The Best Countries to Retire In
The number of people age 60 and over is now 13% of the world's population, and that is increasing by 3% every year, according to the Natixis Global Retirement Index.
Is the world ready for that increase in aging populations? Because it's driven by long-evolving demographic trends, a retirement crisis has been approaching in slow motion for decades, the Natixis report says.
The Global Retirement Index provides a snapshot of 43 countries and their relative score on key measures that influence retirement security. The purpose is to examine the factors that drive retirement security and to provide a comparison tool for best practices in retirement policy.
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The index examines and scores 18 factors across four categories: Finances in Retirement, Material Wellbeing, Quality of Life, and Health.
The four categories are key aspects of welfare in retirement: do people have the material means to live comfortably in retirement? Do they have access to quality financial services to help preserve savings and maximize income? Do they have access to quality health services and a clean and safe environment?
Finance index includes factors such as interest rates, taxes, inflation, and old-age dependency.
Material Wellbeing looks at income equality, income per capita, and unemployment.
Quality of Life includes happiness, air quality, water and other environmental factors.
Health includes life expectancy and health care costs.
The 43 countries surveyed are International Monetary Fund advanced economies, members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
These are the countries that are leading the way for the security of retirees.
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1. Switzerland
Finances in Retirement score: 78/100
Health score: 87/100
Material Wellbeing score: 80/100
Quality of Life score: 92/100
Switzerland takes the top spot out of 43 countries for retirement security with higher scores for quality of life, (thanks to better air quality and environmental factors), finances, and health. Switzerland has made improvements in the index's tax pressure indicator, the report said.
Photo: Shutterstock
2. Iceland
Finances in Retirement score: 71
Health score: 85
Material Wellbeing score: 93
Quality of Life score: 88
In terms of finances, Iceland has made strides in the inflation, government indebtedness, tax pressure and interest rate indicators. Pictured is Akureyri City, Iceland.
Photo: TRphotos / Shutterstock
3. Norway
Finances in Retirement score: 60
Health score: 90
Material Wellbeing score: 87
Quality of Life score: 92
Countries in the top ten typically achieved good performance across all four sub-indices. The top 10 countries all have higher scores for the quality of life sub-index. Pictured is Bergen, Norway.
Photo: Elaine.Adoptante / Shutterstock
4. Sweden
Finances in Retirement score: 67
Health score: 89
Material Wellbeing score: 71
Quality of Life score: 90
According to the report, the Nordic countries -- Denmark, (which ranks No. 8) Norway, Finland, Iceland and Sweden -- have always been top performers in this index. With better income equality than most countries, a generous social security system, and generally good economic performance, the Nordic countries can be considered a model worth emulating, the report says.
Photo: Alexander Tolstykh / Shutterstock
5. New Zealand
Finances in Retirement score: 79
Health score: 85
Material Wellbeing score: 63
Quality of Life score: 90
Photo: Shutterstock
6. Australia
Finances in Retirement score: 78
Health score: 85
Material Wellbeing score: 66
Quality of Life score: 83
Above, retirees camp on the bank of Lake Kununurra during the annual dry season in Ununurra, Australia.
Photo: Philip Schubert / Shutterstock
7. Ireland
Finances in Retirement score: 71
Health score: 82
Material Wellbeing score:73
Quality of Life score: 83
Above, people sit outside of Bulman Bar overlooking Kinsale Harbour, in Kinsale, County Cork.
Photo: Tyler W. Stipp / Shutterstock
8. Denmark
Finances in Retirement score: 59
Health score: 85
Material Wellbeing score: 74
Quality of Life score: 94
Photo: Wila_Image / Shutterstock
9. Canada
Finances in Retirement score: 74
Health score: 87
Material Wellbeing score: 65
Quality of Life score: 83
Photo: Shutterstock
10. Netherlands
Finances in Retirement score: 58
Health score: 90
Material Wellbeing score: 80
Quality of Life score: 83
Photo: Kay Roxby / Shutterstock
11. Luxembourg
Finances in Retirement score: 62
Health score: 92
Material Wellbeing score: 73
Quality of Life score: 80
Photo: Dmitry Eagle Orlov / Shutterstock
12. Finland
Finances in Retirement score: 63
Health score: 81
Material Wellbeing score: 69
Quality of Life score: 93
Photo: Shutterstock
13. Germany
Finances in Retirement score: 57
Health score: 86
Material Wellbeing score: 79
Quality of Life score: 83
Photo: Shutterstock
14. Austria
Finances in Retirement score: 54
Health score: 86
Material Wellbeing score: 76
Quality of Life score: 87
Above, a woman rides an electric mountain bike in the Karwendel area of Tirol, Austria.
