The Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2025 shows that pension systems of 12 out of 15 Asia Pacific countries improved this year.
Singapore remained at pole position with a score of 80.8, up from 78.7 in 2024. Australia was second with a score of 77.6, up from 76.7, and Hong Kong was third with 70.6, up from 63.9.
Tim Jenkins, a partner at Mercer, points out that pension reform is never simple, balancing the interests of “millions of individuals across generations, income levels and working lives within systems shaped by decades of policy evolution and political compromise”.
He says pension reform should focus on three core principles: adequacy, sustainability and integrity.
“This year’s index reminds us that while progress has been made, with no systems downgraded, challenges remain,” Jenkins says in the annual study published on October 15.
Pension systems in India, Taiwan and Vietnam were the only ones that posted lower scores this year.
India also had the lowest overall score of 43.8, followed by the Philippines with 47.1, and Thailand with 50.6.
Within Southeast Asia, Malaysia’s pension system was ranked second best after Singapore, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia.
