For the second year in a row, New Zealand is the world's best country to live in if you want to retire comfortably, according to the U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Countries" ranking.
New Zealand and Australia top the firm's 2018 list of best countries for retirement, while Ireland — a tax haven that would be easy on large retirement accounts — is a newcomer to the top 10, data editor Deidre McPhillips tells CNBC Make It.
In order to help people understand how nations are perceived on a global scale, over 21,000 respondents were asked to evaluate 80 countries by ranking them according to 65 attributes. Among those were economic influence, power, citizenship and quality of life, which collectively helped determine each country's success as a modern nation.
To calculate the best countries for a comfortable retirement, researchers looked at scores from people 45 years or older who consider themselves "upper class." Collectively, they ranked countries based on these seven attributes: affordability, favorable tax environment, friendliness, is a place they would live, pleasant climate, respects property rights and well-developed public health system.
The rankings are part of an analysis project called the 2018 Best Countries Report, conducted now for three years by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and global consumer insights firm Y&R's BAV Group.
"The Best Countries report speaks to the effect a nation's brand can have on its economic prosperity and perceived standing in the world," Wharton professor of marketing David Reibstein said in a statement.
Here are the top 10 best countries for retirement as detailed in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report:
10. Italy
Also in the top 10 best countries for: adventure, cultural influence, heritage & richest traditions, traveling alone, most influential.
9. Sweden
Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, cultural influence, most modern, entrepreneurship, quality of life, best countries to headquarter a corporation, raising kids, transparency, green living, education, women, best countries overall.
8. Ireland
Also in the top 10 best countries for: traveling alone, best countries to headquarter a corporation.
7. Luxembourg
Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly.
6. Canada
Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, most modern, entrepreneurship, quality of life, starting a business, most forward-looking countries, headquartering a corporation, raising kids, transparency, green living, education, women, best countries overall.
5. Portugal
Also in the top 10 best countries for: heritage & richest traditions, adventure, traveling alone.
4. Spain
Also in the top 10 best countries for: traveling alone, heritage & richest traditions, starting a career, adventure, cultural influence, investing in.
3. Switzerland
Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, cultural influence, most modern, entrepreneurship, quality of life, starting a business, most forward-looking countries, headquartering a corporation, raising kids, transparency, green living, education, retiring comfortably, women, best countries overall.
2. Australia
Also in the top 10 best countries for: cultural influence, most modern, quality of life, most-forward looking, best countries to headquarter a corporation, raising kids, traveling alone, green living, investing in, education, women, best countries overall.
1. New Zealand
Also in the top 10 best countries for: traveling alone, adventure, raising kids, most modern, quality of life.
Just over a third of millennials think they only need $200,000 or less to retire comfortably,. However, AARP says a retiree needs to save about $1.18 million in order to live off of $40,000 a year for 30 years.
Although this number may vary based on your lifestyle and spending habits, it's never too early to start saving for your future.
To see if you're on track, check out how much you should have saved at every age.
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