August 2026

Bequest-Motivated Decumulation of UK Pensions for Non-Domiciled Individuals: A Monte-Carlo and HJB Approach

By Sebastien Hitier We study the optimal decumulation of a UK pension pot for an expatriate holder who is tax-resident in a jurisdiction that does not tax investment income or gifts. Because the pension wrapper offers no ongoing tax shelter to heirs, the holder's sole objective is to minimise the expected present value of lifetime taxes-personal income tax on drawdowns plus inheritance tax at death. We formulate the problem as a stochastic optimal control with Gompertz-Makeham mortality, progressive UK taxation,...

Deaccumulation in India: The Role of Equity, Debt and Annuities in Retirement Income

By Ravi Saraogi & Pushpinder Singh Framework: We adopt a partial annuitisation framework in which a fraction of the retirement corpus is used to purchase an immediate life annuity, while the remainder is retained in a self-managed portfolio. Using a bootstrap Monte Carlo approach with Indian equity, debt and inflation data, we simulate retirement paths across four portfolio allocations, three annuitisation levels (0, 20 and 40 per cent) and four annuity payout rates (6, 7, 8 and 9 per cent)....

July 2026

Hard Times Drive Surge in Early Pension Withdrawals Across Kenya

A growing number of Kenyans are withdrawing their retirement savings long before reaching retirement age as households grapple with rising living costs, unemployment, business losses and mounting financial pressures, exposing the deep economic strain facing workers across the country. Latest industry data shows that early pension withdrawals have surged in recent years, with financial hardship overtaking retirement as the main reason many contributors are accessing their savings. Pension fund managers say more workers are opting to cash out immediately after...

June 2026

The World’s Best Retirement Systems Share One Habit. In the U.S. People Have to Build It Alone.

Each year, Mercer and the CFA Institute publish the Global Pension Index, which scores 52 national retirement systems - covering about two-thirds of the world's population - on how well they actually serve retirees. It isn't a popularity contest. Systems are graded on adequacy (do benefits keep people comfortable?), sustainability (will the money still be there in 30 years?), and integrity (is the system well-run and trustworthy?). In the most recent rankings, the United States came in 30th, with a score of 61.1 -...

US. Retirement savings set record high — but so do hardship withdrawals: Vanguard

There's some good news and some not-so-good news on the retirement front from Vanguard. Americans set aside a record amount of money in their 401(k) accounts last year, according to Vanguard's "How America Saves 2026" report. But while savings rates are up, so are the number of Americans tapping their 401(k) for emergencies. Vanguard said 6% of participants made a hardship withdrawal in 2025, the largest share ever and up from 5% in 2024. "Pressures such as inflation and rising interest rates contribute...

May 2026

UK Pensioners Suffer Heavy Tax Losses as 462,000 Rush to Withdraw Savings

Hundreds of thousands of British retirees are inadvertently surrendering significant portions of their life savings to HM Revenue and Customs, as an unprecedented rush to withdraw pension cash exposes catastrophic flaws in national retirement guidance. Startling data published annually by the Financial Conduct Authority reveals a 29 percent surge in the number of individuals cashing out their entire pension pots. Driven by unrelenting cost-of-living pressures and highly restrictive legacy financial products, retirees are triggering massive, entirely avoidable tax liabilities that...

South Africa. Pay is up. So why are workers raiding pensions?

The average salary increase this year was 5.43% – comfortably above inflation. Yet those same workers are tapping pensions to buy groceries and walking out of jobs at the fastest rate since Covid. he numbers, on paper, say South African workers are doing fine. The reality says something else. The average salary increase this year was 5.43%, according to the April 2026 Remchannel Bi-Annual Salary and Wage Movements Survey. That compares with 2025’s average inflation of 3.2%. By that arithmetic, most...

New Economics of Retirement: New Solutions Provide a Ray of Hope

By Goldman Sachs In our annual Retirement Survey & Insights Report, we are pleased to present findings that may challenge conventional wisdom about retirement preparedness in America. While many acknowledge the looming retirement crisis, the traditional advice to simply save more may fail to account for the complex and evolving realities faced by millions of Americans. This year’s report introduces the "new economics of retirement,” as we grapple with the question “does the retirement math still work?” The report illustrates how rising costs...

Europe’s demographic challenge: how to guarantee intergenerational fairness in pensions and beyond

Engaging younger generations earlier  The core challenge is timing. Pension planning often begins too late, even though early contributions are crucial. Yet for many young people, retirement feels too distant to prioritise.  Speakers highlighted financial literacy and pension awareness as key tools but stressed that education must go hand in hand with practical solutions. Well-designed systems, such as automatic enrolment, can significantly increase participation, while pension tracking tools can help individuals keep oversight in increasingly mobile careers.  Addressing persistent inequalities   Fairness between generations...

US. Pension income in 2026 reshapes safe withdrawal strategies

Pension changes withdrawal: Guaranteed income covering 40%+ of expenses can justify higher withdrawal rates than the 3.9% baseline. COLA protects income: Inflation-adjusted pensions help maintain purchasing power, supporting more confident portfolio draws. Advanced strategies rise: Dynamic Spending or Guardrails can exceed 5% withdrawals when backed by a strong income floor. Why 2026's economic conditions change the retirement math Morningstar’s 2026 guidance starts retirees at a 3.9% withdrawal rate due to current market valuations. Research from Wade Pfau and the Journal of Financial Planning indicates that when...