have regrets about how they saved for retirement. More than a quarter (28%) wish they began saving earlier, and...

February 4, 2026
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04Feb

US. Mark Levine’s Priorities at the NYC Pension System

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine wants to increase the city’s pension investments in affordable housing, and will not slow down on the city’s sustainability initiatives, Levine said in an interview with CIO.  As comptroller, Levine oversees the five New York City pension systems—the Teachers’ Retirement System, Employees Retirement System, Police Pension Fund, Fire Pension Fund, and the Board of Education Retirement System—which collectively manage $311.35 billion in assets. “My No. 1 obligation in this role is to protect the retirement assets of the three-quarters of a million people who...

February 4, 2026
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03Feb

US. Trump is pushing to include risky assets like crypto and private equity in 401(k)s

In an executive order dated August 7, 2025, President Trump called for a reexamination of regulations and guidance for retirement plans. Trump asked regulators to encourage retirement plan administrators to include risky options like alternative assets (or “alts”) in 401(k) and similar retirement plans. Alternative assets could be funds invested in private equity and cryptocurrencies, assets that lack strict regulation and whose value and risk can be hard to assess compared with other types of investments. Because of this, many consider...

February 3, 2026
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January 2026
30Jan

US. Congress Racing to Avoid Shutdown: What It Means for Retirement Plans

President Trump and Senate Democrats reportedly reached a funding agreement on Thursday night to avoid a partial government shutdown, but a lot of elements need to fall into place in a very short period to avoid a shutdown. According to Politico, Trump and the Democrats have agreed to separate out the Department of Homeland Security (which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement) from the larger spending bill moving through Congress, and approve that bill, along with a short-term continuing resolution to...

January 30, 2026
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