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The United States ranked 24th and Canada 21st in Natixis Investment Managers’ 2026 Global Retirement Index, slipping three and one places, respectively, from the prior edition. The ranking points to pressure from inflation, higher living costs and public debt—but it is a comparison of countries, not a forecast of whether any individual household can retire securely.
What the 2026 index measures—and what it does not
Natixis Investment Managers’ Global Retirement Index compares 44 countries across 18 indicators grouped into four sub-indices: Finances in Retirement, Material Wellbeing, Health and Quality of Life. Researchers calculated mean scores within each category and combined the category scores for an overall ranking. The 2026 analysis was conducted from March through May and covered a country universe including IMF advanced economies, OECD members and BRIC countries. Natixis’ September 29, 2026 release says inflation, higher living costs and public debt weighed on the index’s financial factors.
The overall positions are 24th for the United States and 21st for Canada. These ranks and the reported movements are not the same as movements in individual sub-indices. The release says Canada’s Health ranking rose four places; it does not provide underlying index scores or a full sub-index ranking table. A country’s position reflects the index’s selected indicators and peer group, not a personalized retirement-readiness assessment or a prediction of future benefits.
Cost pressures and confidence in retirement support
Natixis reports that 35% of North American advisors surveyed named underestimating inflation’s effect as a top retirement-security risk. Separately, 37% cited interest-rate uncertainty as a top current-market risk. Those are advisor survey responses, not measurements of the inflation or interest-rate exposure of every household.
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In Natixis’ 2025 Global Individual Investor Survey, 41% of U.S. investors said inflation was harming their retirement dreams. The release also reports that three-quarters of surveyed U.S. investors believed mounting public debt could reduce future retirement benefits, while eight in ten said it increasingly felt like their own responsibility to fund retirement. These figures record respondents’ views; they do not establish that benefits will be cut or that a particular person will have to fund retirement without public support.
The investor survey was conducted by CoreData Research in February and March 2025 and included 7,050 investors in 21 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. The advisor findings came from a separate Global Financial Advisor Survey of 2,950 investment professionals in 23 countries, with data gathered from March through May 2026. Their percentages should not be treated as results from one combined sample.
Rank #2
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Healthcare is a distinct source of concern
Thirty-five percent of U.S. investors in the 2025 survey feared running out of money for healthcare and long-term care, compared with 24% of investors globally, according to the 2026 release. That is a reported concern, not a forecast that those respondents will exhaust their savings. The index’s Health sub-index considers health expenditure and life expectancy; the release says Canada’s Health ranking improved by four places.
Accumulating assets is only part of the planning challenge
The advisor responses highlight different emphases in the transition from saving to drawing income. In Natixis’ 2026 advisor survey, 70% of U.S. advisors, compared with 30% of Canadian advisors, said retirees still need assets to grow during decumulation. Conversely, 50% of Canadian advisors and 25% of U.S. advisors said it was essential to remember that a lump sum must last through a long retirement.
These views point to two related planning questions: how to seek growth while taking withdrawals, and how to pace withdrawals so savings can support a potentially long retirement. They are advisor opinions, not a prescribed investment strategy. The release also says 61% of U.S. investors listed retirement income and planning as their top priority among advisor-based services.
Other advisor concerns in the release include understanding investment tax implications, named by 41% of North American advisors as a key retirement risk, and overreliance on public benefits, flagged by 35% of Canadian advisors versus 25% of U.S. advisors. The release also reports that 71% of Canadian and 43% of U.S. advisors believed private assets can play a role in retirement portfolios. These are reported professional opinions, not an independent recommendation to invest in private assets.
Rank #4
How to use the findings in a household plan
The index and surveys are most useful as prompts to examine assumptions—not as a substitute for personal planning or a forecast of policy. A household can turn the themes into questions to review with a qualified planner:
- Inflation and costs: Which spending categories could rise, and how would a higher-cost scenario affect the expected income gap?
- Income sources: What income is expected from savings and public programs, and which assumptions depend on policy that could change?
- Health and care: What healthcare and long-term-care expenses are plausible, and which costs are uncertain or not covered by current plans?
- Withdrawals and longevity: How might the plan balance withdrawals with the possibility of a long retirement and changing investment values?
- Taxes: What tax implications apply to the household’s particular accounts, income sources and withdrawals?
These questions are not answered by a country rank. They help identify which assumptions deserve attention in an individual plan, where costs, benefits, health needs and investment circumstances differ.
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Source and scope
The figures and methodology summarized here are from Natixis Investment Managers’ September 29, 2026 release, reproduced by StreetInsider. The release is informational and not investment advice. Its 2025 investor survey and 2026 advisor survey have different dates and respondent populations, so their results describe distinct groups and should not be merged. The release reproduction does not provide index scores or further sub-index details.
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