This put the two nations way ahead of the average score of 60.5 and, of course, of the last placed nation, Argentina, which scored only 39.2.
David Knox, who authored the Mercer report said it highlighted the difficulty in finding a balance between “what you offer and how long you can offer it”.
This is certainly true of most nations’ mainstream private pensions, with many predicting that they will struggle to maintain the balance over the long-term in the face of ageing populations and other economic pressures.
Italy, Austria and Spain — all of which scored high for adequacy but low for sustainability – are among the nations most likely to feel the pressure soon.
The study defined “adequacy” as being based on the level of tax flexibility, benefits, growth assets, system design and savings provided by a pension. “Sustainability” was defined on the basis of factors such as coverage, contributions, growth and debt. “Integrity” was defined on the basis of measures including regulation, costs, governance, protection and communication.
And this is not the first time that the Netherlands has topped the list – it ranked no. 1 seven years ago.
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index is published by the Australian Centre for Financial Studies in collaboration with Mercer and the State Government of Victoria. The UK’s pension system was ranked in 15th place.
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Originally launched by the UK Government as the Post Office Savings Bank in 1861, the NS&I provided the opportunity for both the public to save and as the government to fund the deficit. To encourage post war saving in 1956, Premium Savings Bonds were introduced – but not without some political and religious opposition. Despite the resistance, NS&I has since evolved into one the largest savings organisations in the UK and has approximately 25 million customers and more than £179 billion invested.
ng home from the pub on a Saturday night (and I’m Glaswegian so I’m allowed to joke about things like that); I’m talking about 2016 and what faces each and every one of us this year – uncertainty. In fact, it could almost be classed as uncertain uncertainty. The key issue for British expats is obviously the UK referendum on 23rd June when the vote will be taken as to whether or not the UK will stay in the European Union.