The UK has ranked 17th out of 44 nations in Natixis Investment Managers’ global retirement index for a third successive year.
While the overall ranking remains the same as the past two years, declines in material wellbeing and finances saw the UK retain its 2019 accumulated score of 72% after recording 73% in 2018.
The global retirement index - now in its eighth year - is developed using CoreData research and considers a range of factors that drive retirement security globally in order to create a comparison tool for best practice in policy.
Scores are split into health, finances in retirement, quality of life, and material wellbeing sub-indices to create overall scores for each country.
The index found that the UK's slide on the finances score was impacted by lower scores in bank non-performing loans and government indebtedness, exacerbated by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The quality of life sub-index was a high point in the UK's score and sees the nation ranked seventh out of 44, up from ninth last year and 12th in 2018, driven by improvements in happiness indicators and environmental factors.
The UK recorded multiple indicators in the top ten this year, ranking first in water and sanitation, fourth in biodiversity, and tenth for air quality.
Natixis head of northern Europe Andrew Benton said: "Climate and the environment may not be top of mind for many considering retirement security, but they can present significant obstacles to the health and financial wellbeing of retirees."
Western Europe had the second highest overall score for 2020, finishing first or second in all sub-indices except finance. North America was the continent with the highest overall score for the fifth consecutive year.
Benton continued: "2020 has seen every country around the world facing the extraordinary and unforeseeable challenges presented by the pandemic. It is clear from this year's index how far-reaching the consequences, impacting not just health and quality of life, but with the extreme monetary policy implemented in an attempt to support economies, having a material impact on finances in retirement as well."
Iceland, Switzerland, and Norway retained their positions at the top of the index for a third consecutive year, scoring 82%, 82% and 80% respectively. Ireland moved up to take fourth place this year, with a two-percentage point score jump to reach 79%.
Rounding out the top ten are the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Germany.
The largest rankings climb in 2020 was the Netherlands, which moved from tenth to fifth. India remains at the bottom of the index, with an overall score of 9%.
Natixis chief executive Jean Raby said: "Balancing the needs of current and future retirees with other public policy demands has long been one of the most intractable issues for nations around the world, and the global pandemic and its economic fallout have only compounded the challenge.
"Individuals, employers, institutions, policymakers and asset managers all have an important role to play in addressing these issues, and we believe the 2020 index can help advance the dialog by providing a clear and consistent picture of where each economy stands on a range of key indicators."
