The best — and worst — countries to retire in Europe


Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

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Moving to another country to eventually retire requires a lot of careful research and planning, taking into account social security, health care, and finances.

U.S. consultancy Mercer issues a closely-watched annual report that analyzes 47 different retirement income systems around the world — with European nations often coming out on top.

In fact, three countries have dominated the Mercer CFA Institute’s global index since 2021. Namely, Iceland (a 84.6 average), the Netherlands (a 84.4 average) and Denmark (a 81.8 average) have been considered to have the best pension systems over these past three years.

“All three have large industry funds with defined contributions from workers and employers. They have mandatory or quasi-mandatory schemes. These countries benefit from good economies of scale versus more fragmented markets like the U.K. for occupational pensions,” Eimear Walsh, Mercer’s head of investments and wealth, told CNBC.

The Netherlands got the highest overall index value (85.0) this year thanks to good benefits, a strong asset base and sound regulation, while popular European destinations such as Spain, Italy and Croatia have faced some shortcomings.  

The Mercer index is made up of three sub-categories where it rates a pension system: adequacy, sustainability and integrity.

Adequacy of income

Integrity

Sustainability of the system

The best — and worst — countries to retire in Europe



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