Ed Bambas, an 88‑year‑old veteran who worked at a Michigan supermarket, will be able to retire thanks to the US$1.5 million donated by strangers around the world, according to a report published on December 4. Bambas had to return to work nearly 10 years ago because of medical bills incurred while trying to save his wife, who eventually died, and because his former employer eliminated his pension.
Luckily, the story reached Australian social media influencer Sam Weidenhofer, who flew to the United States, visited Bambas' workplace, and recorded a video that went viral.That video prompted the creation of a US$1.5 million crowdfunding campaign, which will help Bambas pay his debts and retire for the second—and hopefully last—time.
While this case is exceptional, retirement age varies widely across the globe. The Mercer CFA Index ranks the efforts of pension systems around the world. The methodology is simple: the country's pension schemes are scored against three aspects, namely adequacy, sustainability, and integrity, which account for 40%, 35%, and 25%, respectively. The results in each section are combined to calculate the final score. Grades from A (best) to E (worst) are also given, according to the score.
Curious? Click through to find out which countries have the best and worst pension systems.