Contents

01

Foreword

04

Changesfrom2024to2025

02

Executivesummary

05

Abriefreviewofeachsystem

03

Featurechapter

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex20252

01

Foreword

Aspeoplelivelongerandlabormarketsevolve,pension

systemsfacemountingpressuretoadapt.Withoutaction

today,wemayriskunderminingfinancialsecuritytomorrow,notjustforretirees,butforentireeconomiesbuiltonthe

promiseoflong-termwell-being.

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025Foreword3

Pensionreformisneversimple.Itinvolvesbalancingtheinterestsofmillionsof

individualsacrossgenerations,incomelevelsandworkingliveswithinsystemsshapedbydecadesofpolicyevolutionandpoliticalcompromise.Everydecisioncarriesthepotentialforunintendedconsequences—havingtheforesighttoassesspossibleoutcomesand

movingforwardwithcautionisessential.Employers,governments,andpensionprovidersplayacriticalroleinshapingmoreresilientandequitablepensionsystems.

Webelievethatmeaningfulpensionsreformshouldfocusonthreecoreprinciplesthat

helpalignstakeholders:adequacy,toprovideindividualswiththeconfidencethattheirretirementincomewillbesufficientforthemtoliveadignifiedretirement;sustainability,toensuresystemscanwithstanddemographicandeconomicpressuresovertimeto

keepdeliveringbenefits;andintegrity,toupholdthelong-termstabilityandreliabilityofregulatoryframeworksthatsafeguardthesepromises.Thatiswhyweareproudto

onceagainpartnerontheMercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex(theIndex).Nowinits17thyear,theIndexnowcovers52systems,representing65%oftheworld’spopulation.Itprovidesastructuredlensthroughwhichtoevaluateandcompareretirement

incomesystemsglobally,offeringinsightsintohowreformscanstrengthenadequacy,sustainabilityandintegrity,thethreepillarsofeffectivepensiondesign.

Thisyear’sIndexremindsusthatwhileprogresshasbeenmade,withnosystems

downgraded,challengesremain.Theglobalshiftfromdefinedbenefit(DB)todefinedcontribution(DC)systems,demographicchangeandevolvingretireeexpectations

alldemandrenewedfocusandinnovation.AstheWorldEconomicForumnotes,“Thequestionisnotwhetherchangewillcome—butwhetherstakeholderswillshapeit.”1

2025Indexhighlights

RetirementincomeprovisionisimprovingatagloballevelwitheightretirementincomesystemsincreasingtheirIndexgrades,whilenosystemsweredowngraded.Thisisa

criticallyimportantoutcomeaspeoplelivelongerthanpastgenerations,coupledwithdecliningbirthrates.

System

Grade

Singapore

A

Chile

B+

Sweden

B+

HongKongSAR

B

Kazakhstan

B

SaudiArabia

B

Malaysia

C+

SouthAfrica

C

WealsonowhavefiveA-ratedsystems,withSingaporejoiningthelistofcountrieswitharobustretirementincomesystemthatdeliversgoodbenefits,issustainableandhasahighlevelofintegrity.

ThefournewretirementincomesystemsincludedintheIndexin2025—Kuwait,

Namibia,OmanandPanama—allhavesomegoodfeatures,withKuwaitratingasaB-gradesystemandtheothersasCorC+systems.

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025Foreword4

TheIndexagainincludesafeaturechapterconsideringahottopicimpactingon

retirementincomesystems.Severalgovernmentshavebeenopenlydiscussingthe

ongoingroleofprivatepensionfundinvestmentsinthebroadereconomyforthelonger-termbenefitofsociety.Withthisdevelopmentinmind,ourfeaturechaptertakesacloserlookandsuggestssomeprinciplestobalancebetweenactingonthebestinterestsof

privatepensionfundparticipantsandinthebroadernationalinterest.

IwanttoacknowledgetheCFAInstituteforcontinuingtosponsortheIndexandtheircontinuedcontribution,enthusiasmandpartnership,andIhopeyouenjoyreadingthisreportasmuchasIenjoyedtakingtheroleofleadauthor.

