The Philippines continues to trail behind other nations when it comes to its pension system, according to the latest 2025 Global Pension Index released by the Mercer CFA Institute.
Based on the report, the Philippines placed third from the bottom among 52 countries assessed, joining Turkey, Argentina, and India in the lowest tier. All four countries received a “D” grade, which, according to Mercer, represents systems that have certain desirable elements but also major weaknesses that threaten their long-term effectiveness and stability.
“A system that has some desirable features but also has major weaknesses and/or omissions that need to be addressed; without these improvements, its efficacy and sustainability are in doubt,” the Mercer CFA Institute explained.
Despite its low ranking, the Philippines showed a slight improvement in its overall score — rising from 45.8 in 2024 to 47.1 in 2025.
In this year’s assessment, the country earned 40.6 in adequacy, 64.4 in sustainability, and 33.2 in integrity.
When compared to top-performing countries, the gap remains wide. The Netherlands once again led the index with an overall score of 85.4, scoring 86.1 in adequacy, 83.5 in sustainability, and 86.8 in integrity. Rounding out the top five were Iceland, Denmark, Singapore, and Israel, all recognized for their well-developed and sustainable pension systems.
The Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index measures and evaluates the retirement income systems of 52 countries, analyzing their adequacy, sustainability, and integrity to assess the overall strength and reliability of each nation’s pension framework.