The Dutch pension system is the best in the world for the third year running, according to research by pension advisory group Mercer and quoted by Nos television news.

In particular, the Dutch pension system scored highly in terms of its reliability and the size of pensions.
Nevertheless, the system is under pressure from the greying population, low interest rates and stock market developments, Mercer said.
The Dutch pension system is based on the state pension or AOW, which is built up over 50 years, plus company schemes based on final or average salaries. There are also tax incentives to encourage people to take out private pensions.
However, the system is currently being reformed. The pension age is to rise to at least 66 and corporate pensions will be made more dependent on stock market developments.