With the decline in birth rate, the arrival of negative population growth in many countries and the increasingly serious aging of the population, countries have made great efforts to solve the pension policy problem. In addition to increasing the fertility rate and the social security payment base/reducing the amount of pensions, delaying retirement has also become a core direction of policy research.
(1) The United States
The United States encourages people to delay retirement and adopts a progressive voluntary retirement system, allowing people to make choices based on their own circumstances, distinguishing three levels:
- Early retirement:You can retire at the age of 62, but the pension you receive will be 30% off, and the discount will be smaller for every month you delay receiving it.
- Normal retirement:Generally, the retirement age is 67, and the full pension can be received. However, different birth dates have different normal retirement ages, such as 66 for people born between 1943 and 1954, and 67 for people born in 1960 and later.
- Delayed retirement:Incentive benefits can be obtained. For example, if the normal retirement age is 66 and the full pension is received, if you choose to retire at 67, the monthly pension you can receive is equal to the full pension * 108%. If you choose to retire at 70 or later, the monthly pension you can receive is equal to the full pension * 132%.
(2) Canada
The statutory retirement age in Canada is divided into the general retirement age of 65 and the early retirement age of 60. The government has established retirement savings plans and pension plans for people to plan and prepare for retirement. In addition to meeting the age requirement of 60, early retirement also requires at least 40 years of payment history/pension accumulation and other special conditions. In addition, similar to other countries such as Japan and the United States, people can choose to delay retirement to obtain higher pensions, and the latest retirement age is 70.
In addition to the above, the Canadian government has set different retirement ages for some special occupations. For example, people in the public service sector (government officials/doctors/nurses, etc.) retire slightly later than ordinary people, and people engaged in relatively hard and heavy physical labor usually retire at around 60.
(3) Mexico
The statutory retirement age in Mexico is 65 years old, and citizens are required to work in the private sector for at least 750 weeks (about 15 years), which is the minimum number of payment weeks. Reforms are currently being promoted, and the minimum number of payment weeks will gradually increase by 25 weeks each time, and the goal of a minimum of 1,000 weeks (about 20 years) will be achieved by 2031 [This is similar to the current policy of our country to delay the minimum social security payment from 15 years to 20 years.]
(4) Brazil
The statutory retirement age in Brazil is 65 for men and 60 or 62 for women, and workers are required to pay social security for at least 15 years. The retirement age for women also depends on the nature of their work, such as 60 for urban employees and 55 for rural employees. It is reported that the Brazilian government proposed in 2019 to reform the retirement pension system and lower the retirement age to 62 for men and 57 for women. This should be one of the few countries that plans to lower the statutory retirement age so far. However, the government proposed in 2016 to significantly reduce social security expenditures and raise the statutory retirement age to 70. Therefore, it depends on which policy is finally implemented. I believe that most people cannot afford to change the policy when a new government changes.
（5）UK
The statutory retirement age in the UK is 66, the same for both men and women, but some people can retire early. In addition, there was news that the UK government is implementing reforms and plans to delay the statutory retirement age to 67 from 2026 to 2028 and to 68 from 2044 to 2046. However, in early 2023, the UK government proposed to delay the retirement age to 70, and those who have not attended university can retire early. Therefore, facing the huge pressure of social security expenditure, how the government will make decisions and how the policy will change, we will wait and see.
（6）France
The original legal retirement age in France was 62 years old, but after the retirement system reform was officially implemented on September 1, 2023, it is expected that the legal retirement age will be gradually delayed to 64 years old in 2030, and the retirement age will be gradually delayed by increasing by 3 months each year. The new reform plan also stipulates that from 2027, retirees can only receive full pensions after paying social contributions (similar to domestic social security) for a total of 43 years. The implementation of the new pension system is very difficult. The massive demonstrations and strikes by French people on the streets that we have seen in the news are mostly related to this matter. 2023 is also called the "Year of French Retirement System Reform" by French President Macron.
(7) Germany
The statutory retirement age in Germany is 67 years old. Since 2012, the "gradual retirement delay" policy has been adopted to gradually increase the retirement age in order to achieve the goal of delaying the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2030. From 2012 to 2023, the retirement age will be delayed by 1 month each year, and from 2024 to 2029, the retirement age will be delayed by 2 months each year. In addition, the government stipulates that if you have paid for 45 years of pension insurance, you can retire. For example, if you were born before 1955 and have paid for 45 years of pension annuity, you can retire at the age of 63, and there will be no deduction from your monthly pension.
