Rich old age: top 10 countries with the highest pensions in the world

Groysman spoke about the details of the pension reform

In Ukraine, conversations about pension reform have not stopped for a long time. Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman even threatened to resign if this reform was not accepted. However, at a time when politicians are thinking about improving the lives of older people, pensioners themselves are below the poverty line and are forced to deny themselves even the most necessary things. Ukraine ranks 73rd in the international Global AgeWatch Index, which shows the quality of life of older people – even higher than Tajikistan and Guatemala. At the same time, in some countries, retirement is not at all accompanied by the fear of complete impoverishment, but on the contrary, it means the beginning of a bright and well-fed life, which is filled with travel and shopping. AiF.ua found out in which countries citizens receive the highest pensions.

Finland – $1982 dollars

When Finnish citizens retire, the state determines its size based on the following criteria: whether the person was exposed to hard physical or mental labor and whether the person worked in enterprises with hazardous substances. Also, immigrants who have lived there for more than 40 years can receive pensions on the same basis as native Finns.

Pensioners Photo: Focus.ua

Which countries have the largest payments for pensioners?

Denmark occupies the leading position in terms of the world's largest pensions. The pension for Danish citizens is $2,800. Not everyone has such a salary during their lifetime, but here is a pension. Of course, with such a good pension you can not only eat normally, take care of your health, pay for utilities, but also be able to travel and even save for life.

But to receive such a large pension, residents of Denmark need to fulfill two mandatory conditions - a long work experience established by the state, and have lived permanently in the state for at least 40 years. If at least one of the conditions is not fulfilled by a resident of Denmark, this does not mean that the state has abandoned the pensioner to the mercy of fate. In this case, the pension is paid, but in a much smaller amount.

Finland and Norway also have a good pension, but less than in Denmark. The pension amount is 1800-2000 dollars. But Scandinavian countries have a fairly high retirement age. It is 65-67 years old.

Mexico was very surprising. It turns out that the pension for two pensioners is $2,200. Retirees approaching retirement age tend to move to Mexico in the hope of receiving such a pension.

Switzerland – $1900 euros

The Swiss pension system is divided into several pillars. The first “pillar” is the contribution of a percentage of your income. Thus, a person guarantees himself a basic living wage in the future. The second “pillar” is insurance during work. Thanks to this, after retirement, a person provides himself with 60% of the standard of living that he had before retirement. The third “pillar” is the so-called voluntary insurance, when a person transfers money from his income to a bank account that he can use after retirement.

Pension in Russia

The Russian pension system has recently undergone changes and now the retirement age has become higher. If just a couple of years ago the retirement age was 60 for men and 65 for women, then starting in 2021 the transition to a new retirement age has begun - for men from 65 years, and for women from 60 years.

There are three main types of pensions in Russia: insurance. social and cumulative. In addition, for certain categories of citizens of the Russian Federation, a disability pension can be paid, based on length of service, in connection with the loss of a breadwinner and for special distinctions before the fatherland.

As of 2021, the average pension in Russia is about 15,000 rubles. Its size, in addition to length of service and average salary, will also depend on the region. The amount of the insurance pension in the Russian pension system is based on the calculation of individual pension coefficients (IPC). The pension amount is annually indexed to inflation. It is important to understand that the size of the minimum wage (minimum wage) does not directly affect the size of the pension. However, the pension cannot be lower than the minimum wage. Otherwise, the pensioner is paid additional payments to bring the pension level up to the minimum wage.

Norway – $1542

According to the Global AgeWatch Index, Norway is included in the list of countries with the best pension system. This country spends as much as 4.5% of GDP on pensions, while only 1.4% is spent on the army. The pension itself includes a basic or additional pension, as well as a special benefit for accumulating income, including various allowances.

Pensioners Photo: Telegraph

PENSION SIZE IN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD

Pension systems in different countries of the world have their own distinctive features. Governments develop special programs, create reserve funds and establish a number of criteria that affect the size and timing of pension payments for citizens. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify unifying factors on which the calculation of pensions in almost every state depends:

• Duration of professional activity (work experience).
• Retirement age.
• Percentage of average salary.

The size of pensions is most affected by the last point. Even in the most developed countries this indicator differs significantly. For example, in Croatia, pensioners can expect a payment corresponding to 129% of the average salary, and in Turkey and the Netherlands - 102 and 101%, respectively. While in the UK the rate is only 29%, in Mexico 30%, in the USA 49%, and in China 83%.

Next, we highlight the retirement age and the amount of pensions as a percentage of the average salary in different countries of the world in 2021 (Table 1), as well as basic, minimum and social payments (Table 2).

Note : The information is based on the latest report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on pensions in 35 developed countries and some other large countries.

RETIREMENT AGE AND PENSIONS IN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD (TABLE 1)

Important . Table 2 shows the annual pension amount in the national currencies of the countries.

PENSION SIZE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (TABLE 2)

In conclusion, we note that many experts, including World Bank analysts, predict large-scale problems in the pension systems of various countries around the world. First of all, this is due to a noticeable improvement in medical services and, as a consequence, an increase in life expectancy, which creates a huge burden on pension funds. The most common way out of the situation is to increase the retirement age, but in most cases this will not be enough.

TOP of the smallest pensions in different countries of the world

Now it’s worth considering the list of countries where pensions leave much to be desired. After the TOP of the highest pensions, this list may seem very sad. Payments are indicated in US dollars per month.

Georgia – 40

Uzbekistan – 55

Moldova – 80

Argentina – 96

Ukraine – 142

Belarus – 175

Azerbaijan – 202

Kazakhstan – 210

Unfortunately, Russia cannot boast of high pensions even relative to the countries listed above, which is why it is included in this list. According to data for 2021, in the regions of our country the average pension is 14,100 rubles (this is approximately 210 US dollars at the average exchange rate for 2021).

Whether this is little or very little depends on the region of residence and the needs of the person. However, it should be noted that this amount is not enough for a comfortable stay even with the most modest demands and needs - about a quarter is spent on utility bills, almost the rest on food and travel.

Pension in Russia compared to other countries

Almost all the countries on this list are CIS countries. This low social security is due to a weak and unstable economy. In any case, this is a matter for debate among experienced political scientists and economists, but the numbers speak for themselves.

Table - Retirement age in different countries of the world (2019)

As noted earlier, decisions on changing the retirement age are made not only in Russia. In some countries, new increased standards have already been established, in others the transition period is almost ending, and some have only just decided to adjust the retirement age in the near future (as, for example, the Russian Government did under the leadership of Dmitry Medvedev in June 2021).

It should be noted that in all these countries, pension systems are built on different principles, since there are differences in the ratio of working and non-working citizens, in the tax system, in the state of the economy and labor market, in life expectancy of the population, etc.

Thus, it is impossible to directly compare the values ​​of the retirement age in Russia with other countries, and also to draw any unambiguous conclusions from this without conducting an in-depth comprehensive analysis.