Saudi Arabia is first in the Gulf and 12th globally in the Global Retirement Index

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Saudi Arabia ranked first in the Gulf and twelfth in the world out of 55 pension systems included in the Marsh and CFA Institute Global Retirement Index for the year 2026 (formerly Mercer), after its overall score rose to 73.2 points out of 100, compared to 67.6 points in 2025, in progress that reflects the Kingdom’s improved position in the international evaluation of pension systems.

This achievement comes as an extension of the Kingdom’s progress in the index, as it moved from twenty-seventh place among 44 pension systems in 2022 to twelfth place among 55 pension systems in 2026, advancing 15 places, despite the wide range of systems covered by the evaluation during this period.

It recorded an improvement in the three main axes of the index, as it achieved 83.5 points in the integrity and reliability axis, an increase of 9.3 points over the previous year, to obtain the rating (A), which is the highest rating granted by the index in this axis, which measures the quality of regulatory frameworks, governance, protection of the rights of subscribers, and communication with them, according to what was reported by the Saudi News Agency (SPA).

The Kingdom’s score on the sustainability axis increased from 54.6 to 61.2 points, an increase of 6.6 points, while the result on the adequacy of benefits axis improved from 75 to 77.2 points, maintaining its overall classification in category (B), in an international evaluation that includes 55 pension systems, including systems from countries with well-established experiences in the fields of retirement and social protection.

In its overall result, Saudi Arabia outperformed a number of countries classified in category (B), including (the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and Hong Kong), and also recorded the highest result among the Gulf countries included in the evaluation, in an indication of the development of its position within international comparisons of retirement systems.

The results of the index indicate that the Kingdom’s progress is mainly due to the improvement of the evaluation results in a number of indicators related to integrity and reliability, developing regulatory and governance frameworks, updating data, in addition to protecting the rights of subscribers and communicating with them.

These results embody the Kingdom’s advanced position in the international assessment of retirement systems, and provide an incentive to continue efforts to develop the retirement and insurance protection system, to which the General Organization for Social Insurance contributes, in a way that enhances the adequacy of benefits and financial sustainability for current and future generations.

The Marsh and CFA Institute for Global Retirement Index is one of the independent international references specialized in evaluating and comparing pension systems, and its eighteenth edition was issued in October 2026 in cooperation with the Monash Center for Financial Studies. The index is based on more than 50 sub-indices distributed over three main axes, which are the adequacy of retirement benefits, sustainability, integrity and reliability, and covers about 66% of the world’s population.