TimJenkins

Partner,Mercer

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025Foreword

WehaveanewleadauthorfortheIndexin2025—TimJenkins,PartneratMercer.Using

Tim’sfreshperspective,wehavelookedtorestructuretheIndexreporttobetterreflect

howreadersengagewiththeIndexanditsinsights.Thenewformatisdesignedtomake

thereportmoreaccessiblewhilestillprovidingfulltransparencyforinterestedparties,

includingpolicymakers.TheIndexisnowstructuredasamainreportthatpresentsthecorefindingsandasupplementaryreportcontainingbackgroundontheconstructionofthe

Index,adetailedreviewofthequestionsineachsub-indexandacomprehensiverecordofeachcountry’sscoresforeachquestionintheIndex.

WeextendoursincerethankstotheMercerconsultantsandinternationalcorrespondentswhoprovidedcriticalinputontheirrespectiveretirementincomesystemsandhelped

ensuretheaccuracyandrelevanceofourfindings.WealsoappreciatethesupportoftheFinnishCentreforPensions,theIcelandicPensionFundsAssociation,theAssociationofPensionFundsManagementCompaniesandPensionInsuranceCompaniesinCroatia,

theUnitedAccumulativePensionFundofKazakhstan,theSocialProtectionFundoftheSultanateofOman,SunLifeVietnam,andAlexanderForbeswithregardstoBotswana,NamibiaandSouthAfrica.

WearealsogratefultoourAdvisoryBoard,establishedbytheMonashCentreforFinancialStudies,whoseongoingengagementandexpertguidancehaveshapedthedevelopmentofthisresearch.

Wehopeyouenjoyreadingthisyear’sreportandthatitcontinuestopromotepensionreformtoenhancethefinancialsecurityofallretirees.

ChristineMahoney

GlobalDefinedBenefit/Defined

Contribution(DB/DC)LeaderatMercer

5

AnotefromCFAInstitute

CFAInstituteisproudtocontinueourpartnershipwithMercerandtheMonashCentreforFinancialStudiesontheMercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex.TheIndexremainsa

vitalglobalbenchmark,evaluatingthestrengthandsustainabilityofretirementsystemsaroundtheworld.Ithighlightsbothprogressandwheregapspersist.

Asdebategrowsaroundwhethergovernmentsshoulddirectpensioninvestmentstoward

nationalpriorities,theresponsibilitiesofthosewhodesignandmanagepensionfundstakeonevengreatersignificance.Proposalsinthisspaceraisedifficultquestionsabouthowtobalancenationalinterestswithfiduciarydutyandunderscorehowsuchshiftswouldrequirerobustframeworkstoprotectretirementsecurity.

The2025Indexmakesonethingveryclear:Thecorepurposeofpensionsistosecure

retirementincomeforbeneficiaries,guidedbyfiduciarydutyaboveallelse.Regulations

andgovernmentactions,fromtaxpolicytoinvestmentmandates,directlyshapehowfundsallocatecapital.Asmorepublicsystemsturntoprivatemarketsforreturns,investment

professionalsmustbewell-preparedtoevaluate,integrateandrespond.Wemustexplainhowpolicydecisionscanimpactlong-termoutcomes.

Weknowthatpensionsystemsfunctionbestwhentheybalanceinnovationandnationalprioritieswiththeenduringresponsibilitytoserveend-investors’bestinterests—

deliveringreturnsthatwillsustainbenefits.Theregulatoryenvironmentshouldreflectthis,andpolicymakersmustevaluateproposalsthroughthislens.

Thisyear,theIndexintroduceseightfoundationalprinciplesforpolicymakerstoconsideriftheyseektoinfluencethedirectionofpensioncapital.Theseprinciplesaredesignedtoensurethatpolicyupdatesdonotcompromisetheintegrityofpensionsystemsorthetrustbeneficiariesplaceinthem.

AtCFAInstitute,weputethicsandprofessionaljudgmentatthecenterofevery

conversationaboutthefutureoffinance.Weadvocateforretirementsystemsthatevolveresponsibly,groundedintransparency,accountabilityandaclearunderstandingofrisk.

