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- Who We Serve
- What We Do
- About Us
- Insights & Research



The Global Pensions Landscape
The global pensions landscape continues to evolve with increasing complexity and sophistication. From the themes of consolidation to private markets investing, the pensions landscape is presented with opportunities and challenges.
Mark Austin, Pensions and Insurance Executive, EMEA, and Chair of the UK Defined Contribution Investment Forum (DCIF) (2024), co-hosted a podcast series with Louise Farrand, Executive Director of DCIF, where they talked to international policymakers and pension experts about their pension systems. What are the challenges? What would they change about it? More importantly, what are the learning lessons for the UK.
- Podcast Series
Episode 1: Diane Maxwell, Former Retirement Commissioner for New Zealand
Insights on the New Zealand’s pension system, the importance of consumer engagement, the crucial differences between the UK and the New Zealand’s tax systems, and the key lessons Diane would pass on to UK policymakers.
- Podcast Series
Episode 2: Paul Watson, Former Group Executive of Hostplus
Insights on the Australian superannuation system, how it compares with the UK’s DC system, the debate on the value for money, and the advice Paul would offer to UK policymakers as the UK Pensions Investment Review moves forward.
- Podcast Series
Episode 3: Jerry Moriarty, Former CEO of the Irish Association of Pension Funds
Insights on the evolution of the pension system in Ireland, its auto-enrolment journey, the similarities and differences between the Irish and UK pension systems.
- Podcast Series
Episode 4: Professor Hans van Meerten, a lawyer and academic specialising in EU and Dutch pensions law
Insights on the Dutch pension reform and Hans’ views on Collective DC schemes (CDC). Hans also shared some insights on the development of the pension system in China.
- Podcast Series
Episode 5: Steve Webb, Former UK Pensions Minister
Insights on how some of the pension changes Steve championed and introduced when he was in government have evolved in the UK pension landscape today. Steve also thinks the idea of ‘flex first, fix later’ is gaining recognition in the market.
- Podcast Series
Episode 6: Mark Iwry, pension expert
Insights into the auto-enrolment journey in the U.S. and Mark’s overriding goal of encouraging employee participation. Mark also talked about the work he did in helping employers to shape their investment strategies and the wider DC system.
- Podcast Series
Episode 7: Mats Langensjö, Swedish Financial Consultant
Insight into the Swedish pension system, the role of the AP funds and the importance of having oversight and due diligence on manager selection with the new Fund Selection Agency.
- Podcast Series
Episode 8: Keith Ambachtsheer, a global leader in pension design, governance and institutional investing
Insights into the Canadian pension system, the characteristics of a well thought of pension system, the member journey and engagement. Keith also looked at other international systems and their key drivers of success.
- Podcast Series
Episode 9: Bjorn Asgrimsson, analyst at Iceland’s Financial Supervisory Authority
Insights into the pension systems in Iceland, its evolution and journey to being ranked second place in the 2024 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index.
- Podcast Series
Bonus episode: Gareth Turner, Head of Strategic Investment Projects at Nest pensions
Gareth talked through Nest’s new retirement proposition – the Retirement Blueprint, which is structured to give members flexibility during early years and certainty in later years using an innovative mix of funds and insured products.
- Podcast Series
Episode 11: Lessons from international speakers
Highlights from the series on how different countries are tackling common challenges and the key takeaways.