Global Pension Index 2009

In October 2009, the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index was released, ranking Australia’s retirement system second in the world.

For the first time, the Index compared the adequacy, sustainability and integrity of retirement systems in 11 countries around the globe. Included in the study are all three pillars of the retirement system as we know it: the age pension, superannuation and private savings.

The lead author of the report is Dr David Knox, Worldwide Partner with Mercer ably supported by Adam Solomon. Mercer is of course very well known in the funds management space and has an extensive international network of offices.

While wherever possible we relied on publicly available information from sources such as the OECD, a critical part of compiling the index was the input from Mercer colleagues who assisted by collecting the data in-country where data was otherwise not publicly available.

We believe that collectively we have produced a transparent and robust instrument which allows an independent and unbiased comparison of retirement systems around the world, or at least in these initial 11 countries.

We hope that this Report, the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, will inform and contribute to the discussion amongst our citizens, industry, government and academia on how we might improve the existing system.

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Australian Centre for Financial Studies (ACFS)

In 2009, the ACFS (previously known as the Melbourne Centre for Financial Studiues (MCFS)) was chosen to conduct the Global Pension Index pilot study because of its strong past history of facilitating researching and providing the links between financial services industry, government and academia.

ACFS is a not-for-profit consortium of three Melbourne Universities: Monash University, RMIT University and the University of Melbourne; and Finsia (Financial Services Institute of Australasia). It has developed a strong reputation for the depth of research it has funded, and its contributions to debate on financial services issues.

For more information on the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index and ACFS activities including Research opportunities, please contact Professor Deborah Ralston, Director, on 03 9666 1010.

Mercer

Mercer was sub-contracted to undertake key elements of the study and draw on its global network for data collection and validation.

Mercer is a leading consultancy, specialising in human resources and finance advice, products and services. It has more than 18,000 employees in over 180 cities and 40 countries and territories around the world.