Key Takeaways
- Norway leads the world in retirement security, again. It scores 83% on the 2026 Natixis Global Retirement Index, ahead of Ireland (81%) and the Netherlands (79%), which jumped three places to its best-ever rank. Western and Northern Europe fill eight of the top ten.
- The US slides to 24th of 44, from 14th a decade ago. Its score fell from 70% to 68%, dragged by an eight-place drop in Finances in Retirement (to 18th) on debt and inflation. Quality of Life was the only sub-index that didn't decline.
- One index, four very different maps. Japan is 7th in the world for Health but 41st for Finances in Retirement. The US is top-tier on Health, mid-pack on money. Retirement security is a portfolio, not a number.
- The movers: Spain up six, Finland down twelve. Spain's recovery lifts it to 33rd; Finland's slide to 35th is the index's steepest fall. Czechia cracks the top ten for the first time.
Where in the world is retirement actually secure? The 2026 Natixis Global Retirement Index, built with CoreData Research from 18 indicators across finances, material wellbeing, health and quality of life, ranks 44 advanced and major economies on exactly that question. We mapped the full results, including the sub-index splits the headlines skip.
Two framing notes before the map. First, this is not a “best countries to retire to” list: the index measures how well each country’s own system (state pension, healthcare, taxes, economy) serves the people enrolled in it. Moving to Norway does not buy you Norway’s pension; these scores belong to residents who spent careers paying in. Second, it is a best-prepared-economies map, not a world map: the index covers IMF advanced economies, the OECD and the BRICs by design, so most of Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia are not ranked at all.
The Map: Retirement Security in 44 Economies
Norway holds #1 for the second straight year at 83%, with Ireland (81%) and the Netherlands (79%) completing an all-European podium; the Dutch three-place climb to their best-ever rank is the top ten’s biggest gain. Australia (6th, 77%) is the only non-European in the top nine, and Czechia’s entry at 10th makes it the first Central European country ever in the top tier. At the other end, the four BRIC economies plus Colombia and Türkiye fill the bottom six, with India 44th.
The American Slide
The United States tells the index’s cautionary tale: 24th in 2026, down from 21st last year and 14th a decade ago, with its score easing from 70% to 68%. The culprit is money, not medicine: an eight-place drop in Finances in Retirement to 18th, driven by renewed inflation and government debt (the same forces on our fiscal-balance map), plus ground lost in Health and Material Wellbeing. Quality of Life was the only sub-index that held. Record numbers of Americans are responding by moving to Europe, though the fine print matters: an expat brings their US retirement finances with them and gains mainly the Health and Quality of Life columns, not the host country’s pension.
Four Sub-Indices, Four Different Maps
The panels explain more than the headline number. Japan is the starkest split on Earth: 7th for Health (anchored by the world’s second-longest life expectancy) but 41st for Finances in Retirement, where its old-age dependency ratio is unmatched. The US is top-tier green on Health spending-adjacent measures but mid-pack on money and Quality of Life. Russia runs the opposite of the Nordic pattern: bottom-tier Finances, middling everything else. Germany’s only weakness is Finances (23rd), held down by dependency and tax pressure, while its Material Wellbeing (8th) and Quality of Life (~7th) keep it comfortably 7th overall.
The Ranking
Ranked
GRI 2026: the top ten, and the stories below them
Overall retirement-security score (relative, 0-100%), Natixis Global Retirement Index 2026.
| Country | Rank | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 1 | 83% | Top for the second year running |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | 2 | 81% | |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 3 | 79% | Biggest top-10 riser (6th to 3rd) |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 4 | 79% | |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 5 | 78% | |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 6 | 77% | |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 7 | 75% | |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 8 | 75% | |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | 9 | 75% | Biggest top-10 fall (4th to 9th) |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | 10 | 75% | First time in the top ten |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 15 | 72% | Down one to 15th |
| 🇺🇸 United States | 24 | 68% | Down to 24th, from 14th a decade ago |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 25 | 67% | Health 7th, Finances 41st: the starkest split |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 33 | 56% | Biggest climber: up six places |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 35 | 54% | Steepest fall: down 12 places to 35th |
| 🇮🇳 India | 44 | 9% | 44th of 44 |
The Full Table: All 44 Countries, All Five Scores
Every ranked country with its overall score and all four sub-indices, searchable and sortable. The sub-index columns are where the surprises live.
