Marsh CFA Index Warns 43 of 55 Pension Systems Face Aging Strain
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Oct 26
Marsh CFA Index Warns 43 of 55 Pension Systems Face Aging Strain
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Oct 26
Summary
The 2026 Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index says global pension systems are under mounting demographic pressure, with 43 of 55 markets below the 2.1 replacement fertility rate and 23 below 1.5.
Longer retirements are driving the strain: life expectancy at age 65 in more developed regions has risen 50.9% since 1950, adding about 20 years of benefit payments while the worker-to-retiree ratio shrinks.
Pay-as-you-go systems look especially exposed because fewer workers must support more retirees; in the U.S., the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is projected to deplete reserves in the fourth quarter of 2032.
Fully funded plans also face pressure as benefit outflows begin to exceed contributions, pushing some funds toward higher-risk assets such as private equity, infrastructure and private credit to sustain returns.
The report says very few systems are secure in their current form, though some investors and policymakers see diversification, immigration and technology as possible ways to ease the long-term burden.
As shrinking workforces threaten global pensions, could an unprecedented boom in artificial intelligence and robotics be the unexpected savior of your retirement?
With a massive 22 percent benefit cut looming in 2032, what drastic financial moves must workers make today to survive tomorrow?
With pension funds gambling trillions on risky private assets to stay afloat, could this desperate yield chase trigger the next global financial crisis?