This European country was just named the best place in the world to retire

If you’re approaching retirement age, you’re probably thinking about all the different ways you want to spend your golden years. When do you dip into that hard-earned 401k? How will you spend your days from now on? And, perhaps more importantly, where do you want to live in retirement? Well, if you’re looking for the cream of the crop when it comes to retirement, it’s time to consider the Netherlands, which has just been named the best place to retire, according to the Mercer Global Retirement Index CFA Institutes.

To determine the best places to retire, the research team compared 47 retirement income systems, representing 64 percent of the world’s population. The researchers gave a weighted average to measure each of the pension systems against more than 50 indicators, highlighting the challenges and opportunities within each, including the adequacy of income systems (how much you receive in retirement ), sustainability (can the pension system meet the needs of the long term) and integrity (is the system reliable).

After crunching the numbers, the Netherlands came out on top thanks to its strong pension system and good benefits.

The Netherlands had the highest overall index value (85.0), followed closely by Iceland (83.5) and Denmark (81.3), according to the results. At the bottom of the list, the statement added, is Argentina, which has the lowest index value (42.3).

Although the Netherlands is currently undertaking significant pension reform, the system is well placed to provide excellent benefits as part of the shift from a collective benefit structure to a more individual defined contribution approach, researchers explain in the results.

Meanwhile, the United States was in the middle of the pack with a retreat value of just 63.

“Increasingly, individuals will have an increasingly important role to play in their own retirement,” Margaret Franklin, president and CEO of the CFA Institute, said in the findings. As investment professionals, we must help them prepare for Every year, this index reminds us that there is still a long way to go in many jurisdictions for pension systems to function optimally and to ensure the long-term financial security of beneficiaries.