OursupportoftheIndexisoneexampleofthisinaction.

WeextendoursincerethankstoMercerfortheircontinuedleadershipontheIndex,leadauthorTimJenkinsforhisthoughtfulreimaginingofthisyear’sreportandtheMonashCentreforFinancialStudiesfortheircommitmenttoglobalpensionresearch.

MargaretFranklin

PresidentandCEO,CFAInstitute

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025Foreword6

02

Executivesummary

Pensionsystemsgloballyareundermountingpressure.

Risinglifeexpectancies,shiftingworkforcedynamics,andheightenedgeopoliticalandeconomicuncertaintyare

reshapingtheretirementlandscape.Againstthisbackdrop,theIndexprovidesanestablishedtoolforbenchmarking

andcomparingtheworld’sretirementsystems,offering

insightsthathelpinformpolicyreformandmaydrivebetteroutcomesforcurrentandfutureretirees.

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary7

Thepastyearhasseenacontinuationofthestronggrowthinpensionassetssince2023.2AcrosstheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD)countries,assetsearmarkedforretirement

grewby10%in2024,reachingUS$63.1trillion.Thiswasdrivenby

strongerequitymarketsandsteadycontributionsandmarksareturntothelong-termupwardtrendinglobalretirementsavings.AssetshavemorethantripledintheOECDsince2003,3supportedbybothmarketperformanceandpolicyreformsthathaveexpandedparticipationanddiversifiedpensionfundingmodels.Thisrenewedgrowthisoccurringinanincreasinglycomplexenvironmentthatrisksthewell-beingof

retireestodayandinthefuture.

ItiswithinthiscontextthattheIndexplaysacriticalrole.Withthe

inclusionofKuwait,Namibia,OmanandPanamain2025,theIndex

nowexamines52retirementincomesystems,covering65%ofthe

world’spopulation.TheIndexoffersacomparativelensthroughwhich

toassesstheadequacy,sustainabilityandintegrityofdifferentpensionsystems.Thesethreesub-indicesareweighted:40%foradequacy,

35%forsustainabilityand25%forintegrity.SincetheIndexwasfirstintroducedin2009,theseweightingshaveremainedunchanged,

reflectingtheenduringimportanceofbalancingimmediateneedswithlong-termsustainabilityandsystemictrust.SeeFigure1below.

Importantly,theIndexacknowledgesthatnosinglepensionmodelfitsall.Systemsvarywidelyduetocultural,economicandpoliticalcontexts,andwhatworksinonecountrymaynotbeeasilyreplicatedinanother.Still,commonfeatures,suchasinclusiveaccess,robustgovernance

andaminimumsafetynetpension,areconsistentlyassociatedwithstrongeroutcomes.

Eachoverallindexscoreconsidersmorethan50indicators,someof

whicharebasedondatameasurementsthatcanbedifficulttocompare

betweencountries.Forthisreason,whenthedifferenceintheoverall

Indexscoreislessthantwoorthreepoints,adefinitivestatementthatonesystemisbetterthananothershouldbeavoided.Ontheother

hand,whenthedifferenceisfiveormore,itcanbefairlyconcludedthatthehigherIndexscoreindicatesabetterretirementincomesystem.

Asinpreviouseditions,thisyear’sIndexrevealswidedisparities.IndexgradesandscoresrangefromDgradeand43.8inIndiato

Agradeand85.4intheNetherlands,highlightingthediversityin

hownationsapproachretirement.Whileeachsystemreflectsitsowncontext,theIndexcontinuestoofferasharedframeworkfordialogue,benchmarkingandreform,helpingdecisionmakersnavigatethe

challengesaheadwithgreaterclarityandconfidence.

Wesetoutonthefollowingpageasummaryofthe2025Indexgradesforeachsystem,withtheeightsystemswhosegradeshaveimprovedshowninbold.

