Pensions
Ranked: The Best Countries to Retire In
Ranked: The Best Countries to Retire in Around the World
Our global population is getting older. By 2050, the OECD predicts that 30% of people worldwide will be aged 65 or over.
While some countries are relatively prepared to handle this increase in the elderly demographic, others are already feeling the squeeze and struggling with the challenges that come with a rapidly aging population.
Which countries are the best equipped to support their senior citizens? This graphic uses data from the 2022 Natixis Global Retirement Index to show the best countries to retire in around the world, based on several different factors that weโll dig into below.
What Makes a Country Retirement-Friendly?
When people consider what makes a place an ideal retirement location, it’s natural to think about white sand beaches, hot climates, and endless sunny days. And, in truth, the right net worth opens up a world of opportunity of where to enjoy one’s golden years.
The Global Retirement Index (GRI) examines retirement from different, more quantitative perspective. The annual report looks at 44 different countries and ranks them based on their retirement security. The index considers 18 factors, which are grouped into four overarching categories:
- Health: Health spend per capita, life expectancy, and non-insured health spend.
- Quality of Life: Happiness levels, water and sanitation, air quality, other environmental factors, and biodiversity/habitat.
- Material Wellbeing: Income per capita, income equality, and employment levels.
- Finances in Retirement: Government debt, old-age dependency, interest rates, inflation, governance, tax pressure, and bank non-performing loans.
Using these 18 metrics, a score from 0.01 to 1 is determined for each country, which is then converted to a percentage. For a more detailed explanation of the report’s methodology, explore Appendix A (page 72) of the report.
The Top 25 Best Countries to Retire in
With an overall score of 81%, Norway comes in at number one as the most retirement-friendly country on the list.
Rank | Country | Score | Health | Quality of Life | Material Wellbeing | Finances in Retirement |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | 81% | 91% | 87% | 79% | 69% |
2 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | 80% | 90% | 86% | 69% | 74% |
3 | ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | 79% | 88% | 86% | 77% | 68% |
4 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | 76% | 89% | 80% | 67% | 70% |
5 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 75% | 88% | 77% | 66% | 72% |
6 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | 75% | 85% | 81% | 64% | 71% |
7 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | 75% | 91% | 81% | 72% | 59% |
8 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | 75% | 89% | 80% | 78% | 56% |
9 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | 74% | 86% | 88% | 76% | 54% |
10 | ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic | 73% | 76% | 68% | 84% | 64% |
11 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | 72% | 87% | 80% | 71% | 55% |
12 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | 71% | 84% | 89% | 63% | 55% |
13 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | 71% | 90% | 87% | 59% | 56% |
14 | ๐ฆ๐น Austria | 71% | 86% | 82% | 69% | 54% |
15 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 71% | 87% | 74% | 58% | 67% |
16 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | 70% | 82% | 74% | 60% | 66% |
17 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | 70% | 80% | 59% | 68% | 73% |
18 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 69% | 85% | 72% | 56% | 67% |
19 | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 69% | 83% | 82% | 61% | 55% |
20 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | 69% | 85% | 74% | 70% | 51% |
21 | ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | 69% | 82% | 69% | 77% | 51% |
22 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 69% | 91% | 67% | 72% | 51% |
23 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | 68% | 78% | 61% | 72% | 63% |
24 | ๐ซ๐ท France | 66% | 90% | 78% | 57% | 48% |
25 | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | 66% | 68% | 68% | 60% | 68% |
Norway is at the top of this yearโs ranking for several reasons. For starters, it achieved the highest score in the Health category, largely because of its high average life expectancy, which is 83 years old, or 9 years longer than the global average.
Norway also has the highest score of all the countries for Governance, a category gauged by assessing country corruption levels, political stability, and government effectiveness, and is in a three-way tie with Japan and Luxembourg in the Health category.
Second on the list is another European country, Switzerland, with an overall score of 80%. Itโs the highest-ranked country for environmental factors, and it also has the highest overall score in the Finances in Retirement category.
A Regional Breakdown
While European countries dominate the top 10 in the ranking, how does Europe rank as a region as a whole? Before diving in, itโs important to note that the study actually breaks up Europe into two sections: Eastern Europe (grouped with Central Asia) and Western Europe.
Rank | Region | Overall Score |
---|---|---|
1 | North America | 69% |
2 | Western Europe | 66% |
3 | Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 49% |
4 | Latin America | 37% |
5 | Asia Pacific | 32% |
And from a regional perspective, North America comes in first place despite the fact no countries in the region made it into the top 10. North America only has two countries included in the ranking: Canada (#15) and the U.S. (#18), which both rank relatively high.
