Norway has maintained the top spot in Natixis Investment Managers’ (IM) 2026 Global Retirement Index (GRI), despite retirement security being under pressure due to an ageing population, debt and inflation.

This year’s update showed that Norway, which has featured in the top three since 2012, has maintained the top spot with a score of 83 per cent for the second year in a row.

Ireland's ranking also remained unchanged as its score of 81 per cent meant that it was in second place for the second year in a row.

The update also revealed that the UK slipped one spot from 14th to 15th in the global rankings despite its score remaining unchanged from last year at 72 per cent.

Natixis IM suggested this was due to a decline in health by 12 places to 22nd place, the largest fall of any sub-index, driven mainly by life expectancy.

The UK's life expectancy fell 10 places to 27th amid longstanding pressures on the National Health Service and widening health inequalities.

However, this decline in health was partially offset by an improvement in material wellbeing, which rose five places to 21st.

The UK also remained second in the developed larger country rankings, while Germany ranked first with a score of 75 per cent.

Germany’s sole weakness, according to Natixis IM, remained finances in retirement, where high old-age dependency and tax pressure weighed down its 23rd-place ranking.

However, strength in material wellbeing, where it scored eighth globally, and quality of life, where it scored seventh globally, mean it was “well ahead” of its large-country peers.

Other notable movements included Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Czechia and Poland.

Sweden saw a continuation of its multi-year decline, falling four places to 22nd.

Natixis IM explained that Sweden’s persistent material wellbeing weakness, which has been declining since 2019, when the country was in the top 10, has steadily eroded the country’s overall standing.

Iceland and Finland also experienced falls. Iceland dropped five places from fourth to ninth, with its overall score falling four percentage points to 75 per cent, which was the most notable fall in the top 10.

Meanwhile, Finland dropped to 35th – the most significant year-on-year fall of any country.

This was driven by Finland's weak performance in the material wellbeing sub-index, bringing its overall score down from 66 per cent to 54 per cent. The country also registered the highest unemployment among all countries in the GRI.

In contrast, Czechia entered the top 10 this year, climbing one place to 10th with a score of 75 per cent, while Poland broke into the top 25 for the first time, rising nine places to 19th, driven by a surge in material wellbeing.

Overall, small nations dominated the top 10, reflecting their relative ability to adapt across the GRI index’s 18 indicators.

The update highlighted the intensifying pressure retirement security is under globally due to rapidly ageing populations, record public debt and persistent inflation.

Indeed, Natixis IM noted that several of today’s retirement pressures stem from uncertainties presented by retirement systems built on 20th-century assumptions.

It argued that people work differently today, live longer and shoulder a greater share of the responsibility for funding retirement.

This is having an impact on individual investors, with a recent Natixis survey finding that 78 per cent of investors across 21 countries said it is increasingly their responsibility to fund retirement on their own, a sharp increase from 67 per cent 10 years earlier.

Despite this, the update showed that recent policy progress has helped individuals meet more of the responsibility for funding retirement, with a particular focus on access, automation and accumulation.

The report found that this policy work directly addresses investors’ biggest retirement concerns of not having enough money to enjoy retirement (40 per cent), inflation eating away at retirement plans (38 per cent), potential benefit shortfalls (33 per cent) and fears they will never save enough to retire (25 per cent).

Natixis IM suggested that concern is so great that 43 per cent of individual investors worldwide believe it will take a miracle to achieve retirement security, and one-third of high-net-worth investors felt the same way.

Commenting on this year’s results, Natixis IM head of Northern Europe & MEACA, Andrew Benton, said: “This year’s index reinforces the urgency for outdated retirement systems to evolve and modernise, adapting to longer lives and changing work patterns.

“Policy reform can help move people from retirement saving to retirement investing, improving the odds of retirement security. Whilst modernising policy can improve the chance of retirement security, individuals must also take ownership of their retirement journey, saving now and consistently. Every year of delay increases the pressure on the years that remain.”

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