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January 2025

Finland. Main labour federations greenlight pension reform

Three major labour-market groups have approved a pension reform plan negotiated with employers’ groups and backed by the government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP). The boards of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK), and the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland (Akava) all gave their blessing to the plan on Monday. Labour market organisations reached a compromise deal on pension system reforms last Monday. The Orpo cabinet’s economic policy committee decided...

May 2024

Colombian House of Representatives to resume debate on pension reform

The Seventh Commission of the House of Representatives of Colombia will reopen the third debate on the pension reform presented by the Government that seeks to benefit thousands of elderly people in the country. 37 articles submitted to a vote were approved on Tuesday, with 17 votes in favor and four against, which means that approximately 39 percent of the proposal has the legislators’ approval. Although some congressmen from opposition parties such as Cambio Radical and Centro Democrático asked for time...

UK. Reforms to ‘unlock’ pension savings must not undermine financial stability, IMF warns

By Sophie Smith   Reforms to unlock pension savings for higher-return investments should not undermine financial stability or pensioner outcomes, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, also emphasising the need for broader pension adequacy improvements. In its concluding statement on the UK, the IMF argued that while there is a clear economic rationale for consolidating small pension funds, and potential benefits from encouraging the sector to invest more in higher-growth assets, realising these outcomes will take time and persistent efforts. For instance,...

June 2023

Thousands march in Colombia’s streets against Petro’s reform plans

Thousands of Colombians have protested in the capital Bogota and other cities against reforms by the country's first-ever leftist President Gustavo Petro, which many say go too far. Called by the right-wing opposition under the banner "march of the majority," protesters gathered on Tuesday in cities including Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla. Many waved Colombia's yellow, blue and red flag, and held up posters with such messages as: "No to ending up like Cuba or Venezuela." The mobilisation seemed particularly large in...

March 2023

French visit by Britain’s King Charles postponed due to pension protests

A visit to France by King Charles III, due to start on Sunday, has been postponed at the request of President Emmanuel Macron because of ongoing protests over pension reform. There has been widespread violence and unions have called a national day of protest on Tuesday. The French presidency said the postponement was decided after a call between Macron and the king on Friday morning. "Given the announcement yesterday of another national day of protests against pension reform on Tuesday March...

France. Emmanuel Macron holds firm on pensions reform amid protests

Emmanuel Macron, France president, defended his unpopular plan to raise the retirement age on Wednesday as being key to repairing the public finances but acknowledged public anger over his government’s decision to pass the law without a parliamentary vote. “Do you think I enjoy doing this reform? No,” said Macron in a televised interview. “But there are not a hundred ways to balance the accounts . . . this reform is not a luxury or a pleasure, it’s a necessity for the country.” Read also...

November 2022

Analysis: Italy’s Meloni needs urgent fix for ballooning pensions bill

Italy's new prime minister Giorgia Meloni needs urgently to rein in a bloated pension system which absorbs most social spending and looks increasingly unsustainable in the face of surging inflation. Rome already has the highest pension bill in the 38-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and says outlays will climb by 58 billion euros ($60.35 billion), or 19.5%, by 2025 as rising prices boost index-linked payouts. With one of the world's oldest populations and low birth and employment rates, Italy...

Chile’s Pension Reform May Decide Boric’s Fate

The proposed reform has kept a private component that was initially shunned by the president. For much of the last eight months, President Gabriel Boric was waiting for a new constitution to be approved before introducing major reforms. It appears the government was counting on the new constitution, produced over the course of a year by a constitutional convention, to provide major definitions on things like health care, education and pensions. But a funny thing happened to the constitution: Chileans didn’t...

Germany prepares to reform all three pension system pillars

The German government is targeting a comprehensive reform of all the three pension system pillars during what it considers a turning point in history – Zeitwende – with high inflation, possible recession, changes in economic policies and demographic pressures. Speaking at the Handelsblatt occupational pension forum in Berlin today, Florian Toncar, parliamentary state secretary at the Ministry of Finance, said that the government will strengthen the capital funded components in all three pension system pillars, with the first pillar having...

Chile’s Boric announces plan to end private pension system

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric on Wednesday announced his long-awaited plan to reform the country’s controversial private pension system. In a televised address, Boric said he was planning to end Chile’s Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) system in lieu of a new private-public social security system that would see new contributions from employers and the state. “The AFPs, in this reform, are finished,” Boric said, adding that new private entities would still be allowed to invest pension funds, but there will also be...