In contrast, Western and Eastern Europe have more countries to account for, which ultimately lowers their regional average.
The Future of Retirement
As longevity rises and the retirement aged population continues to increase worldwide, many countries are opting to change their pension policies in an effort to encourage people to stay in the workforce longer.
For instance, in 2018, people in the UK could claim their State Pension once they turned 65. By 2028, this age requirement will be raised to 67.
However, government intervention may not be necessary, as many people around the world are already staying in the workforce beyond the traditional retirement age (perhaps more out of necessity than choice).
Markets
Ranked: The Worldโs 100 Biggest Pension Funds
The worldโs 100 largest pension funds are worth over $17 trillion in total. Which ones are the biggest, and where are they located?

Ranked: The Worldโs 100 Biggest Pension Funds
View the high-resolution of the infographic by clicking here.
Despite economic uncertainty, pension funds saw relatively strong growth in 2021. The worldโs 100 biggest pension funds are worth over $17 trillion in total, an increase of 8.5% over the previous year.
This graphic uses data from the Thinking Ahead Institute to rank the worldโs biggest pension funds, and where they are located.
What is a Pension Fund?
A pension fund is a fund that is designed to provide retirement income. This ranking covers four different types:
- Sovereign funds: Funds controlled directly by the state. This ranking only includes sovereign funds that are established by national authorities.
- Public sector funds: Funds that cover public sector workers, such as government employees and teachers, in provincial or state sponsored plans.
- Private independent funds: Funds controlled by private sector organizations that are authorized to manage pension plans from different employers.
- Corporate funds: Funds that cover workers in company sponsored pension plans.
Among the largest funds, public sector funds are the most common.
The Largest Pension Funds, Ranked
Here are the top 100 pension funds, organized from largest to smallest.
Rank | Fund | Market | Total Assets |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Government Pension Investment Fund | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $1.7T |
2 | Government Pension Fund | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | $1.4T |
3 | National Pension | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | $798.0B |
4 | Federal Retirement Thrift | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $774.2B |
5 | ABP | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | $630.4B |
6 | California Public Employees | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $496.8B |
7 | Canada Pension | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $426.7B |
8 | National Social Security | ๐จ๐ณ China | $406.8B |
9 | Central Provident Fund | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | $375.0B |
10 | PFZW | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | $315.5B |
11 | California State Teachers | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $313.9B |
12 | New York State Common | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $267.8B |
13 | New York City Retirement | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $266.7B |
14 | Local Government Officials | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $248.6B |
15 | Employees Provident Fund | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | $242.6B |
16 | Florida State Board | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $213.8B |
17 | Texas Teachers | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $196.7B |
18 | Ontario Teachers | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $191.1B |
19 | National Wealth Fund | ๐ท๐บ Russia | $180.7B |
20 | AustralianSuper | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $169.1B |
21 | Labor Pension Fund | ๐น๐ผ Taiwan | $168.9B |
22 | Washington State Board | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $161.5B |
23 | Public Institute for Social Security | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | $160.0B |
24 | ATP | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | $155.4B |
25 | Wisconsin Investment Board | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $147.9B |
26 | Future Fund | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $147.9B |
27 | Boeing | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $147.2B |
28 | Employees' Provident | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | $145.0B |
29 | New York State Teachers | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $144.4B |
30 | North Carolina | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $137.1B |
31 | Alecta | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | $136.7B |
32 | GEPF | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | $129.1B |
33 | California University | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $125.3B |
34 | Bayerische Versorgungskammer | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | $122.0B |
35 | Ohio Public Employees | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $121.6B |
36 | AT&T | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $119.5B |
37 | Public Service Pension Plan | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $117.9B |
38 | National Federation of Mutual Aid | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $117.1B |
39 | Metaal/tech. Bedrijven | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | $115.8B |
40 | IBM | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $115.4B |
41 | Universities Superannuation | ๐ฌ๐ง UK | $111.2B |
42 | Virginia Retirement | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $110.0B |
43 | Pension Fund Association | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $109.8B |
44 | Raytheon Technologies | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $108.9B |
45 | Michigan Retirement | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $108.0B |
46 | Aware Super | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $107.5B |
47 | New Jersey | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $104.5B |
48 | Minnesota State Board | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $102.9B |
49 | PFA Pension | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | $102.7B |
50 | Kaiser | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $101.0B |
51 | Georgia Teachers | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $100.9B |
52 | Oregon Public Employees | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $100.4B |
53 | Massachusetts PRIM | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $98.5B |
