Retirement in Europe Annika Sundén

Retirement in Europe
Annika Sundén
Presentation at 16th Annual Meeting of the Retirement Research Consortium
“Social Security and the Retirement Income System”
August 8, 2014
Retirement age is increasing in many
countries
No change
< 65
Belgium
(62)
Increased Retirement Age
=65
Portugal
>65
Island (67)
Switzerland
Luxembourg
(60)
Austria
<65
France (62)
=65
=67
>67
Estonia
Greece
Hungary
Spain
Czech
Republic
(69)
Germany
Ireland (68)
Slovakia
(62)
UK (68)
Slovenia
(63)
Finland
Sweden
Norway
(67)
Netherlands
Denmark
(68.8)
Poland
Italy(68.7)
Later retirement necessary to maintain level of
benefits in Sweden
Cohort
Life Expectancy
at age 65
”Necessary”
Retirement Age
to Adjust for
Changes in Life
Expectancy
Time in
Retirement
1930
82 and 5 months
age 65
17 yr 5 months
1950
85 and 3 months
66 and 6 months
19 yr 3 months
1970
87 and 3 months
68 and 1 months
19 yr 10 months
1990
88 and 10 months
69 and 2 months
20 yr 5 months
Fewer claim benefits at 65 in Sweden
<65
65
>65
1938
10.3
77.3
12.4
1944
18.7
63.2
18.1
1948
25.7
55.4
18.9
Workers leave the labor force later in
the Nordic countries
64
Norway
63
Sweden
62
Denmark
61
60
Finland
59
58
And in the EU. But still below
retirement age
68
Iceland
67
66
65
Age
64
Sweden
63
62
61
EU 21
60
59
58
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
More older people are working but
differences among countries remain
70
60
50
LFP
55-64
40
2002
2007
30
2012
20
10
0
Belgium
Neatherlands
France
Germany United Kingdom
EU
United States
Less focus on labor demand
•Older workers report age discrimination more often than
younger workers
•Priority to strengthen financial incentives
•Public awareness campaigns to encourage employers to
hire older workers often only measure
Conclusions
• Increases in retirement age in most European countries
•Several countries have introduced automatic adjustment to
longevity
•Average age of leaving the labor forces is moving up
•Priority on financial incentives, less focus on labor demand
•Challenges remain