Alexforbes Botswana has called for broader participation in retirement savings schemes, consistent contributions and stronger preservation of pension benefits, as Botswana’s performance in the 2026 Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index highlights the need to improve financial security for retirees.
Botswana scored 57.0, earning a C grade and ranking second among four African countries assessed in the latest index, behind Namibia, which scored 57.5. Kenya and South Africa followed with 53.1 and 50.4 respectively.
However, Botswana’s overall score declined from 59.8 in 2025, raising questions about the country’s capacity to translate retirement savings into sustainable income for an ageing population.
Head of Client Servicing at Alexforbes Botswana, Nina Sephuma, said the priority should be ensuring that more people participate in retirement saving and that accumulated benefits provide sufficient income throughout retirement.
The report attributes Botswana’s decline primarily to a recent court ruling concerning the treatment of pension assets during divorce proceedings and changes to the methodology used to assess net pension replacement rates to account for informal employment.
“For 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,” she said.
The report attributes Botswana’s decline primarily to a recent court ruling concerning the treatment of pension assets during divorce proceedings and changes to the methodology used to assess net pension replacement rates to account for informal employment.
The decline therefore reflects developments in the country’s legal framework and changes in the assessment methodology rather than necessarily indicating weaker investment performance by pension funds.
The index evaluates retirement income systems against three key measures: adequacy, sustainability and integrity. Adequacy examines whether retirement benefits provide sufficient income, while sustainability considers whether existing arrangements can finance retirement obligations over the long term. Integrity assesses the effectiveness of regulation, governance and protections available to members.
For Alexforbes, the findings reinforce the importance of expanding retirement savings beyond workers already covered by formal pension arrangements, particularly given the significant role of informal employment in Botswana’s economy. The 2026 edition also introduces an expanded assessment of retirement income adequacy, examining the sufficiency of benefits both at retirement and at age 80. The approach recognises that financial needs and the ability to maintain an adequate income change as people grow older.
Alexforbes identified wider participation, affordable and consistent contributions, and the preservation of retirement savings as important priorities for improving retirement outcomes in Botswana.
The company said the challenge was to ensure that workers accumulated sufficient savings during their productive years while understanding how those savings would translate into income after leaving employment.
Botswana’s performance remains below the global leaders, with the Netherlands topping the 2026 index at 85.8, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Singapore, Israel and Australia completed the six countries awarded A grades.
Alexforbes said its teams in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, alongside its Kenyan partner Octagon, contributed to maintaining African representation in the international benchmarking exercise.
The index maintains its weighting of 40 percent for adequacy, 35 percent for sustainability and 25 percent for integrity, providing a comparative assessment of how effectively countries prepare their populations for retirement.
Kenya’s inclusion for the first time in the 2026 assessment brings the number of African retirement income systems evaluated to four. All four received C grades, underscoring the challenges facing the region in strengthening retirement provision.
Alexforbes said its teams in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, alongside its Kenyan partner Octagon, contributed to maintaining African representation in the international benchmarking exercise.
Previously known as the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, the report was renamed following Mercer’s integration into the unified Marsh brand.
Published by Marsh in collaboration with the CFA Institute and Monash Centre for Financial Studies, the 18th edition assesses 55 retirement income systems covering approximately 66 percent of the world’s population.
This year’s report also examines the implications of ageing populations for pension systems, as governments and retirement industry players face increasing pressure to ensure that savings can sustain people for longer periods after they leave employment.