(8) Italy
The statutory retirement age in Italy is 67 years old. For some occupations, such as farmers/miners/special positions, the retirement age will be advanced. In addition, the government currently provides other early retirement policies. For example, as long as the people meet the pension quota 102 tax record for 38 years, they can retire early at the age of 64.
In addition, the government is implementing a reform plan. According to the law on delaying the adjustment of the retirement age, from January 1, 2019, the statutory retirement age in Italy will gradually increase to 66 years and 7 months or 66 years and 11 months. The ultimate goal is to delay the retirement age to 71 years (only lower than Denmark's 74 years among OECD countries).
(9) Spain
The statutory retirement age in Spain is 65 years old. It is expected that by 2027, the retirement age in Spain will be delayed to 67 years old. Among them, people in high-risk occupations and those with severe disabilities can retire early. If they have paid social security for 35 years, they can apply for retirement 2 years early. The elderly unemployed, who have been fired for 6 months and have not found a new job, can apply for retirement 4 years early.
(10) Netherlands
The statutory retirement age in the Netherlands has been delayed from 65 to 67 years old. Considering that some people may retire early, as of February 2023, the average retirement age of the Dutch will reach 66 years and 7 months. In 2024, this figure is expected to officially reach 67 years old. In addition, relevant personnel have proposed to delay the retirement age in the Netherlands to 70 years old to save government expenses, but the plan was collectively resisted by the public.
(11) Russia
On June 14, 2019, Russia issued a retirement age reform plan, stipulating that the statutory retirement age for men will be delayed from 60 to 65, and the target is expected to be achieved in 2028, and the statutory retirement age for women will be delayed from 55 to 63, and the target is expected to be achieved in 2034. The reform plan will be officially implemented from 2019. Similarly, the plan stipulates that people can retire early under special circumstances and that the retirement age of civil servants will be delayed compared to that of ordinary people. In fact, people in various countries have many objections to the delay of retirement. We can still find the news released by Xinhua News Agency on the Internet that "Russian people resist retirement age reform plan and Putin intervenes".
(12) Australia
The statutory retirement age in Australia is 67 years old, and in 2023, the reform goal of "postponing the statutory retirement age by 6 months every 2 years until it reaches 67 years old" was completed. In addition, people can choose to retire between the ages of 55 and 70 based on their personal career/health and other factors, and the retirement age is also related to the year of birth. For example, people born before 1966 can retire at the age of 65, but people born in 1967 and later will have to wait until later to retire. As for the government's plan to further delay the retirement age due to the aging problem, there has been no clear action yet, so we can just wait and see.
(13) Japan
The retirement age in Japan is determined by the year of birth. For Japanese people after 1965, the statutory retirement age is 65 for men and 60 for women. In fact, different companies and industries adopt different age standards, and the minimum retirement age is 60. The Japanese government is currently promoting reforms and plans to gradually extend the retirement age to 70 by 2031. In addition, the government encourages delayed retirement. It is said that for every month of delay, the monthly pension amount will increase by 0.7%, and the latest retirement age can be delayed to 75. Due to the serious aging of Japan, there are even reports that Japan is studying policies to further delay retirement.
(14) South Korea
The statutory retirement age in South Korea is 60 years old. At the same time, workers can choose to continue working until they are 65 years old after receiving their pension. The South Korean government is currently implementing reforms with the goal of delaying the statutory retirement age to 65 years old in 2033. It is reported that in South Korea, people will not really rest until they are 71 years old on average.
(15) Singapore
Singapore's original statutory retirement age was 62 years old. In 2022, the statutory retirement age was adjusted to 63 years old, and the re-employment age was 68 years old. The government is currently implementing reforms with the goal of gradually extending the statutory retirement age and re-employment age to 65/70 years old respectively in the next 10 years.
Note: I will find an opportunity to elaborate on Singapore's pension and retirement mechanism later. After all, it is well-known internationally, and our country also refers to it when formulating policies.
(16) India
Different states/occupations/genders in India have different statutory retirement ages. The statutory retirement age for ordinary people is 60 for men/58 or 60 for women. For the civil service system, the retirement ages for different levels are 50/55/60, etc. Of course, the higher the level, the later the retirement. In addition, the proportion of young people in India's population is high. Among all Asian countries, or even in the world, it has a relatively young population structure. The pressure of aging and pension is not great. After India's independence, the statutory retirement age was originally set at 60 for men/55 for women, but in 2001, the statutory retirement age for women was raised to 60 (58 for some states and departments). There has been no major policy change so far, and no news of reform has been heard.
Note: The policies of various countries will be adjusted over time.