Photo: Shutterstock
15. Czech Republic
Finances in Retirement score: 69
Health score:72
Material Wellbeing score: 82
Quality of Life score: 75
Photo: Shutterstock
16. U.S.
Finances in Retirement score: 72
Health score: 86
Material Wellbeing score: 61
Quality of Life score: 77
The U.S. has moved up one spot since last year's report, thanks to improvements in material wellbeing and finances - however, it is in the bottom 10 in income equality, with the seventh-lowest score among all 43 countries. The U.S. also had no improvement in government indebtedness, where it had the seventh-lowest score for the second year in a row.
Photo: Kobby Dagan / Shutterstock
17. United Kingdom
Finances in Retirement score: 57
Health score: 83
Material Wellbeing score: 71
Quality of Life score: 83
Photo: Shutterstock
18. Belgium
Finances in Retirement score: 59
Health score: 83
Material Wellbeing score: 71
Quality of Life score: 80
Photo: Radiokafka / Shutterstock
19. Israel
Finances in Retirement score: 71
Health score: 76
Material Wellbeing score: 63
Quality of Life score: 78
Above, people bathe in the Dead Sea in Ein Bokek, Israel.
Photo:irisphoto1 / Shutterstock
20. Malta
Finances in Retirement score: 67
Health score: 77
Material Wellbeing score: 73
Quality of Life score: 69
Fireworks light up the sky at the Mosta festival, a celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of Santa Maria, in Mosta, Malta.
Photo: ZGPhotography / Shutterstock
21. France
Finances in Retirement score: 57
Health score: 90
Material Wellbeing score: 60
Quality of Life score: 80
Photo: Salvador Aznar / Shutterstock
22. Japan
Finances in Retirement score: 55
Health score: 88
Material Wellbeing score: 75
Quality of Life score: 70
Photo: MACH Photos / Shutterstock
23. Slovenia
Finances in Retirement score: 65
Health score: 79
Material Wellbeing score: 69
Quality of Life score: 68
Above, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Photo: Roman Babakin / Shutterstock
24. South Korea
Finances in Retirement score: 76
Health score: 72
Material Wellbeing score: 75
Quality of Life score: 54
Photo: Shutterstock
25. Slovak Republic
Finances in Retirement score: 68
Health score: 65
Material Wellbeing score: 64
Quality of Life score: 69
Photo: Shutterstock
26. Poland
Finances in Retirement score: 68
Health score: 63
Material Wellbeing score: 66
Quality of Life score: 65
Above, a musician performs during a festival in the town of Kazimierz Dolny, Poland.
Photo: kawkin / Shutterstock
27. Estonia
Finances in Retirement score: 75
Health score: 62
Material Wellbeing score: 57
Quality of Life score: 65
Above, Estonians celebrate 100 years of independence at Toompea castle in Tallinn, Estonia Feb. 24, 2018.
Photo: Uskarp / Shutterstock
28. Singapore
Finances in Retirement score: 79
Health score: 69
Material Wellbeing score: 53
Quality of Life score: 54
Above, men gather to watch and play Chinese chess in the People's Park Complex in Singapore.
Photo: ndquang / Shutterstock
29. Italy
Finances in Retirement score: 52
Health score: 83
Material Wellbeing score: 51
Quality of Life score: 70
Photo: Angelo D'Amico / Shutterstock
30. Hungary
Finances in Retirement score: 60
Health score: 59
Material Wellbeing score: 70
Quality of Life score: 58
Above, people enjoy the Szechenyi thermal baths in Budapest.
Photo: Izabela23 / Shutterstock