Dutch retirees (and soon-to-be retirees) have a special reason to feel proud this week, as the Netherlands has been named as the country with the best pension income system for the third year in a row.
The 2011 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index examined retirement plans in 16 different nations across Europe, the Americas and Asia using three criteria -- adequacy (appropriate provision of benefits) sustainability (the long-term durability of the system) and integrity (the regulation of private pension schemes, including the protection given to members), The Telegraph is reporting.
The Netherlands comfortably topped the chart, followed by Australia and Switzerland in second and third place, respectively. The U.S. rounded out the top ten, but Asian nations fared significantly less well, with Japan, India and China coming in at the bottom of the survey.
“Given the current economic situation, the risk of governments not being able to financially support their aging population is becoming more of a reality," David Knox, senior partner at Mercer, is quoted by the Yorkshire Post as saying. "he best systems adopt a multi-pillar approach to spread these long-term risks between governments, employers and individuals. Each country has to consider its own social, economic, political, cultural and historical circumstances, but despite the differences in the history and development of each country’s system there are some common challenges around the world.”
For more information about the report, including additional rankings, click here.
Take a look at the 10 nations with the best retirement plans below:
