Eighteen countries, including Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and Portugal, are forecasting higher normal retirement ages as they tie retirement age to life expectancy, according to the OECD’s “Pensions at a Glance 2025” report.
In the previous edition released in 2023, Portugal’s projected average normal retirement age was already rising from 65.6 years to 68 years, marking one of the largest increases among OECD countries.
The report unveiled today shows that the average normal retirement age in 2024 in OECD countries was 64.7 years for men and 63.9 years for women. It is expected to rise by nearly two years, reaching 66.4 years for men and 65.9 years for women entering the labor market in 2024, in at least half of the OECD countries.
Currently, the average normal retirement age varies from 62 years in Colombia, Greece, Luxembourg, and Slovenia—with Turkey as an outlier at 52 years—to 67 years in Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, and Norway.
In the future, disparities between countries are expected to widen. Retirement age is projected to remain at 62 years in Colombia, Luxembourg, and Slovenia, reach 70 years in Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden, 71 years in Estonia, and up to 74 years in Denmark, depending on life expectancy linkage.
It is anticipated that the retirement age will continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace after 2030, when it is expected to increase by one month per year until reaching 67 years in 2056.
These estimates considered access to retirement pensions without penalties for individuals with a full contribution career since the age of 22.
The study also reveals that, on average, a worker with an average salary would receive a net pension equivalent to 63% of their net earnings after a complete career.
In Austria, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain, this amount exceeds 85%, while in the Netherlands and Turkey, it surpasses 95%.
Conversely, Estonia, Ireland, Korea, and Lithuania report future net replacement rates below 40% of the net salary.
