Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (MMGPI)

In March 2009, Mr John Lenders MP the Treasurer of Victoria and Minister for Financial Services, announced ACFS had been contracted by the Victorian Government to undertake a pilot study to compare pension and superannuation systems on an international basis.

ACFS sub-contracted key elements to Mercer in Melbourne which in turn drew on its global network for data collection and validation. The study has resulted in the production of the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (the Index).

The study highlights the relative merits of national superannuation and pension systems, both public and private, and their capacity to meet the long term retirement needs of each country’s population. Such a study however, is not without challenges. Comparing retirement systems is controversial as every system is different and has arisen from each country’s particular economic, social, cultural, political and historic circumstances. Consequently there is no perfect system that can be applied universally.

Having recognised these constraints, the pilot study undertook a comparison of retirement systems in 11 countries: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. These countries were chosen to provide a robust comparative sample of well established and emerging systems. Data was drawn primarily from OECD and other official sources and supplemented by in-country data collected and validated by an international network of Mercer pension specialists.

The Index is constructed from three sub-indices: benefits, sustainability and integrity. While the central purpose of a retirement scheme is to provide benefits, which are therefore accorded a greater weighting in the Index, it also needs to be sustainable in terms of the economy and government’s ability to deliver benefits into the future. The final sub-indice measures the integrity of each system in terms of the regulatory oversight and governance of private pension funds.

In developing the Index, ACFS has brought together a reference group of senior industry and academic experts to oversee the study and sought input from authorities such as the World Bank, the OECD and the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management at University of Toronto in Canada.

• Syd Bone, Chairman, Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies
• Jeremy Duffield, Managing Director, Vanguard Investments Australia
• Dr Vince Fitzgerald, Chairman, Allen Consulting
• Assoc Prof Roger Gay, Monash University
• Prof Richard Heaney, RMIT University
• Dr David Knox, Worldwide Partner, Mercer
• Assoc Prof Matt Pinnuck, Melbourne University
• Ian Silk, Chief Executive, Australian Super

They have been joined by occasional invited experts and by the project team from ACFS and Mercer.

The Index was released in mid-October 2009 and stimulated debate and research activity among policy-makers, regulators and the funds management community globally. View 2009 Index

The 2010 Index launched in New York on 19 October,  in Melbourne Australia on 20 October and in London on 11 November. 

Visit the Global Pension Index website for more information

Wish to have commissioned research conducted, please contact either
Prof Deborah Ralston, Director or
Prof Kevin Davis, Research Director
on (+61 3 9666 1050)