Mercer’s Tess Page said auto-enrollment, a policy that began in 2012 and ensures employees receive a company pension, has driven UK savings rates up over the past year.

Ms Page added that UK savers are still facing a cliff on retirement, especially those who do not have a gold-plated terminal pension, a factor that will accelerate as fewer workers benefit from it.

Criticizing the country’s approach to retirement savings, the report said the British would have to borrow less and employers would pay more into pensions if the UK were to rank any higher. Currently, employers and employees only have to pay at least 8 percent of the salary per year.

Germany, France and Spain all performed worse than the UK this year, finishing 14th, 21st and 24th, respectively. Germany would improve its score if politicians increased the basic security for pensioners, the report said. France is doing poorly because the statutory retirement age is too low and there are too few older citizens working and contributing, which makes it unsustainable.

Thailand was the worst country to retire as its state income provision scores poorly in terms of adequacy. Meanwhile, Italy ranks worst on the sustainability measure, which assesses whether pension payments can be sustained.

Women’s pensions were reduced because they took time off from work to look after older relatives, the so-called “good daughter penalty”, or small children.

This throws women back years and misses out on tax breaks and employer contributions. A career break also affected long-term professional progress, resulting in lower salaries later in life.