The World's Largest Economy Does Surprisingly Poorly In Meeting Retirees' Expectations

Asset manager Natixis on Tuesday released its Global Retirement Index in an effort to quantify the retirement standards of 150 countries and how well those nations meet retirees' expectations.

Natixis rates the countries on four metrics: health, quality of life, material well-being and finances.

“The responsibility for financial security in retirement is falling even more heavily on individuals than ever before, and this trend is likely to continue as government resources become more scarce,” said John T. Hailer, chief executive officer of Natixis Global Asset Management in the Americas and Asia. “It is becoming increasingly apparent that to ensure financial security in retirement, individuals need to set personal goals and view planning and saving for retirement as a serious, conscious and strategic pursuit."

For those dying to know, the U.S. came in in 19th place in the rankings, just behind the U.K., and just ahead of Israel.

Not surprisingly, Switzerland took first place in the rankings, followed by Norway and Austria.

Here, in a series of easy-to-understand charts, are the results of the study.