(October 22, 2009) – The Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, and Canada—in that order—have scored the highest in a new national pension assessment conducted by the Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies and Mercer Consulting.
According to the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, these four countries all received a “B” grade, categorized as “a system that has a sound structure, with many good features, but has some areas for improvement.” None of the pension systems assessed—of which there were 11—received a grade of “A.”
The assessment was weighted 40% toward adequacy (whose indicators included benefit levels and design, and tax support), 35% toward sustainability (funding levels and demographics), and 35% integrity (governance and risk protection). The studies’ top scorer, The Netherlands, received scores (out of 100) of 80.5, 62.5, and 88.2, respectively.
In the “C” category—defined by scores between 50 and 65 on the Melbourne Mercer scale—were the United Kingdom, United States, Chile, and Singapore. In the “D” category were Germany, China, and Japan—with its massive defined benefit pension system, including the world’s largest plan—coming in last, gaining a score of 41.5 out of 100. No plans scored in the lowest “E” section
The full survey can be found here .
To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Kristopher McDaniel at <a href='mailto:kmcdaniel@assetinternational.com'>kmcdaniel@assetinternational.com</a>