Namibia pension system gets C grade
Namibia has scored 57.5 points out of 100 in the 2026 Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index, placing it ahead of Botswana, Kenya and South Africa among the four African countries assessed.
The country received a C grade, indicating that while its retirement income system has established strengths, significant improvements are needed to strengthen financial security for retirees.
The index assesses pension systems across three areas: adequacy of retirement benefits, long-term sustainability and the integrity of governance and protections.
Namibia's result highlights the importance of expanding access to retirement savings and ensuring that people can maintain an adequate income throughout retirement.
Joleen Mans, managing director of Alexforbes Financial Services, said Namibia had an important foundation on which to build, 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,” she said.
“The ranking is a useful benchmark, but the real measure of progress is whether more Namibians can enter retirement with greater financial security.”
Coverage remains a challenge
Although Namibia achieved the highest score among the African systems assessed, the comparison covers only four countries and does not mean it leads the continent as a whole.
Namibia scored 57.5 points, followed by Botswana on 57.0, Kenya on 53.1 and South Africa on 50.4. All four countries received a C grade.
An established occupational retirement fund sector and public old-age grants provide a foundation for retirement security, but they do not guarantee that all workers can accumulate sufficient savings.
Workers outside employer-sponsored retirement arrangements may have fewer opportunities to build a contributory retirement income.
The index highlights broader participation, affordable and consistent contributions, and the preservation of retirement savings as important considerations for improving outcomes.
Industry discussions in Namibia have also identified phased mandatory retirement contributions and stronger preservation rules as potential reforms. These remain proposals rather than measures that have already been implemented.
Any changes would need to consider affordability, employment conditions and the support available to people making retirement decisions.
Focus on income in later life
The 2026 index places greater emphasis on whether retirement income remains adequate as people grow older.
Its net pension replacement rate measure now considers income both at retirement and at the age of 80, rather than focusing only on income when a person leaves the workforce.
The assessment also introduces a measure of pension-plan mobile-app availability and gives greater weight to cybersecurity guidance and data-breach reporting.
The index's overall weighting remains unchanged, with adequacy accounting for 40%, sustainability 35% and integrity 25%.
Globally, the Netherlands leads with 85.8 points, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Singapore, Israel and Australia complete the six systems awarded an A grade.
The index, published by Marsh in collaboration with CFA Institute and the Monash Centre for Financial Studies, covers countries representing about 66% of the world's population.
