The United States has proposed a $10 billion fund in partnership with Arab allies to develop alternative routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Financial Times.

Key details of the proposal

The proposal, as reported by the Financial Times, signals a strategic effort to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy flows. The initiative involves Arab allies working alongside the US to establish alternative infrastructure or transit corridors.

The United States fell to 24th in Natixis Investment Managers' 2026 Global Retirement Index (GRI), down from 21st in 2025 and 14th a decade ago, with losses across three of the four sub-indices measured.

Developed with CoreData Research, the GRI evaluates retirement security across 44 countries using 18 indicators grouped into four sub-indices: Finances in Retirement, Material Wellbeing, Health, and Quality of Life. The analysis was carried out between March and May 2026.

Finances and inflation weigh on the US ranking

The sharpest decline came in the Finances in Retirement sub-index, where the US fell eight places to 18th. Three-quarters (76%) of US investors believe mounting public debt will ultimately result in reduced retirement benefits, while 77% expect growing deficits to translate into higher taxes. Separately, 41% of US investors say inflation is killing their retirement dreams, and financial advisors identify underestimating inflation as one of the most significant risks to retirement security.

The following table summarises the key survey findings on investor concerns:

For context, only 24% of investors globally share the healthcare cost concern, compared with 35% in the US. The US spends more per person on healthcare than any other country in the Index yet ranks just 25th in the Health sub-index.

Shifting responsibility onto individuals

The traditional three-pillar retirement model, comprising government benefits, employer-sponsored plans, and personal savings, faces growing pressure from an aging population, changing employment patterns, inflation, and public debt. According to Natixis Investment Managers' 2025 Global Individual Investor Survey, 81% of American investors say it is increasingly their responsibility to fund retirement themselves, up from 63% a decade ago. The survey was conducted by CoreData Research in February and March 2025 and included 7,050 individual investors in 21 countries.

Access to employer-sponsored savings remains uneven. According to Pew, more than 56 million US private-sector workers lack access to a workplace retirement plan, with workers at small businesses particularly likely to be uncovered. For some Americans, healthcare and living costs are also changing where they retire: more than 700,000 Americans now receive Social Security benefits abroad, up more than 60% from 431,000 two decades ago.

"Workers are confronting the reality that the current retirement system was built for a different era," said Dave Goodsell, Executive Director of Natixis Investment Managers' Center for Investor Insight. "An aging population is putting greater strain on public retirement systems, debt levels are adding pressure to future benefits, and inflation is making it harder for individuals to save."

Planning gaps and the push to modernise retirement policy

Natixis Investment Managers' Financial Professional Survey, which covered 2,950 investment professionals across 23 countries with data gathered in March through May 2026, highlights a significant gap between investor expectations and advisor assessments. Unrealistic return expectations were cited by 52% of advisors as one of the biggest retirement-planning mistakes. Clients expect long-term returns of 8.9% above inflation on average, compared with the 7.4% advisors say is realistic. Advisors also point to not understanding the tax implications of investments (39%) and underestimating inflation (34%) as key risks.

On the policy side, the GRI report identifies access, automation, and accumulation as three priorities for modernising retirement systems. In the US, SECURE 2.0 has expanded eligibility for certain long-term part-time workers and introduced automatic enrollment and escalation provisions for certain new plans. More than 20 states have enacted or implemented automated retirement savings programs, reaching 1.19 million funded accounts and $2.89 billion in assets by early 2026.

Private assets and the evolving investment toolkit

Advisors also see an opportunity to expand the investment toolkit available to retirement savers. Almost half (46%) of US advisors say people approaching retirement are underappreciating opportunities private assets present for income, while 43% see their long-term nature as a good fit for retirement saving. 60% also expect a pathway to open for defined contribution plans to incorporate private assets over the next 12 months. However, 71% of US investors say private markets are riskier than public markets, highlighting a gap between how advisors see the retirement investment toolkit evolving and how investors perceive the asset class.

"Modernising retirement means giving individuals a better chance to succeed," said Liana Magner, Head of Institutional and Retirement in the US at Natixis Investment Managers. "That means expanding access, making it easier to save consistently and helping investors build realistic expectations around the returns, risks and income they will need over a longer retirement."