SG drops to fourth place in finances in retirement sub-index

The city-state has been at top of the ranking since 2019.

Singapore edged down to fourth in 2023 Natixis’ finances in the retirement sub-index, which is based on old-age dependency, bank nonperforming loans, inflation, tax pressure, and others.

“Singapore’s decline follows decreases in several indicators including old-age dependency, bank nonperforming loans, inflation, interest rates, and government,” read the report.

South Korea rose to second place due to strong performances in the bank nonperforming loans (1st) and inflation (5th) indicators. Australia also moved up to third place, and China improved to 21st place.

In the health sub-index, the market improved its ranking to 19th place, garnering a score of 82%. It was also second in life expectancy, after Japan.

In the Global retirement index, Norway remains first place for the second consecutive year, boasting an overall score of 83%.

“Switzerland remains in second place with a score of 82%, Iceland in third again with 81%, and Ireland also retains the same ranking in fourth with an overall score of 80%,” read the statement.

Amongst Asia Pacific (APAC) countries, Australia and New Zealand are still leading, ranking 7th and 8th- respectively. South Korea (21st) is the next highest-ranked APAC country, followed by Japan (24th) and Singapore, which improved by one place to 26th, while China placed 38th.