Figure1.CalculatingtheMercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex

Indicators

includingSub-index

?Publicexpenditure

?Governmentdebt

?Economicgrowth

Sustainability

40%

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex

?Governmentsupport

?Homeownership

?Growthassets

?Pensioncoverage

?Totalassets

?Demography

?Benefits

?Systemdesign

?Savings

?Regulation

?Governance

?Protection

?Communication

?Operatingcosts

Integrity

Adequacy

35%

25%

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary8

Thisyear’sresults

Figure2.Summaryofthe2025results

Grade

Systems

Description

A

NetherlandsIceland

Denmark

Singapore

IsraelArobustretirementincomesystemthatdeliversgoodbenefits,issustainableandhasahighlevelofintegrity

B+

Sweden

Australia

Chile

Finland

Norway

Asystemthathasasoundstructure,withmanygoodfeatures,buthassomeareasforimprovementthatdifferentiateitfromanA-gradesystem

B

Switzerland

UK

Kuwait

Uruguay

HongKongSAR

Canada

NewZealand

France

Mexico

BelgiumCroatia

Germany

Ireland

SaudiArabia

Portugal

Kazakhstan

C+

UAE

Spain

Colombia

USA

Oman

Malaysia

Asystemthathassomegoodfeaturesbutalsohasmajorrisksand/orshortcomingsthatshouldbeaddressed;withouttheseimprovements,itsefficacyand/orlong-termsustainabilitycanbequestioned

C

Botswana

Namibia

PanamaPolandItaly

China*

JapanBrazil

Peru

Austria

Korea

Vietnam

Taiwan

SouthAfrica

IndonesiaThailand

D

Türkiye

Philippines

ArgentinaIndia

Asystemthathassomedesirablefeaturesbutalsohasmajorweaknessesand/oromissionsthatneedtobeaddressed;withouttheseimprovements,itsefficacyandsustainabilityareindoubt

E

Nil

Apoorsystemthatmaybeintheearlystagesofdevelopmentornonexistent

*Inthisreport,“China”referstothepensionsysteminmainlandChina.TheresultsforHongKongSARandTaiwanareshownseparately,astheyhavedifferentpensionsystems.

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary9

ThisstudyshowsthattheNetherlands,Iceland,Denmark,SingaporeandIsraelhavethebestsystems,eachofthemreceivinganAgradein2025.AlthoughtheNetherlandsiscurrentlyundertakingsignificantpensionreform,movingfromamostlycollectivebenefitstructure

toamoreindividualdefinedcontribution(DC)approach,itssystem

continuestoreceivethehighestIndexscore.Thereasonforthisratingisthat,notwithstandingthesechanges,thesystemmaycontinueto

provideverygoodbenefits,supportedbyastrongassetbaseandverysoundregulation.

Nosysteminthisyear’sIndexisanE-gradesystem,whichwouldberepresentedbyanIndexscorebelow35.Ascorebetween35and50,representingaD-gradesystem,indicatesasystemthathassome

soundfeaturesbutalsomajoromissionsorweaknesses.AD-gradeclassificationmayalsooccurintherelativelyearlystagesofthe

developmentofaparticularretirementincomesystem.

Figure3showstheIndexgradesforeachsystem,includingthegradesforeachsub-index.

Figure3.Indexgradesforeachsystem

Sub-indexgrade

System

Overallindexgrade

Adequacy

Sustainability

Integrity

Argentina

D

C+

E

D

Australia

B+

B

A

A

Austria

C

B

E

B+

Belgium

B

A

D

A

Botswana

C

C

D

A

Brazil

C

B

E

B

Canada

B

B

B

A

Chile

B+

B

B

A

China

C

C+

D

B

Colombia

C+

C+

C

B

Croatia

B

B

C+

A

Denmark

A

A

A

B+

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary10

Sub-indexgrade

System

Overallindexgrade

Adequacy

Sustainability

Integrity

Finland

B+

B+

B

A

France

B

A

D

B+

Germany

B

A

D

B+

HongKongSAR

B

B

C+

A

Iceland

A

A

A

A

India

D

E

D

C

Indonesia

C

D

C

B

Ireland

B

B

C

A

Israel

A

B+

A

A

Italy

C

B

E

B+

Japan

C

C

D

B

Kazakhstan

B

D

B

A

Korea(South)

