The Sustainability Sub-Index 2011

The sustainability sub-index is determined by considering a number of indicators which influence the long-term sustainability of current systems. These include factors such as measuring the importance of the private pension system, its level of funding, the length of expected retirement both now and in the future, the labour force participation rate of older workers and the current level of government debt.

The countries with the highest value for the sustainability sub-index are Sweden (75.4) and Australia (71.4), with the lowest values being for Brazil (27.3) and Japan (28.4). Whilst several indicators influence these scores, the level of coverage of private pension plans, the level of pension assets as a proportion of GDP and the projected demographic factors tend to be the most important.

Full details of the values in respect of each indicator in the sustainability sub-index can be viewed on Page 31 of the 2011 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index.