Global Risks Report 2025

alternative investments. These riskier investments will not always pay off, and over time this could worsen the already suboptimal funding ratios of some of these institutions. If there are extended periods of market underperformance, this could lead to many more individuals facing shortfalls in funding their retirement.76 The pension gaps in super-ageing societies will be exacerbated by the long-term impacts of the rise of the “gig economy” and the associated failure to make sufficient pensions contributions during periods of gig work. Pension shortfalls will also disproportionately affect lower-income workers who have not managed to make significant savings during their careers, even if they have been fully employed. In the EU, for example, already today one in five elderly people face the risk of poverty or social exclusion77 and this figure is set to rise by 2035. Women on average have significantly higher pensions gaps than men given time taken out of formal employment over the course of their careers to care for children or elderly relatives, as well as their lower average pay compared to men. In the EU, women’s pensions are nearly 30% lower than those of men, meaning that they are at a 35% higher risk of poverty.78 The societal implications of Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections, such as pensions and care systems, are shown in Figure 2.15, which reveals that Inequality was selected by GRPS respondents as a significant connected risk. A common proposal for alleviating the pensions crisis in super-ageing societies is raising the statutory retirement age, and in some countries this has already occurred. However, attempts to do this to the extent needed to stem the pension crises will face resistance from voters, a rising proportion of whom are themselves close to retirement. This segment of the population tends to have high voter turnout, making it increasingly likely that policy outcomes will be in their favour. Intergenerational tensions could become an ongoing feature of super- ageing societies, with discontented younger working cohorts resenting being called upon to pay more towards funding retiree pensions. There is also a gap between what global executives believe needs to be done to adjust pension schemes and what they view as businesses’ responsibilities. One-quarter of global executives (25%) support policy changes to pension schemes and retirement ages, but a lower share (14%) of executives view such measures as an effective business practice for expanding their talent base, as reported in the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025. This illustrates the complexity of aligning key stakeholder interests behind pension reforms. Even if official retirement ages can be increased, the impact on reducing the scale of the pension crises may be smaller than hoped for. Some people do not manage to work to their expected retirement age, as their working lives are cut short by illness or disability, job loss or other reasons. The inability to extend retirement age is an especially significant risk for people in physically demanding jobs. However, many would like to be upskilled or reskilled to be able to extend their careers. Risk interconnections: Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections FIGURE 2.15 Source World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2024-2025.ReferenceRisk categories Economic Environmental Geopolitical Societal Technological Edges Relative influence High LowMediumRisk influenceNodes High LowMedium Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections Decline in health and well-being Inequality Lack of economic opportunity or unemployment Societal polarization Decline in health and well-being Inequality Lack of economic opportunity or unemployment Societal polarization Global Risks Report 2025 62