A recent analysis looked at retirement systems in 44 nations around the world (advanced economies of members of the International Monetary Fund, members of the OECD, and countries of the BRICS), to determine which are the best places to retire, following various metrics.
Four important categories that affect retirement were analyzed:
- Health: how much is spent per capita on health, life expectancy and uninsured health expenses.
- The quality of life, which includes happiness, air quality, water quality, sanitation, and biodiversity and the environment, is also analyzed.
- The third point analyzed was material well-being, per capita income, income equality and unemployment.
- Finally, the finances of the retirement system, government debt, dependency ratios of reluctant seniors, interest, inflation, tax burden and governance.
In this analysis, a value table was set from 1 to100, 100 being the highest.
The 25 Best Countries for Retirement in 2024: Is the USA in the Club?
In 1881, Otto von Bismarck proposed a radical idea for its time, controversial but advanced, and which changed the history of the world forever. He wanted people over 70 to receive a state pension, which would help them stop working and enjoy the rest of their lives in peace and after having contributed enough to the country.
Since then, that model has been adopted en masse around the world and most advanced and developing countries have at least one retirement system and a set retirement age. Thanks to this, workers can claim benefits paid through years of work and their respective taxes. However, today retirement is not only considered in terms of finances, but the four points mentioned above are analyzed: health, quality of life, material well-being and finances of retirement systems.
Having said all this: What is the best country in the world for retirement?
In first place is Norway, which was also in first place in 2022, when this same indicator was made. In health metrics, Norway was one of the few countries to see a substantial improvement in life expectancy during the pandemic and now stands at 83.3 years at birth, one of the highest rates in the world.
This contrasts with many countries in the index, such as Austria, Canada, or the United States, which saw life expectancy fall due to a higher mortality rate during the pandemic.
In terms of well-being, Norway’s current low unemployment rate of just 3.8% reduces unnecessary pressures on the Social Safety net. This means that, the more workforce working legally, the more people contribute to the retirement systems and make it more robust and sustainable over time.
In fact, Norway, along with the other three countries that complete the quaternary of the first four, maintain the same classification as in previous years. These are: Switzerland in second place with a score of 82%, just one point below Norway. Iceland follows with a score of 81%, then Ireland with a score of 80%.
And Luxembourg, which rose two places since the last ranking, now has a score of 79%, sharing the same percentage with the Netherlands, which also rose two places since the previous measurement. Australia follows in 7th place, losing two places.
In 8th place is New Zealand with a percentage of 77%, one point below Australia and Germany in 9th place with a score of 76%, having gained two positions since the last measurement. The tenth position goes to Denmark, which lost one position and has a score of 76%
I don’t know if you noticed it, but of the first 10 positions, 9 are in Europe and there are only two that are not Australia and New Zealand in position 7 and 8 respectively.
Where Is the United States in This Ranking?
The top 20 is completed with the following countries in order from 11 to 20: Austria, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Israel, Czech Republic, and United States. And there we are, the Americans, who have lost two positions since the last measurement. In 20th place, the USA has a percentage of just 71%.
The last five that complete the top 25 of best countries to retire are: South Korea, Malta, France, Japan, and Estonia. The Global Retirement Index, which analyzes 44 countries around the world and their retirement systems, agrees that the United States occupies 20th place in its ranking. Per capita health spending in the United States is high, but it does not necessarily translate into better quality or life expectancy for retirees.
For example, the average life expectancy in the United States is 74 years, while in Norway, number 1 on the list, it is 83. Furthermore, uninsured health spending remains a problem in the United States: It is one of the highest in the world and represents an economic burden for retirees who see how their savings are diluted when they have chronic or costly illnesses.