When Congress passed the Social Security Act in 1935, a widely distributed poster touted the forthcoming benefits for workers who paid into the system. “A monthly check to you,” the poster read in cursive script, pictured above an illustration of the US Capitol and a monthly check from the government. The poster promised these checks “for the rest of your life…begining when you are 65.”

Ninety years later, it’s not at all certain that eligible workers can count on receiving these checks for the rest of their lives. The trust fund that administers these benefits is expected to run out of money as early as 2034, at which point the Social Security Administration would only be able to pay out 77% of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts.

At the same time, the landscape for employer-sponsored retirement benefits has also grown shakier. Whereas most workers used to have access to a pension that guaranteed income in retirement, the predominant savings vehicle for US employees is now a 401(k)—a plan that’s generally viewed as less secure given its strength depends in part on employee contributions, and is subject to the whims of the stock market.

Nevertheless, HR teams and policymakers are exploring ways to make employer-sponsored retirement benefits stronger. One potential solution could soon bring a windfall to the private equity industry.

For more on how HR is rethinking retirement for the 401(k) era, keep reading here.—CV

As US and European companies increasingly outsource jobs, workers in some African countries could stand to benefit from the emerging opportunities, according to multiple reports.

Where in the world? The outsourcing market is worth at least $300 billion and is expected to reach $525 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. While outsourcing is not new, more employers in countries like the UK and US are expected to increasingly lean on lower-income countries to help reduce overhead costs and fill accounting and IT skills gaps, the BBC reported.

South Africa, for instance, which has a 32% unemployment rate, has a skilled workforce and is located in a time zone convenient for employers in Europe. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms have made South Africa one of the fastest-growing countries in the outsourcing market; they’ve contributed millions of US dollars to South Africa’s economy, according to Outsource Accelerator.

Satellite view. US-based tech and consulting firms have quickly expanded abroad over the last seven years, according to data from Revelio Labs. This cost-saving measure has been criticized by some, who believe these jobs should go to workers in the US.

For more on the global outsourcing market, keep reading here.—KP

Like many human workers, AI agents might struggle to make a living off online gig work.

For these autonomous AI systems, however, it’s not for lack of work, but because they overwhelmingly fail to complete projects sourced from online freelance platforms.

That’s what researchers at the Center for AI Safety along with Scale AI found when they tested agents on their ability to perform economically valuable work as part of a new benchmark, the Remote Labor Index (RLI). (The “highest-performing agent” managed a piddly automation rate of just 2.5%.)

Plenty of existing benchmarks measure specific skills like coding or basic office tasks, and agents have come to master those. But the creators of the RLI wanted to see how those abilities translate into real-world settings where projects might encompass more complex work of greater variety.

For more on why office automation may be further off than hype would have you believe, keep reading on Tech Brew.—PK

More companies are breaking up to boost shareholder value—but for HR, that means managing chaos. Learn how people leaders plan spin-offs, align leadership, and keep employees informed while balancing strategy, structure, and sensitivity.