![\"Retired](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c1e1c5785df9f3b77d6b736ecd501731.jpeg\")
Retired white couple taking a selfie <\/p>\n Retired white couple taking a selfie <\/p>\n
Canadians looking to retire may want to expand their horizons \u2014 at least according to the 2025 Global Retirement Index (GRI) by investment bank Natixis. In a ranking of the best countries to retire in, Canada barely cracked the top 20, slipping seven spots from the previous year (1).<\/p>\n
The GRI, which has assessed retirement security in 44 developed countries since 2012, evaluates 18 key indicators in four categories: finances in retirement, material wellbeing, health and quality of life. Each country is ranked according to its score, with 100 points being the highest score possible.<\/p>\n
Regardless of where your home country ranks, retirement security can be \u201can elusive goal,\u201d writes Dave Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Center for Investor Insight with Natixis Investment Managers (2).<\/p>\n
\u201cGlobally, 66% report that they are saving less because of higher everyday costs, while 69% say it has eroded the future value of their retirement savings,\u201d according to Goodsell. \u201cThe impact on individuals\u2019 psyche cannot be discounted, as 38% go so far as to say inflation is killing their retirement dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, some countries rank much higher than others. Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark make up the top 5, while Canada comes in at number 20. Here\u2019s why \u2014 and how you can make the most of your golden years.<\/p>\n
1. Norway<\/p>\n
With an overall score of 83% on the GRI, Norway has regained the top spot on the index, though it\u2019s still down from 87% in 2012. Still, it\u2019s the perennial index leader, and in 2025 the country saw gains in material wellbeing (jumping from sixth to first place) and rising quality of life.<\/p>\n
Despite a small decrease in its \u2018happiness\u2019 score, Norway moved up a spot to sixth, since many other countries experienced a \u201cmore substantial drop\u201d in their happiness score this year, notes the report.<\/p>\n
Finances in retirement is the only area where Norway lost ground, due to a relatively high tax burden that funds its public support systems.<\/p>\n
2. Ireland<\/p>\n
Ireland continues its climb up the GRI rankings, taking the No. 2 spot with a score of 82% \u2014 its best-ever ranking. It came in first for finances in retirement and second in health, finishing in the top 10 for all other key indicators.<\/p>\n
The biggest improvement was seen in its unemployment indicator, where it jumped six places in the rankings as \u201ceconomic growth continues to fuel a strong labor market.\u201d Life expectancy has also risen and is now among the highest in the EU.<\/p>\n
The country has fared particularly well in the area of inflation, with the Irish economy successfully moderating price increases after peaking in 2022.<\/p>\n
3. Switzerland<\/p>\n
In this year\u2019s rankings, Switzerland fell from the top spot to No. 3, scoring 81%. However, the country still ranks in the top 10 across all four major categories. The change in its ranking is due, in part, to small declines in its material wellbeing and quality of life scores.<\/p>\n
There was \u201cmarginal improvement\u201d in finances in retirement, in which the country maintains its No. 2 spot, performing well in the areas of inflation, governance and bank nonperforming loans. It also took first place in environmental factors (such as climate change mitigation) and made big gains in the biodiversity and habitat indicator.<\/p>\n
4. Iceland<\/p>\n
Iceland\u2019s score dropped from 81% to 79%, falling one place in the overall rankings. While the country achieved high scores, all categories saw declines, with the exception of quality of life. Within this category, where it finished third overall, Iceland achieved a perfect score in the air quality indicator.<\/p>\n
In material wellbeing, Iceland fell six places to tenth, in part due to its unemployment score. However, it did experience gains in income per capita, along with gains in interest rate and inflation indicators.<\/p>\n
5. Denmark<\/p>\n
Denmark broke into the top 5 in 2025, rising four places in the rankings with an overall score of 79%. This was driven by big gains in material wellbeing. While the country did see a decline in quality of life, it still remains an \u201carea of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
Its score for finances in retirement is stable, but the report notes \u201cit\u2019s a weak point for the country, as high taxes and old-age dependency weigh on its overall score.\u201d Denmark has also managed to lower inflation \u201cfaster than much of the euro area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more: The ultra-rich are bailing on volatile stocks right now \u2014 these 4 shockproof assets are their new safe havens<\/a><\/p>\n Canada slipped seven places in this year\u2019s rankings, falling to 20th with a score of 70% (a four-percentage-point overall decrease).<\/p>\n While scores across most key indicators dropped, Canada saw the largest drop in material wellbeing, dragging down its overall ranking. This was mainly driven by a significant decrease in the unemployment indicator.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Canadian unemployment rate has been steadily rising since 2022, as tepid recent job creation levels have not kept pace with labor force growth,\u201d notes the report. However, income per capita did gain one percentage point.<\/p>\n In the health category, Canada slid ten percentage points, from 7th to 17th. This is in part due to a decline in life expectancy and a dip in the insured health expenditure indicator.<\/p>\n Canada also saw a slight decline in the finances in retirement category, mainly driven by the bank nonperforming loans indicator. However, \u201cit still ranks a very strong fifth in this indicator,\u201d with the report noting that the decline could be a \u201cprecursor of increasingly challenging business conditions ahead as tariffs take effect.\u201d<\/p>\n On a brighter note, inflation levels continue to fall.<\/p>\n Still, with material wellbeing and health on the decline, there\u2019s a long road ahead for Canada if it hopes to break the top 10.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re planning to retire in Canada, this ranking might seem rather dismal. So what can you do to ensure you make the most of your golden years?<\/p>\n Rather than relying solely on Old Age Security (OAS) and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) \u2014 and an employer pension plan, if you have one \u2014 preparing financially for your golden years should also include personal savings, retirement accounts like an RRSP and brokerage accounts.<\/p>\n To balance risk, most experts recommend diversification across asset classes (including stocks, bonds and alternative assets such as commodities and real estate), as well as industries and geographies.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to plan for long-term care costs, which aren\u2019t covered by the public healthcare system. The National Institute on Ageing (NIA) projects that long-term care costs will \u201cmore than triple within 30 years, from $22B today to $71B by 2050 (3).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBaby boomers are strongly advised to take a long and hard look at their own personal circumstances and plan ahead, to the extent that they have the health and means to better protect their future and possibly more vulnerable selves,\u201d said Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, NIA\u2019s director of financial security research.<\/p>\n To prepare, consider earmarking a percentage of your retirement savings for future healthcare costs \u2014 perhaps in a separate account\u2014 or purchasing a long-term care (LTC) rider with your life insurance.<\/p>\n But as the GRI rankings indicate, finances in retirement aren\u2019t the only consideration.<\/p>\n For example, while you may need to downsize in retirement to reduce your monthly costs, you may want to consider whether that move will make you happy. Will you be near family and friends? Will you be able to pursue your hobbies and passions? Are there opportunities to build social connections?<\/p>\n With Canada\u2019s decline in happiness and material wellbeing, retirees shouldn\u2019t ignore these factors either.<\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n Natixis (1<\/a>) (2<\/a>); National Institute on Ageing (3<\/a>)<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Retired white couple taking a selfie Canadians looking to retire may want to expand their horizons \u2014 at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,103,18868,6803,147,530,1666,1048],"class_list":["post-512153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-canada","tag-iceland","tag-norway","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement","tag-retirement-savings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}