Global retirement security improves but few feel more secure.

Retirement security is looking better for most developed countries, with rising rates, easing inflation, low unemployment in key markets – and with the pandemic fading in the rearview mirror. In fact, nearly all of the countries represented in the 2023 Natixis Global Retirement Index received a higher overall score for the first time in a decade.

But while these improvements suggest that retirement security feels more broadly attainable, individuals in many countries are not as optimistic, according to results of the 2023 Natixis Global Survey of Individual Investors.

This year’s report takes a deep dive into the critical issues driving global retirement security – and reveals the top countries for retirement security around the world.

While the top four countries held their rankings from 2022, this year, Luxembourg moves up two slots to number five, and Germany moves into the top 10 at number nine. Australia and New Zealand both dropped two spots. And the Czech Republic moved out of the top 10 completely.

 1. Inflation: A light at the end of the tunnel? Or an oncoming train?

Individuals have learned hard lessons in recent times about how fast and high prices can rise. Over the long term, they’ll need to reassess savings and investment goals to ensure they’re better positioned for future spikes that could kill their chances at a secure retirement.

  2. Rising interest rates: A win many individuals don’t understand

A decade of record low interest rates hampered retirees’ ability to generate income. Now that rates are rising, individuals need to better understand how rising rates affect their overall financial picture. And most don’t.

 3. Public debt: Somebody will eventually have to pick up the tab

The Global Financial Crisis added $12 trillion to public debt in OECD countries, then the Global Pandemic added $18 trillion more. In the end, somebody has to pay the bill – and it could impact retirement income plans of individuals across the globe.

 4. Demographics: The Silver Tsunami makes landfall

An already aging global population is experiencing the effect of “Silver Tsunami” as a larger and even older population is pressuring traditional notions of retirement. The transition from defined benefits to defined contribution is escalating, and policymakers grapple with the best way to manage increased demand for support from an aging population.

 5. Planning assumptions: We have met the enemy, and it is us

In the end, the only factor individuals can actually control is their expectations. But whether they are retired or not, investors need to ensure their assumptions about retirement are accurate and their financial expectations are realistic. And unfortunately, many aren’t.

About the 2023 Natixis Global Retirement Index
The Global Retirement Index (GRI) is a multi-dimensional index developed by Natixis Investment Managers and CoreData Research to examine the factors driving retirement security and to provide a comparison tool for best practices in retirement policy.

The GRI includes 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). We’ve calculated a mean score in each category and combined the category scores for a final overall ranking of the 44 nations studied.