Namibia has achieved an overall score of 57.5 and a C grade in the 2026 Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index.
It records the highest overall score among the four African retirement income systems included in this year’s assessment, ahead of Botswana, Kenya and South Africa.
The result provides a benchmark for strengthening retirement security while building on Namibia’s established retirement fund sector and public old-age support.
The Index assesses retirement systems across adequacy, sustainability and integrity: the income they deliver, their ability to continue delivering it, and the governance and protections that support confidence in the system. Namibia’s C grade indicates that its system has valuable features, alongside important gaps that need to be addressed to improve retirement outcomes.
Joleen Mans, MD Alexforbes Financial Services:
“Namibia has an important foundation to build on, with an established retirement fund sector and public old-age support. The opportunity is to help more people save consistently and turn those savings into an income that lasts. The ranking is a useful benchmark, but the real measure of progress is whether more Namibians can enter retirement with greater financial security.”
Leading the African systems assessed, with room to improve
Namibia’s result should be considered across the three complementary measures used by the Index:
- Adequacy: whether retirement benefits provide meaningful income and support.
- Sustainability: whether coverage, savings and funding can support retirement incomes over the long term.
- Integrity: whether regulation, governance, member protection and communication support a trusted system.
The regional comparison is encouraging, but it does not mean Namibia leads all African retirement systems: only four are included in the Index. Nor does a mature retirement fund sector, on its own, ensure that everyone has access to sufficient retirement income. Extending participation and strengthening long-term saving remain important considerations.
The Netherlands leads the global results with 85.8, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Singapore, Israel and Australia complete the six A-grade systems. Namibia’s score of 57.5 highlights the scope for further progress towards the outcomes achieved by leading systems.
Measuring income throughout retirement
The 2026 Index sharpens its focus on whether retirement income remains adequate as people grow older. Its net pension replacement rate measure now considers income at retirement and at age 80, rather than only at the point of retirement.
The integrity assessment also introduces a measure of pension-plan mobile-app availability and gives greater weight to cybersecurity guidance and data-breach reporting. Certain defined-benefit funding measures receive less emphasis. The overall weightings remain unchanged: 40% for adequacy, 35% for sustainability and 25% for integrity.
These refinements matter when interpreting results: the Index assesses the retirement income system as a whole, not only private retirement funds. Namibia has an established occupational retirement sector and a universal or near-universal public old-age grant that provides a basic income floor.
This public support should not be confused with comprehensive coverage through contributory retirement saving. Workers outside employer-sponsored arrangements may still have limited opportunities to build an income that meets their needs in retirement.
Many higher-performing systems combine public pensions with broad occupational or mandatory retirement saving. Their results reflect the reach and design of these arrangements, alongside benefit adequacy, sustainable funding and good governance.
Building broader participation and lasting income
For Namibia, the discussion is about building on existing public support and retirement funds to reach more workers. Broader participation, affordable and consistent contributions, and preserving savings for retirement can help strengthen the link between working-life saving and later-life income.
Local industry discussions have identified phased mandatory retirement contributions and stronger preservation rules as potential ways to address coverage and sustainability gaps. These are reform considerations, not measures presented here as already implemented. Practical progress will also require attention to affordability, employment conditions and support for members making retirement decisions.
African expertise supports continued participation
Kenya joins the Index for the first time in 2026, expanding African representation alongside Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. Namibia scores 57.5, followed by Botswana at 57.0, Kenya at 53.1 and South Africa at 50.4. All four systems receive a C grade, reinforcing the importance of continuing to strengthen retirement outcomes across the region.
Alexforbes’ teams in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, together with its partner Octagon in Kenya, are integral to delivering and maintaining African participation in the survey. Their contribution ensures that African retirement systems remain part of the global benchmarking conversation.
New name, continuing purpose
Previously the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, the report now carries the Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index name, reflecting the transition to the unified Marsh brand. Its purpose remains unchanged: to provide an independent benchmark that helps identify strengths, gaps and opportunities for pension reform.
The 18th edition is published by Marsh in collaboration with CFA Institute and the Monash Centre for Financial Studies, covering approximately 66% of the world’s population. [rpc.cfainstitute.org]