C

D

C

B+

Kuwait

B

A

B

C

Malaysia

C+

C

C

B+

Mexico

B

B

C+

B

Namibia

C

C

C

B

Netherlands

A

A

A

A

NewZealand

B

B

B

A

Norway

B+

B+

B

A

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary11

Sub-indexgrade

System

Overallindexgrade

Adequacy

Sustainability

Integrity

Oman

C+

B

D

B

Panama

C

C+

C

C+

Peru

C

C

D

C+

Philippines

D

D

C+

E

Poland

C

C

D

B

Portugal

B

A

D

A

SaudiArabia

B

B+

C

B

Singapore

A

B+

B+

A

SouthAfrica

C

D

D

B+

Spain

C+

A

E

B

Sweden

B+

B+

B+

A

Switzerland

B

B

B

A

Taiwan

C

D

C

B

Thailand

C

D

D

C+

Türkiye

D

D

E

B

UAE

C+

B+

D

B+

UK

B

B+

C+

B+

Uruguay

B

A

C

B+

USA

C+

C+

C

C

Vietnam

C

C

D

B

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary12

Figure4showstheoverallIndexscoreforeachsystem,together

withtheIndexscoreforeachsub-index:Adequacy,SustainabilityandIntegrity.EachIndexscorerepresentsascorebetween0and100.

