10 best countries for a comfortable retirement in 2025
By Michael S. Fischer
benefitspro.com – For the 13th year, Natixis Investment Managers and CoreData Research have developed a global retirement index to examine factors that drive retirement security and to provide a comparison tool for best practices in retirement policy.
The index includes International Monetary Fund advanced economies, members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
The index is a composite welfare index that combines 18 target-oriented indicators, grouped into four thematic sub-indexes that cover relevant considerations for welfare in old age: health, quality of life, material well-being and finances in retirement.
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Global health plan costs projected to rise nearly 10% in 2026
By Alan Foforth
benefitspro.com – The United States is not alone in anticipating a substantial increase in health plan costs next year. In its latest report, Aon projects a worldwide price hike of nearly 10%, including an 8.8% rise in North America.
“The 2026 Global Medical Trend Rates Report arrives at a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, including global tariffs,” said Kathryn Davis, a global benefits vice president for the professional services firm.
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Republicans grapple with voter frustration over rising health care premiums
By Joey Cappelletti and Ali Swenson
apnews.com – The first caller on a telephone town hall with Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, leader of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, came ready with a question about the Affordable Care Act. Her cousin’s disabled son is at risk of losing the insurance he gained under that law, the caller said.
“Now she’s looking at two or three times the premium that she’s been paying for the insurance,” said the woman, identified as Lisa from Harford County, Maryland.
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AHA urges smarter AI regulation for advancing innovation, safety and access to health care
By American Hospital Association
aha.org – The AHA today submitted a letter to the Office of Science and Technology Policy in response to its request for information on regulatory reform for artificial intelligence, emphasizing the need to reduce regulatory burdens that hinder innovation and increase costs, while ensuring patient safety and data privacy. The letter outlines four key recommendations: synchronizing AI policies with existing frameworks to avoid redundancy, removing regulatory barriers such as fragmented privacy laws and outdated substance use disorder regulations, ensuring safe and effective AI use through clinician involvement in decision loops that impact care delivery and consistent standards for third-party vendors, and addressing organizational and infrastructural challenges by aligning incentives and investing in digital access and literacy. The AHA encourages OSTP to ensure balanced, flexible policies that support innovation and improve care delivery across the health system.
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HR faces five ‘megatrends’ to prepare for, from AI to global instability
By Jen Colletta
benefitspro.com – HR leaders are standing at a pivotal juncture; it’s like seeing a giant dust storm in the distance that is getting ready to collapse and fill the air, analogized RedThread Research’s Stacia Garr on Wednesday at HR Tech in Las Vegas.
What’s spewing in that air? AI, skills gaps, employee turnover—a general sense of uncertainty, she said.
Now, the question is, what can HR do to ensure it doesn’t have to “pull over” to get through that storm—but rather can drive right through it?
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Is it cheaper to pay for medical care without health insurance?
By Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
nbcnews.com – With the cost of health insurance set to rise, some Americans are asking a surprising question: Is it actually cheaper to get medical care without it?
The short answer: Sometimes. But not often. And it may require a little — or a lot — of homework.
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