Indian pension system ranked 40th among 43 systems

New Delhi: The Indian pension system ranked 40th on overall index ranking out of 43 systems, and had the lowest rank in the adequacy sub-index, according to a study.

The country needs to undertake strategic reforms to revamp the pension system so as to ensure adequate retirement income, according to the 2021 Mercer CFA Global Pension Index survey (MCGPI) released on Tuesday.

In India, the report said introducing a minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing coverage of pension arrangements for the unorganised working class for bettering the adequacy index. Introducing a minimum access age so that it is clear that benefits are preserved for retirement purposes is likely to go a long way in improving the sustainability index and the integrity index could be further elevated by refining the regulatory requirements for the private pension system, it said.

With little social security coverage in the country, the workforce in India has to manage pension savings on its own for the most part, it said.

According to the survey, India had an overall index value of 43.3 among the countries analysed.