- The Dutch pension fund bpfBOUW, for workers in the construction industry, had a funding ratio of 128.4 per cent at the end of the second quarter of 2024.

It said the main reason for this was rising interest rates. However, it said it achieved negative returns over the months of April, May and June. In addition, its policy funding ratio (the average of the funding ratio over a 12-month period) was 126.4 per cent at the end of the second quarter.

- Austria marked ‘equal pension day’ this week on 6 August, highlighting the 40 per cent gender pension gap in the country - €922 a month less.

It said the reasons for lower pensions are obvious – maternity leave, lower wages, and more frequent part-time work mean that many women receive a low state pension. Years with no or very little income or part-time employment also significantly reduce the state pension amount. Equal Pension Day, which falls on 6 August throughout Austria in 2024, draws attention to this. From this day onwards, women will statistically have to live without a pension for 147 days, i.e. until the end of the year.

- The Dutch pension fund ABP, for those working in government and education, has revealed the results of its Risk Preference Survey.

Of its 460,080 participants (active participants, pensioners, former participants and the disabled in different age categories) 7 per cent completed the questionnaire. It found that the older people get the less risk they are willing to take and men are willing to take more risk than women. Furthermore, it found that participants willing to take more risk are more likely to say they can absorb a 10 per cent setback.

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