Hatched salmon with yolk sacs swim alongside unhatched eggs at the Atlantic Sapphire Bluehouse indoor salmon farm in Homestead, Fla. , Wednesday, June 28, 2023.  The company's system relies on an uncommon feature of the groundwater near the warehouse's location: Salmon need both fresh and salt water, and both are found nearby.  (AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell)

The best photos of the week: From newly hatched salmon to lenticular clouds



More from The National:

Friday's best photos: From hatched salmon to Apec summit protests

Thursday's best photos: From Brazil's heatwave to newborn Siberian tigers

Wednesday's best photos: From wetlands in China to Biden's motorcade in San Francisco

Tuesday's best photos: From Downing Street reshuffle to a Shichi-Go-San blessing

Monday's best photos: From Sarajevo's unhealthy air to plastic waste in Kenya

Sunday's best photos: From a fallen motorcyclist to Chelsea Pensioners

Saturday's best photos: From a cat show to harvesting marigolds

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.

The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.

“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.

“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”

Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.

Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.

“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.

2.0

Director: S Shankar

Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films

Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Updated: November 20, 2023, 7:52 AM