How well do retirees live in a global comparison? This is shown by the “Global Retirement Index 2022” by Natixis Investment Managers – and makes it clear: the living conditions for retirees have deteriorated in Germany this year. One point is particularly explosive.
The year 2022 is a difficult year for the start of retirement: inflation, volatile markets and low interest rates are causing savings to melt away. The annual study by the global asset management company “Natixis IM” reveals where life is still best for retirees in a global comparison.
But even if Germany still manages to come 11th in the study ranking, the results make it clear what a great challenge the Federal Republic will face in the coming years.
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For the ranking, “Natixis IM” examined 44 countries worldwide. The study authors considered 18 factors that are divided into four overarching categories of health, finances in retirement, quality of life and material wealth in old age:
Using these 18 indicators, the authors of the study calculated a score from 0.01 to 1 for each country, which is then converted into a percentage. The overall score, in turn, enables the living conditions of retirees in different nations to be compared.
Germany has grown old – and will become even older in the years to come. Demographic change not only threatens our prosperity, but is also a challenge for our healthcare system and our social interaction. In our multimedia special “Silver Society” we deal with the mega trend and pursue the pressing questions of how we can honestly and together overcome the problems that need to be solved – and what constitutes a life worth living in old age.
Norway is therefore the best country for retirees. The Scandinavian country takes first place, last year it was third.
Switzerland stubbornly holds second position – despite losing a point compared to last year. Overall, our neighboring country achieved an overall rating of 80 percent. Switzerland is the highest-ranked country on environmental factors and also has the highest overall score in the overarching category, Finance in Retirement.
Iceland is one of the biggest losers this year. For the island nation, it is only enough for third place in 2022 with 79 points. In the previous year’s ranking, Iceland achieved four points more and was thus able to maintain its top position. The island state had to give up feathers in the categories “material prosperity” (number 5) and “finances in retirement” (number 10).
Germany also did significantly worse in the current ranking than in the previous year and thus slipped out of the top 10 to 11th place. This means that the Federal Republic is increasingly only in the middle in the race for the best pensioner country.
Germany performs best in the health index, which includes life expectancy and health expenditure per capita. In the quality of life index (environmental factors, air quality, general satisfaction), Germany is still comparatively far ahead at 80 percent.
In comparison to the previous year, however, the Federal Republic of Germany has particularly deteriorated in the category “Material Prosperity”. The authors of the study write that this is partly due to the widening of the poor-rich gap during the pandemic.
The Federal Republic of Germany also achieved a below-average result in another area: “Finance in retirement” (30th place). Germany scores particularly negatively here, for example, in so-called age dependency. The important indicator provides information about whether a company is able to shoulder the increasing pension burden financially.
The situation in Germany is extremely tense here, because on the one hand the number of births is falling and on the other hand life expectancy is increasing. The so-called baby boomer generation will soon be retiring, i.e. the baby boomers born between 1955 and 1965. This poses a major challenge for our country, as fewer and fewer young workers are coming up. Experts are increasingly warning of a collapse in the financing of pension and social security systems. Accordingly, Germany only manages 38th place out of 44 in the “Age Dependency” category.
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