Figure4.Indexscoreforeachsystem

Sub-indexscore

System

Overallindexscore

Adequacy

Sustainability

Integrity

Argentina

45.9

60.8

31.3

42.4

Australia

77.6

69.0

81.1

86.4

Austria

54.5

67.5

24.0

76.4

Belgium

69.2

81.5

42.7

86.8

Botswana

59.8

54.3

48.0

85.0

Brazil

56.2

70.6

31.8

67.3

Canada

70.4

67.2

67.0

80.2

Chile

76.6

71.9

74.9

86.6

China

56.7

61.4

40.1

72.3

Colombia

62.5

64.3

55.9

69.0

Croatia

68.7

66.8

60.5

83.2

Denmark

82.3

82.9

85.0

77.6

Finland

76.6

77.4

65.6

90.6

France

70.3

85.2

48.6

76.8

Germany

67.8

81.0

47.5

75.0

HongKongSAR

70.6

66.6

62.0

89.2

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary13

Sub-indexscore

System

Overallindexscore

Adequacy

Sustainability

Integrity

Iceland

84.0

83.0

85.7

83.3

India

43.8

34.7

43.8

58.4

Indonesia

51.0

40.1

50.3

69.3

Ireland

67.7

72.9

51.6

81.8

Israel

80.3

75.6

83.2

83.6

Italy

57.0

69.4

27.9

77.8

Japan

56.3

57.1

48.0

66.8

Kazakhstan

65.0

47.0

74.2

81.1

Korea

53.9

40.1

53.3

76.8

Kuwait

71.9

86.6

65.4

57.6

Malaysia

60.6

54.0

55.9

77.5

Mexico

69.3

73.5

64.1

69.8

Namibia

59.1

59.5

50.8

70.4

Netherlands

85.4

86.1

83.5

86.8

NewZealand

70.4

65.2

68.2

81.7

Norway

76.0

77.8

65.2

88.4

Oman

60.9

68.3

44.6

71.7

Panama

59.1

62.1

52.5

63.8

Peru

55.3

55.4

48.5

64.8

Philippines

47.1

40.6

64.4

33.2

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary14

Sub-indexscore

System

Overallindexscore

Adequacy

Sustainability

Integrity

Poland

57.0

59.5

45.9

68.6

Portugal

67.6

83.7

36.4

85.4

SaudiArabia

67.6

75.0

54.6

74.2

Singapore

80.8

79.4

75.5

90.4

SouthAfrica

51.0

38.0

48.2

75.7

Spain

63.8

83.0

34.2

74.4

Sweden

78.2

76.8

76.3

83.0

Switzerland

72.4

66.3

72.9

81.6

Taiwan

51.8

41.0

52.3

68.5

Thailand

50.6

47.9

44.8

63.1

Türkiye

48.2

49.0

31.1

71.1

UAE

64.9

79.4

40.6

75.5

UK

72.2

75.9

63.2

79.0

Uruguay

71.1

83.8

53.1

75.8

USA

61.1

64.1

59.9

58.0

Vietnam

53.7

57.1

38.7

69.3

Average

64.5

66.1

55.3

74.7

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025ExecutiveSummary15

Calltoaction

TheWorldEconomicForumrecognizesthatfinancialsecurityisan

importantelementascountrieslooktoaddressthedemographicandfinancialchallengesofglobalagingandtosupportindividualstobe

resilientintheirlongerlives.Ithashighlightedthreekeyareasthat

mayhavethebiggestimpactontheoverallleveloffinancialsecurityinretirement.

Theseareto:

1.Providea“safetynet”pensionforall

2.Improveeaseofaccesstowell-managed,cost-effectiveretirementplans

3.Supportinitiativestoincreasecontributionrates

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025

?Improvingthegovernanceofprivatepensionplansandintroducinggreatertransparencytoimprovetheconfidenceofplanmembers

?Increasingthestatepensionageand/orretirementagetoreflectincreasinghealth-adjustedlifeexpectancy,bothnowandintothefuture,therebyseekingtoreducethecostsofpubliclyfinancedpensionbenefits

?Promotinghigherlaborforceparticipationatolderages,whichcanincreasethesavingsavailableforretirementandlimitthecontinuingincreaseinthelengthofretirement

?Encouraginghigherlevelsofprivatesaving,bothwithinandbeyondthepensionsystem,toreducethefuturedependenceonthepublicpension,whilealsoadjustingtheexpectationsofmanyworkers

?Introducingmeasurestohelpreducethegenderpensiongapandgapsthatexistforminoritygroupsinmanyretirement

incomesystems

Thesekeyareasmustbeviewedinthecontextoffuture-proofingretireeoutcomestoreflectlongerlifespansandfallingbirthrates.Seethe

WorldEconomicForumreportFuture-ProofingtheLongevityEconomy:

InnovationsandKeyTrends,forreference.

TheWorldEconomicForumobservationsprovideagoodstarting

pointtoexpresstheobjectivesoftheoverallretirementsystem

asgovernmentsconsidermeaningfulpensionreform,notingthat

financialsecurityshouldbeconsideredaspartofaholisticapproachtothechallengesandopportunitiesofanagingglobalpopulationthatbalanceshealth,financialstabilityandsocialconsiderations.

TheIndexseekstopromotepensionreformtohelpenhancethe

financialsecurityofallretirees.Accordingly,ourreportincludesaseriesofsuggestionsforstrengtheningeachretirementincomesystem.ThisincludestheA-gradesystems,recognizingthateventhebestsystemscanbeimproved.Whileeachsystemreflectsitsuniquehistory,culturalandeconomicconditions,somecommonthemesforimprovement

emergefromhistoricaldata.Arangeofreformsthatcanbe

implementedtohelpimprovethelong-termeffectivenessofretirementincomesystemsincludes:

?Increasingcoverageofemployees(includingnonstandardworkers)andtheself-employedintheprivatepensionsystem,recognizingthatmanyindividualswillnotsaveforthefuturewithoutan

elementofcompulsionorautomaticenrollment

?Reducingtheleakagefromtheretirementsavingssystempriortoretirement,therebyensuringthatthefundssaved,often

withassociatedtaxationsupport,areusedfortheprovisionofretirementincome

ExecutiveSummary16

03

Balancing

government

influenceonprivatepensionfund

investments

Featurechapter

MercerCFAInstituteGlobalPensionIndex2025FeatureChapter:Balancinggovernmentinfluenceonprivatepensionfundinvestments

17

Executivesummary

Governmentsaroundtheworldinfluence,andinmanyinstances,

restrict