54 | Qsuper | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $96.5B |
55 | General Motors | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $96.1B |
56 | Ontario Municipal Employees | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $95.7B |
57 | Ohio State Teachers | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $95.1B |
58 | AP Fonden 7 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | $94.4B |
59 | Healthcare of Ontario | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $90.5B |
60 | General Electric | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $90.5B |
61 | Employees' Pension Fund | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | $89.5B |
62 | Bouwnijverheid | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | $88.5B |
63 | UPS | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $86.8B |
64 | United Nations Joint Staff | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $86.2B |
65 | Lockheed Martin | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $85.7B |
66 | Quebec Pension | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $81.4B |
67 | National Public Service | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $79.9B |
68 | Tennessee Consolidated | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $79.0B |
69 | Royal Bank of Scotland Group | ๐ฌ๐ง UK | $78.3B |
70 | Bank of America | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $76.3B |
71 | BT Group | ๐ฌ๐ง UK | $74.3B |
72 | Keva | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | $73.3B |
73 | Ford | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $72.8B |
74 | PME | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | $72.7B |
75 | Los Angeles County Employees | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $72.7B |
76 | Quebec Government & Public | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $72.4B |
77 | UniSuper | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $72.1B |
78 | Northrop Grumman | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $72.0B |
79 | Pennsylvania School Employees | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $70.4B |
80 | Lloyds Banking Group | ๐ฌ๐ง UK | $69.7B |
81 | Ilmarinen | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | $69.1B |
82 | Colorado Employees | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $68.6B |
83 | Maryland State Retirement | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $68.5B |
84 | AMF Pension | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | $67.3B |
85 | Varma | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | $67.1B |
86 | Wells Fargo | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $66.0B |
87 | Sunsuper | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $66.0B |
88 | Verizon | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $64.1B |
89 | Illinois Teachers | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $64.0B |
90 | J.P. Morgan Chase | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $62.8B |
91 | Electricity Supply Pension | ๐ฌ๐ง UK | $62.5B |
92 | FedEx | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $60.7B |
93 | Nevada Public Employees | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $58.8B |
94 | B.C. Municipal | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $58.7B |
95 | AP Fonden 4 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | $57.7B |
96 | Missouri Schools & Education | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $57.0B |
97 | AP Fonden 3 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | $55.9B |
98 | Social Insurance Funds | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam | $55.7B |
99 | Organization for Workers | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $55.6B |
100 | Illinois Municipal | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $54.9B |
U.S. fund data are as of Sep. 30, 2021, and non-U.S. fund data are as of Dec. 31, 2021. There are some exceptions as noted in the graphic footnotes.
Japanโs Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is the largest in the ranking for the 21st year in a row. For a time, the fund was the largest holder of domestic stocks in Japan, though the Bank of Japan has since taken that title. Given its enormous size, investors closely follow the GPIFโs actions. For instance, the fund made headlines for deciding to start investing in startups, because the move could entice other pensions to make similar investments.
America is home to 47 funds on the list, including the largest public sector fund: the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), overseen by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Because of its large financial influence, both political parties have been accused of using it as a political tool. Democrats have pushed to divest assets in fossil fuel companies, while Republicans have proposed blocking investment in Chinese-owned companies.
Russiaโs National Wealth Fund comes in at number 19 on the list. The fund is designed to support the public pension system and help balance the budget as needed. With Russiaโs economy facing difficulties amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the government has also used it as a rainy day fund. For instance, Russia has set aside $23 billion from the fund to replace foreign aircraft with domestic models, because Western sanctions have made it difficult to source replacement parts for foreign planes.
The Future of Pension Funds
The biggest pension funds can have a large influence in the market because of their size. Of course, they are also responsible for providing retirement income to millions of people. Pension funds face a variety of challenges in order to reach their goals:
- Geopolitical conflict creates volatility and uncertainty
- High inflation and low interest rates (relative to long-term averages) limit return potential
- Aging populations mean more withdrawals and less fund contributions
Some pension funds are turning to alternative assets, such as private equity, in pursuit of more diversification and higher returns. Of course, these investments can also carry more risk.
Ontario Teachersโ Pension Plan, number 18 on the list, invested $95 million in the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The plan made the investment through its venture growth platform, to โgain small-scale exposure to an emerging area in the financial technology sector.โ
In this case, the investmentโs failure is expected to have a minimal impact given it only made up 0.05% of the planโs net assets. However, it does highlight the challenges pension funds face to generate sufficient returns in a variety of macroeconomic environments.
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