Mapping Pensions Worldwide: Building a Global Pension Database

13 July 2026

If one takes the average retirement age as being 60 years and above, there are currently 1.4 billion people in the world who can be regarded as pensioners, according to the World Economic Forum. But how many are able to collect a pension, be it via the state or private means? What happens to workers who are self-employed, who reach retirement age? What about older people who cannot earn an income anymore? Is the distribution of pensions equal across genders? Do some countries provide more for their retired workers than others?

WageIndicator seeks to address these and other related issues with ambitious new data-based research which aims to collect, share and compare pension-related information worldwide. This follows on the success of the highly rated WageIndicator Minimum Wage database, Collective Bargaining Agreements database, Labour Law database and Living Wage database, all of which feature information on a global scale.

“People tend to say this sort of thing is not possible. But once you have built a couple of large databases, like we have, then it is possible,” says Paulien Osse, WageIndicator co-founder, Living Wage lead and now co-lead on the WageIndicator Pension Database project.

“We ask - what is a pension? What does it mean if you are old, and have no income? This is something that affects every person who gets old - and we will all get old. How do you define pension - is it money, or bitcoin, or savings under the bed?” she asks.

“The idea actually started over ten years ago, when I was travelling in Guatemala with my colleague Angelica Flores. We started to do preliminary research, but then Covid happened, and other projects started, and we had to put it on hold. Now it feels like the right time - and I knocked on Iftikhar’s door,” says Paulien.

Knowledge about pension is lacking globally

Iftikhar Ahmad is WageIndicator Labour Law Lead, and founder of the Centre for Labour Research in Pakistan. A long-time colleague of Paulien’s, he is no stranger to large databases, having worked on the WageIndicator Labour Law and Minimum Wage databases, and led the work on the first global de jure index on workers’ rights, i.e., the WageIndicator Labour Rights Index.

“There is a huge lack of information - be it private, state, CBAs or labour laws - for all countries, concerning pension,” says Iftikhar. “Our target group is people - because this is something that impacts everyone. We want this information to be accessible and not only from the point of view of policy makers.”

Putting the database together

The Pension Database maps how pensions are organised across four levels: 

• State/national level.
• Sector level (through collective agreements).
• Company level.
• Individual level (where people save privately, or buy land, for example). 

The database covers over 160 standardised questions, asked the same way in every country, so results are comparable. It currently covers 50 countries, with large economies such as the US, Brazil, Russia, China, and India scheduled by the end of 2026 and ambitions to expand further during 2027. In October 2027 the WageIndicator Pensions and Old-Age Income Index will be launched.

What sets this database apart from OECD or World Bank data is its intended audience: ordinary people. A person who accesses the information for their own country, should be able to find out whether anything is organised for them - and make decisions accordingly. The database will also include an internal AI tool, which will enable users to ask questions such as “What is the best pension system for women.”

A comprehensive, global pension database for the first time

“We found a lot of people around the world with knowledge about pension. Then we took it to the technical specialists, who looked at what we had in depth. By the end of August, the technical database will be ready,” says Paulien. “Nobody has built as comprehensive a database as what we are doing here with pension. It’s good to tell the world about what we are doing.”

While the technical, practical and academic drive behind the database has a global momentum, Iftikhar admits to very personal motivation behind the project as well.

“I myself am getting older. I have seen women work their whole lives, taking care of families without any formal income or access to pensions. And it has always been a dream to have pensions organised properly in Pakistan. This feels like the right time,” he says. “It’s also important that we are including the whole world in this - not just OECD countries, for instance.”

“Everybody gets old - and everybody needs security”

Paulien speaks passionately about security - or the lack of it - which forms a major part of old age. “It could be land, it could be money saved, or family support. But there are people, especially women, who are prisoners in their homes, they cannot travel, they do not get a pension for the years of (domestic) work they have done, they have no money, their circumstances are terrible,” she says. “By far most women do not have access. It is about poverty.”

The WageIndicator Pension Database will draw on reputable information from legislation, government reports and collective agreements, ensuring the ground work is 100% stable and reliable. It will be updated each year.

“Pension is not a very sexy topic - people only often wake up to it when they are 50 or more - and that’s too late,” says Paulien. “But everybody gets old. And everybody needs security when this happens.”