Australia’s retirement system earns ‘A’ grade in global ranking

• Australia’s retirement income system scored 80.6 in the 2026 Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index, earning an A grade for the first time. 
• Australia now ranks sixth of 55 retirement systems worldwide, behind the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore and Israel.
• The country is one of only five systems to earn an A for sustainability, which measures whether a system can keep paying benefits over time.

Australia’s retirement income system has risen into the global top tier for the first time, earning an “A” grade and a place among the world’s six best.

The country scored 80.6 in the Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2026 report, its best result yet and up from 77.6 and a B+ grade last year.

The Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore and Israel, are the only five other systems earned an A this year.

For Australians saving through superannuation, the result suggests the system holding their retirement savings is in good shape as ageing populations put pension systems worldwide under strain.

“Getting an A in this important index is a strong endorsement of our retirement income system, which has super as its heart, along with the Age Pension and private savings,” said Mary Delahunty, chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

“Where other comparable countries are spending 10 per cent or more of their GDP on state pensions, Australia spends 2.4 per cent thanks to super, and that number is falling.”

How the index ranks countries

The index rates 55 systems covering about two-thirds of the global population on more than 50 indicators.

Those indicators measure three things: the benefits a system pays (adequacy, 40 per cent of the score), whether it can keep paying them (sustainability, 35 per cent) and whether it is well run and trusted (integrity, 25 per cent), with a score of 80 or more needed for an A.

The Netherlands claimed top spot with a score of 85.8, ahead of Denmark on 84.1 and Iceland, just a fraction behind on 84.0.

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Singapore came in fourth on 82.0, with Israel close behind on 81.9 and Australia completing the A-grade group in sixth on 80.6.

Just below the A-grade cut-off, Chile led the B+ systems on 79.2, while Sweden, Finland and Norway filled out the top 10 on 78.8, 77.6 and 77.0, respectively.

What drove the upgrade

Australia’s adequacy score rose from 69.0 to 76.7 on the back of higher net replacement rates, which measure how much of a worker’s pre-retirement income they keep in retirement.

The jump came from updated figures in Pensions at a Glance 2025, a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based policy body for advanced economies.

Despite slipping from 81.1 to 80.6, Australia’s sustainability score is one of only five A grades in the index, alongside those of Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands and Israel, on a measure the report identifies as the toughest for pension systems, where the average is just 55.4.

The report highlights Australia’s legislated objective for super, “to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way.”

“The question is no longer whether systems need to evolve, but how quickly and how effectively they can do so,” lead author Tim Jenkins, a partner at Marsh, said in the report.