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The 18 countries where retirees have the most money, the best healthcare, and the highest quality of life
The 18 countries where retirees have the most money, the best healthcare, and the highest quality of life
Tanza LoudenbackSep 19, 2019, 23:11 IST
LeoPatrizi/E+/Getty
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Retirement looks vastly different in countries around the world.
For its latest global retirement ranking, Natixis Investment Managers and CoreData Research examined indicators related to the health, finances, material well-being, and quality of life of retirees in 44 countries.
The Nordic countries rank high on the list, while the United States and the United Kingdom fall behind.
Life looks vastly different for retirees around the world. Not only are jobs, cultures, and traditions varied, but the ways in which governments provide for old-age citizens differs greatly from place to place.
Material well-being: income equality, income per capita, employment
Health: life expectancy, health expenditure per capita, non-insured health expenditure
Quality of life: happiness, air quality, water and sanitation, biodiversity and habitat, environmental factors
Finances in retirement: old-age dependency, bank nonperforming loans, inflation, interest rates, tax pressure, governance, government indebtedness
The 44 countries included in the index are International Monetary Fund (IMF) advanced economies, members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
The report notes that "countries with strong overall rankings tend to perform well in the finances sub-index," including New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Iceland, and Ireland.
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Below, check out the top 18 countries for retirement around the world.
The US fell two spots on the ranking this year after posting weaker scores in all four sub-indices. Material well-being dropped because of lower scores for income equality and income per capita, though the employment indicator improved.
17. United Kingdom
Finances in retirement index: 56%
Quality of life index: 85%
The UK remains No. 17 this year, despite a marked decline in finances attributed to a drop in the tax pressure indicator. In addition, poor scores for life expectancy and insured health expenditure indicators weaken its overall health ranking.
16. Israel
Finances in retirement index: 70%
Quality of life index: 77%
Israel's finances in retirement score is highest of all its sub-indices, thanks to improvements in bank nonperforming loans and interest rates. Its material well-being score also improved.
15. Austria
Finances in retirement index: 54%
Quality of life index: 87%
Despite lower scores in the health and material well-being categories, Austria has demonstrated strong improvement on its indicators for finances in retirement.
14. Czech Republic
Finances in retirement index: 69%
Quality of life index: 75%
Czech Republic ranks No. 1 for employment and fourth for income equality, boosting its material well-being category this year. The country also saw an improvement in its happiness score this year.
13. Germany
Finances in retirement index: 56%
Quality of life index: 82%
Germany experienced declines in all four sub-indices, with finances in retirement suffering greatly due to lower scores on tax pressure, old-age dependency, and governance indicators.
12. Finland
Finances in retirement index: 62%
Quality of life index: 92%
Finland maintains the highest score for happiness among all countries on the list, boosting its quality of life index to No. 2 overall.
11. Netherlands
Finances in retirement index: 57%
Quality of life index: 82%
The Netherlands drops out of the top-10 this year, in part due to drops in quality of life and health indicators, including life expectancy and environmental factors.
10. Luxembourg
Finances in retirement index: 60%
Quality of life index: 83%
Luxembourg boasts the No. 1 ranking for health, bolstered by top scores for insured health expenditure and health expenditure per capita.
9. Australia
Finances in retirement index: 77%
Quality of life index: 81%
Australia dropped three places in this year's ranking, driven by drops in quality of life and finances in retirement indicators, though it's best-performing sub-index is still the latter.
8. Canada
Finances in retirement index: 73%
Quality of life index: 82%
Canada represents the "middle of the pack" — none of its sub-indices rank exceptionally high or low. Yet, the country was boosted slightly this year thanks in part to higher scores for income equality and employment in the material well-being category.
7. Denmark
Finances in retirement index: 60%
Quality of life index: 93%
Denmark takes the No. 1 spot in quality of life, where the indicators for happiness, air quality, environmental factors, and biodiversity all rank in the top 10.
6. Sweden
Finances in retirement index: 65%
Quality of life index: 89%
Compared to least year, Sweden fell slightly in the categories of finances in retirement, quality of life, and health. However, it rebounded with a boost in material well-being, thanks in part to a higher score for employment.
5. New Zealand
Finances in retirement index: 79%
Quality of life index: 89%
If nothing else, New Zealand is consistent. This year marks its third in the No. 5 spot, supported by high scores in happiness, air quality, and environmental factors.
4. Ireland
Finances in retirement index: 72%
Quality of life index: 83%
Improvements in the finances in retirement and health categories boosted Ireland's overall ranking this year to No. 4. A lower score for income equality affected its showing on the material well-being sub-index.
3. Norway
Finances in retirement index: 59%
Quality of life index: 90%
While Norway ranks far down the list for finances in retirement — dragged down by low scores for tax pressure and interest rates — the Scandinavian country shows strong in the health category, which measures longevity, health spending per capita, and insured health expenditures.
2. Switzerland
Finances in retirement index: 77%
Quality of life index: 91%
Switzerland dropped from the No. 1 spot this year, but it is still the only country with top-10 ranks for material well-being, finances in retirement, quality of life, and health. Switzerland ranks sixth on the happiness indicator.
1. Iceland
Finances in retirement index: 72%
Quality of life index: 86%
Iceland appears in the No. 1 spot for the first time this year, thanks to top-10 rankings in quality of life, finances in retirement, health, and material well-being.
