Kazakhstan Ranks 28th in 2024 Global Pension Index, Surpassing US and Saudi Arabia

Global Pension Index

Kazakhstan's pension system ranked 24th out of 48 countries in the annual Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (MCGPI), The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

According to the press service of Kazakhstan’s Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF), the MCGPI assessed systems based on three sub-indices –  adequacy, sustainability, and integrity – which include over 50 indicators. 

Kazakhstan scored 45.8 points for the adequacy sub-index, 73.1 points for sustainability, and 80.4 points for integrity. The country gained 64.0 points and received a C+ rating, outperforming the United States, Spain, Japan, South Korea, China, and Saudi Arabia.

According to the adequacy sub-index, Kazakhstan’s sub-indices of sustainability and integrity were rated quite highly, while the need to enhance its pension system was cited as the most vulnerable indicator.

To raise this figure, the Mercer CFA Institute recommended reducing preretirement leakage by limiting access to private pension funds before retirement and increasing the labor force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise. 

The MCGPI necessitated improving pension systems, given the ongoing trends towards declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy. As the World Economic Forum noted, “there are now more people over the age of 65 than there are under the age of five — a dispersion that’s never occurred before.”