Global comparison: Canada’s retirement system ranks highly

Canada’s pension system moved from 13th to 12th place in the annual rankings of consulting firm Mercer, which analyzed 47 pension systems around the world.

The Netherlands finds itself at the top of this ranking published on Wednesday, followed by Iceland, which had previously topped the list for two years in a row, and Denmark. The three countries received an A rating and overall scores of 85, 83.5 and 81.3 respectively.

Canada retained its B rating, but its score dropped slightly from 70.6 to 70.2 in 2023. The country now ranks 12th.

“Canada’s pension system continues to rank highly in the world […]. However, an environment characterized by inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, labor shortages, an aging population, and some signs of recession poses risks to employers, employees, and the long-term effectiveness of our retirement and health care systems like never before. said F. Hubert Tremblay, Partnership Member and Senior Advisor to Mercer Canada’s Assets Practice.

According to the company, the increase in the number of employees benefiting from the retirement plan, the increase in the level of family savings held in assets and the decrease in the level of family debt, could make it possible to strengthen the pension system of Canada.

According to Mercer’s analysis, which compared the adequacy, sustainability and fairness of different pension systems, Argentina received the lowest value (rating D; 42.3).

For comparison, the United Kingdom came in 10th place (B rating; 73), the United States in 22nd place (C+ rating; 63), France in 25th place (C+ rating; 61.7), and Japan in 31st place (C rating; 56.3). South Africa 38th (ranking C; 54th).

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