The Index measures the adequacy of retirement income, the sustainability of the arrangements that fund it, and the integrity of the governance and protections supporting the system. Botswanaβs C grade recognises valuable features, but also weaknesses and risks that need to be addressed to strengthen long-term retirement security.
Head of Client Servicing at Alexforbes Botswana Nina Sephuma noted; βFor Botswana, the priority is to help more people save consistently and make those savings work as an income throughout retirement. The Index gives us a useful benchmark, but the score is not the end goal. What matters is whether people have access to retirement saving, understand their options and can retire with greater financial security.β
Understanding Botswanaβs result
Botswanaβs overall score decreased from 59.8 in 2025 to 57.0 in 2026. The Indexβs country commentary attributes the decline primarily to a recent court ruling on the treatment of pension assets on divorce and a refinement to the net pension replacement rate assessment to account for informal employment. The change therefore needs to be read alongside the legal context and assessment methodology, rather than as a measure of pension-fund investment performance.
The three measures provide complementary perspectives on where retirement systems can improve:
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Botswanaβs position in the African comparison is a useful reference point, not a continent-wide ranking: only four African systems are included. A national score also does not describe every memberβs experience. Access to retirement saving, contribution patterns and the income available after retirement remain central to the discussion about better outcomes.
The Netherlands leads the global results with 85.8, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Singapore, Israel and Australia complete the six A-grade systems. These results offer a benchmark for Botswana, while recognising that retirement arrangements must respond to local employment conditions, affordability and public finances.
Looking beyond the day of retirement
The 2026 Index expands its assessment of pension adequacy to consider retirement income at retirement and at age 80. This brings greater attention to whether an income remains sufficient as people grow older, rather than only to the benefit available when they first retire.
The overall weightings remain 40 percent for adequacy, 35percent for sustainability and 25 percent for integrity. Together, these measures test whether a system delivers meaningful income, can sustain that income over time and earns the confidence of the people who depend on it.
The Index assesses the retirement income system as a whole, not individual private funds or investment returns. For Botswana, this distinction matters: the assessmentβs treatment of informal employment highlights why the experience of workers outside formal retirement arrangements must be considered alongside that of pension-fund members. The broader challenge is to connect working-life saving with income security throughout retirement.
Turning the benchmark into better outcomes
Alexforbes highlights broader participation, affordable and consistent saving, and preserving savings for retirement as priorities for the Botswana discussion. The focus should be on helping more workers build retirement provision and supporting members to understand how their savings can meet their later-life income needs.
These priorities are a direction for discussion, not a statement that new compulsory contributions or preservation requirements have been introduced in Botswana. Any proposed changes need to be considered in their local legal and economic context, with attention to affordability, employment conditions and clear member communication.
Keeping African retirement systems in the global conversation
Kenyaβs first inclusion in 2026 expands African representation alongside Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Botswanaβs score of 57.0 follows Namibiaβs 57.5, with Kenya at 53.1 and South Africa at 50.4. All four receive a C grade, highlighting the continuing need to strengthen retirement income systems across the region.
Alexforbesβ teams in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, together with its partner Octagon in Kenya, support continued African participation in the survey. Their contribution keeps local retirement systems represented in global benchmarking and brings African perspectives into the discussion about reform.
About the 2026 Index
Previously known as the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, the report now carries the Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index name as Mercer moves to the unified Marsh brand. Its purpose remains to provide an independent benchmark of retirement income systems and identify opportunities to strengthen them.
Published by Marsh in collaboration with CFA Institute and the Monash Centre for Financial Studies, the 18th edition assesses 55 retirement income systems covering approximately 66% of the worldβs population.
