The Dutch pension system is once again the best in the world, according to the annual Global Pension Index.

Denmark overtook the Netherlands seven years ago and had led the ranking, compiled by consultancy group Mercer, since then. It is now in second place, but the difference with the Netherlands is just 0.1 percentage point.

‘Both offer A-Grade world class retirement income systems with good benefits – clearly demonstrating their preparedness for tomorrow’s ageing world,’ Mercer said.

The consultancy looked at the pension systems of 34 countries this year. Bottom of the list was Argentina.

The new ranking comes at a time when government pressure is mounting on both unions and employers in the Netherlands to reach a deal on changing the Dutch pension system.

In particular, the government is known to be keen to introduce ‘personal pension pots’ to bring more flexibility into the pension system. Currently, the Dutch corporate pension sector is dominated by industry or company-based schemes.

An agreement on how to move forward between unions and employers would then form the basis of new legislation.

However, the FNV trade union federation says the cabinet must come up with more money for the state pensions by freezing the pension age, if it wants the unions to make a deal on reforming the entire system.

The state pension age in the Netherlands is currently 66 but will rise to 67 and three months by 2022.