MUSCAT: The Sultanate’s score rose from 60.9 in 2025 to 69.9 in 2026, with improvements recorded across all three assessment criteria: adequacy, sustainability and integrity. Oman was among five pension systems worldwide to achieve an upgrade in their overall classification in this year’s index.

Kawthar bint Khamis Al Bartamani, Director of Planning and Vision Follow-up at the Social Protection Fund, said the results provide an international assessment of Oman’s pension system and highlight both its strengths and areas for further development.

The adequacy criterion recorded Oman’s strongest performance, scoring 80.3 points to secure an A classification and rank 10th globally. Sustainability scored 54.7 points, placing Oman in category C and 28th position, while integrity achieved 74.8 points, earning a B classification and 37th place.

Al Bartamani explained that the index evaluates retirement income systems through more than 50 indicators grouped under three main criteria. Adequacy accounts for 40 percent of the overall score, sustainability for 35 percent and integrity for 25 percent.

The 2026 edition covers 55 retirement systems representing approximately 66 percent of the global population. Formerly known as the Mercer Index, the benchmark assesses the adequacy of retirement benefits, the long-term viability of pension systems, and their governance, regulation and protection of beneficiaries’ rights.

According to Al Bartamani, the improvement in Oman’s overall score reflects progress across all three dimensions rather than gains in a single area.

She highlighted the adequacy result as particularly significant, noting that the criterion carries the greatest weight in the index and measures the system’s ability to provide appropriate retirement income and protection to beneficiaries.

The report attributed part of the improvement in Oman’s score to an increase in the minimum pension as a proportion of wages, based on the data used in the assessment. It also described Oman’s retirement income system as combining a basic old-age benefit with a national, employment-based and income-linked system managed by the Social Protection Fund.

The assessment further recognised the system’s replacement rates across different income levels and its governance and organisational framework.

The report identified several areas for further development, including strengthening minimum support for lower-income older people, expanding coverage, improving the information available to subscribers and reviewing issues related to the age at which benefits can be accessed in the context of increasing life expectancy.