The climbing age of the world’s population is putting increasing pressure on governments—especially those in Western countries, where the increases are more evident—to update their pension systems to match the demographic change.
Countries like France have sought to ease the funding burden by raising the retirement age, despite sparking huge backlashes from voters. When the country passed a law last year raising the retirement age from 62 to 64—along with the caveat that the retiree must have worked at least 43 years—protests popped up nationwide to speak out against the deeply unpopular move.
Other countries, like the U.S., are still looking for ways to fix their outdated pension systems. The Social Security program—which at its origins could count on a much smaller pool of retirees and a better balance between pensioners and workers—is expected to cut benefits for the recipients should its trust funds be depleted by 2033, as the Social Security Board of Trustees warned of in 2021.
While the program isn’t likely to go bankrupt, like some have feared, the reductions in benefits for recipients could be significant. Whatever solution the U.S. seeks, it would have to come via action in Congress.
The uncertainty surrounding the future of Social Security, as well as the spike in the cost of living in the past couple of years, have contributed to the decision by many Americans aged 65 and above to postpone retirement and keep working.
A recent Pew Research Center report found that roughly one in five Americans aged 65 and older were employed last year—nearly twice as many as those that were working some 35 years ago.
On the other hand, the latest American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Financial Security Trend Survey found that one in four American workers aged 50 and above believe they’ll never retire, as they express worries about their finances and being able to save enough to stop working.
American workers already retire later than those in most European countries—and considerably later than those in countries like India and Indonesia, which have some of the youngest average retirement ages in the world.
Here’s a list of the effective retirement age in a selection of countries across the world based on the average age of exit from the labor force for workers aged 40 or older. The numbers are based on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data and 2020 data reported by Statista, but include updates for countries which have recently increased their retirement age.
Age 58: Indonesia
In Indonesia both men and women can currently retire at the age of 58, according to the OECD. The retirement age will increase by one year every three years until it reaches 65 in 2043.
Age 60: China, India, Russia, South Africa, Turkey
Most men in China are eligible to retire at age 60, unless they work some specific physical labor-heavy job which allows them to retire as early as at age 55. Women working white collar jobs are eligible to retire at age 55, while those working blue collar jobs can retire at the age 50. Women doing heavy physical labor can retire at the age of 45.
In India, both men and women working in the private sectory typically retire between 58 and 60 years old. In Saudi Arabia, men and women can retire with full pension benefits at the age of 60.
In Russia, men can retire at 60, while women can retire at 55. In Turkey, men can retire at 60 while women can retire at the age of 58. Both men and women in South Africa can retire at 60.
