Canada dominates in finances: survey

Canada fell one place, to number 11, in retirement security among 43 countries, according to the 2017 Global Retirement Index published today by Natixis Global Asset Management.

However, Canada’s stable finances and strong health system helped its position from declining further. In fact, Canada and the U.S. dominate the sub-indices of finances and health.

The index analyzes 18 drivers of retiree welfare across the categories of finances, health, material well-being and quality of life.

For financial stability, Canada was among the top 10 countries, with an improved tax-pressure indicator and an increase in five-year average real interest rates. Canada also had top-10 performances in bank non-performing loans and governance.

Of concern, however, is the rising old-age dependency ratio, which measures the proportion of people age 65 and older to those of working age. The rising ratio stresses government programs for seniors.

On a regional basis, which uses a population-weighted calculation method, North America (Canada and the U.S.) ranks number one on the index.

Canada’s one-point drop was driven in part because prosperity lags for lower-income Canadians. For example, a rising level of income inequality causes some Canadians to struggle to save for retirement.

Here are the index’s top 20 nations, along with their standings from last year:

Download the index.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.