| Rank | Country | Overall | Finances | Material Wellbeing | Health | Quality of Life |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 83% | 70% | 90% | 92% | 81% |
| 2 | Ireland | 81% | 76% | 82% | 92% | 77% |
| 3 | Netherlands | 79% | 67% | 81% | 88% | 80% |
| 4 | Switzerland | 79% | 74% | 82% | 93% | 68% |
| 5 | Denmark | 78% | 61% | 87% | 86% | 83% |
| 6 | Australia | 77% | 72% | 79% | 89% | 69% |
| 7 | Germany | 75% | 63% | 82% | 85% | 73% |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 75% | 68% | 85% | 94% | 58% |
| 9 | Iceland | 75% | 67% | 90% | 87% | 59% |
| 10 | Czechia | 75% | 68% | 73% | 76% | 82% |
| 11 | Slovenia | 73% | 60% | 74% | 84% | 78% |
| 12 | New Zealand | 73% | 73% | 76% | 87% | 58% |
| 13 | Singapore | 72% | 73% | 62% | 84% | 73% |
| 14 | Malta | 72% | 65% | 70% | 82% | 72% |
| 15 | United Kingdom | 72% | 66% | 79% | 83% | 62% |
| 16 | Belgium | 71% | 59% | 78% | 85% | 66% |
| 17 | Israel | 71% | 69% | 70% | 81% | 63% |
| 18 | Austria | 70% | 57% | 80% | 86% | 61% |
| 19 | Poland | 70% | 62% | 70% | 69% | 80% |
| 20 | South Korea | 69% | 75% | 53% | 80% | 73% |
| 21 | Canada | 69% | 68% | 75% | 86% | 54% |
| 22 | Sweden | 69% | 68% | 87% | 91% | 43% |
| 23 | Cyprus | 68% | 67% | 61% | 80% | 66% |
| 24 | United States | 68% | 67% | 72% | 80% | 55% |
| 25 | Japan | 67% | 52% | 60% | 90% | 72% |
| 26 | Italy | 66% | 52% | 71% | 84% | 62% |
| 27 | Slovakia | 65% | 61% | 67% | 64% | 67% |
| 28 | Estonia | 65% | 68% | 71% | 67% | 54% |
| 29 | France | 64% | 55% | 73% | 90% | 48% |
| 30 | Portugal | 64% | 59% | 64% | 79% | 56% |
| 31 | Lithuania | 61% | 69% | 72% | 59% | 48% |
| 32 | Hungary | 59% | 58% | 55% | 58% | 64% |
| 33 | Spain | 56% | 58% | 72% | 85% | 27% |
| 34 | Latvia | 55% | 63% | 66% | 50% | 45% |
| 35 | Finland | 54% | 63% | 92% | 84% | 18% |
| 36 | Greece | 52% | 50% | 56% | 71% | 38% |
| 37 | Chile | 52% | 70% | 56% | 69% | 27% |
| 38 | Mexico | 49% | 61% | 56% | 39% | 43% |
| 39 | Russia | 47% | 40% | 50% | 37% | 68% |
| 40 | China | 45% | 62% | 27% | 53% | 44% |
| 41 | Brazil | 42% | 52% | 63% | 50% | 18% |
| 42 | Türkiye | 39% | 45% | 32% | 55% | 28% |
| 43 | Colombia | 35% | 60% | 54% | 58% | 8% |
| 44 | India | 9% | 65% | 2% | 4% | 17% |
Data and reporting for this article come from the following sources:
