Lack of security threatens Singapore's dominance in retirement finance

The city was in the bottom half of the rankings for retirement security.

Singapore outperformed 44 countries in the finances for retirement index but ranked 28th for retirement security, according to the sixth edition of the Global Retirement Index (GRI) by Natixis Investment Managers.

Retirement security looks at whether retirees have the material means to live comfortably; access to quality financial services to help preserve savings value and maximise income; access to quality health services; and a clean and safe environment, according to Natixis.

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Despite its lower than average rank for retirement security, the report noted that Singapore still performed well amongst Asian countries, ranking third in Asia whilst remaining in the top 30 in global ranking for the fifth consecutive year. Japan maintained the top Asian country for retirement security at 23rd, followed by South Korea at 24th place. China and India finished at 39th place and at the bottom of the index, respectively.

The index incorporates 19 performance indicators grouped into four thematic sub-indices, namely health, finances in retirement, quality of life and material wellbeing, that examine factors driving retirement security across 44 nations worldwide.

Singapore also finished first in tax pressure indicator, eight in interest rates, and tenth in governance to keep the retirement finances crown over New Zealand. The island state also scored higher in bank non-performing loans--the main driver of its improved performance, said Natixis.

The island state also debuted in the health subindex for retirement’s top 25, taking the 24th place as compared to 29th last year, achieving the largest improvement in this category with significantly higher scores in the insured health expenditure and life expectancy indicators.

Despite improving five places in the health subindex, Singapore still has the seventh-lowest score for insured health expenditure among all GRI countries.

Overall, Western Europe continues to dominate as a region in terms of overall GRI ranking, with 15 countries in the top 25 for the third successive year. Iceland, Switzerland and Norway, maintained their positions as the top three overall countries since 2016. Despite a slight score decline, Iceland moves up one spot into first place, whilst Switzerland slips one place into second. Norway remains third, with a score of 80%.