Iceland, the Netherlands and Denmark lead the global ranking of countries with the best pension systems.

“Many individuals will no longer be able to count on relevant financial support from their former employers and/or the government during retirement years”, concludes the study prepared by asset manager, Mercer, and the non-profit organization, CFA Institute, underlining the importance of diversifying economies for reform, as well as different sources of financial support.

For the first time, in 14 editions, Portugal appears in the ranking, appearing in 24th place with an overall score of 62.8, slightly below the average value of 63.03. When comparing only the countries of the European Union, with the inclusion of the United Kingdom, Portugal ranks 13th in a list of 17 countries.

The Index assesses each pension system based on the weighted average of indicators such as Adequacy, Sustainability and Integrity, against more than 50 indicators. In terms of Adequacy, Portugal obtained 84.9 points, while in the Integrity indicator, the provision stood at 73.9 points. However, with regard to the Sustainability indicator, Portugal scored 29.7 points, making it the country with the 6th lowest score.

“The pension fund market has faced significant challenges in recent years, in particular the period of unusually low interest rates that marked the last decade. After such a long period, it is normal for the new economic regime of high inflation and rapidly growing interest rates to have an impact on the industry, an impact that comes both through liabilities and through assets”, comments Marcos Soares Ribeiro, president and CEO at CFA Society Portugal, quoted in a statement.