By far the biggest challenge faced by defined-benefits pension funds since the financial crisis has been the low level of long-term interest rates. Low rates have increased the value of their liabilities and sharply reduced their solvency ratios, especially in the immediate aftermath of the crisis.
Many types of workers have been retiring a little bit later in life over recent years and participation rates among older people have been rising over a long period of time (Table 1 and Graph 5).