Enterprising Investor Christine Mahoney: What the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index Says About the Health of Retirement Systems
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Oct 15, 2025 Christine Mahoney, a Senior Partner at Mercer with over 30 years in pension consulting, delves into the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2025. She highlights how 52 retirement systems are evaluated on adequacy, sustainability, and integrity. The conversation covers the impact of government on pension investments, innovative policy reforms, and the necessity of balancing fiduciary duties with national economic goals. Additionally, Christine advocates for democratizing private asset access in defined contribution plans, emphasizing flexible guidance over mandates.
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Purpose And Scope Of The Index
- The Global Pension Index compares 52 countries using 50+ indicators to evaluate retirement systems.
- It aims to inform policymakers by highlighting what works and what can be improved.
Three Core Evaluation Pillars
- The index scores systems on adequacy, sustainability, and integrity to judge retirement outcomes.
- Adequacy focuses on dignified income, sustainability on resilience, and integrity on regulatory stability.
How Sustainability Is Measured
- Sustainability is assessed by coverage, pension assets/GDP, demographics, contribution rules, labor participation, and economic growth.
- These metrics use mostly hard data to test whether systems can withstand future pressures.