Investor sentiment

2024 Global Retirement Index

September 09, 2024 - 4 min read

Dave Goodsell

Executive Director, Natixis Center for Investor Insight – Natixis Investment Managers – US Distribution

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Only the lonely: Individuals increasingly feel they’re on their own for retirement security

Despite positive progress for many countries in the Global Retirement Index (GRI), retirement security remains on shaky ground in 2024. More and more individuals across the globe are realizing that they’re on their own when it comes to funding their retirement.

Results from the long-running Natixis Global Survey of Individual Investors reveal that the number of people who say it’s increasingly their responsibility to fund retirement on their own—rather than relying on public and private pensions—has grown from 67%¹ to 81%² between 2015 and 2023.

During that time, investors have felt their anxiety increase as long-term trends such as the shift from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution plans and a rapidly increasingly bill for public debt met short-term shocks such as Covid, inflation, and market volatility. In the end, their isolation is leading many to despair about their chances of achieving retirement security.

When it comes down to it, one in five (19%) investors said that even if they saved $1 million, they still couldn’t afford to retire – that includes 18% of those who have already accumulated $1 million.²

This year’s report takes a deep dive into the critical issues driving global retirement security – and reveals the top countries for retirement security around the world.

Top 10 countries

Switzerland overtakes Norway for first place, with a score of 82%, bumping Norway to second place. Iceland and Ireland take third and fourth, respectively. The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Australia follow closely behind, all finishing within the top seven rankings as they did last year. Germany, Denmark, and New Zealand finish off the top ten, with New Zealand having the most significant change in the best performing countries, dipping two places to tenth overall.

Four key risks to global retirement security

Individuals will need to navigate four key risks as they seek to fund their retirement:

While low rates had been a key risk for retirees for the 15+ years following the global financial crisis, today’s higher-rate environment presents new risks. Most notably, with more than $6 trillion invested in money market funds, certificates of deposit and similar instruments³, individuals need to be aware of how today’s cash trap could keep them from meeting their need for a sustainable source of long-term income.

The worst of it may be past as inflation slowly recedes toward central bank targets, but the post-pandemic bout of rising prices has served as a stark reminder of just how fast and how severe inflation can be. Now that 83% of investors say recent events reminded them of just how big a threat inflation poses to their retirement security², individuals will need to act accordingly to ensure they are prepared for any new episodes down the road.

Public debt in OECD countries has more than doubled in the first quarter of the 21^st century as policymakers first navigated the global financial crisis and then the global pandemic. Although the steps were needed to stave off economic meltdown in the short term, policymakers are left with paying down long-term debt. A growing number of individuals are concerned they will be asked to pick up the tab and worry it will result in cuts to the government retirement benefits that are a cornerstone of their retirement income plans.

A secure retirement is a journey, not a destination. Success requires realistic expectations and meaningful commitment from individuals. Although many may appreciate this in concept, not every investor makes reasonable assumptions and sets realistic goals. Natixis Investor survey results show that investors do not have a consistent vision for what it will take to succeed.

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About the 2024 Natixis Global Retirement Index

The Global Retirement Index (GRI) is a multi-dimensional index developed by Natixis Investment Managers and CoreData Research to examine the factors driving retirement security and to provide a comparison tool for best practices in retirement policy.

The index includes International Monetary Fund (IMF) advanced economies, members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The researchers calculated a mean score in each category and combined the category scores for a final overall ranking of the 44 nations studied.

¹ Natixis Global Asset Management surveyed 7,000 individual investors globally in February 2015. Investors from the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania are represented in the survey.

² Natixis Investment Managers, Global Survey of Individual Investors conducted by CoreData Research in March and April 2023. Survey included 8,550 individual investors in 23 countries.

³ St. Louis Fed. (June 19, 2024). Financial assets of money market mutual funds in the United States from 2000 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 15, 2024, from https://www.statista.com.

The views and opinions expressed may change based on market and other conditions. This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. There can be no assurance that developments will transpire as forecasted.

Actual results may vary.

All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments. Investment risk exists with equity, fixed income, and alternative investments. There is no assurance that any investment will meet its performance objectives or that losses will be avoided.

Natixis Distribution, LLC is a limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of various registered investment companies for which advisory services are provided by affiliates of Natixis Investment Managers.

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