Hong Kong’s pension scheme improved its overall adequacy, sustainability and integrity over the past 12 months, rising from a C+ grade to a B – equal to schemes in some European countries but still trailing Singapore’s – according to a report released on Wednesday.

The HK$15 trillion (US$192 billion) Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scored 70.6 points out of a ­possible 100 in the annual Mercer CFA Institute’s Global Pension Index, up from 63.9 last year.

The programme now holds the third-best grade worldwide, tied with the retirement schemes in Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. The report has seven grade levels: A, B+, B, C+, C, D and E.

Mercer said the MPF recorded the largest improvement among all Asian schemes, rising thanks to “a member-centric approach that emphasises sound investment strategies and robust risk management”.

The index, in its 17th edition, rates 48 retirement schemes worldwide based on how well the plans cover people’s retirement needs (adequacy), whether they can continue to deliver over time (sustainability), and how trustworthy they are (integrity).

Hong Kong’s scheme scored 89.2 points for integrity, well above the global average of 75.4 and behind only Finland at 90.6 and Singapore at 90.4.