Working until you’re 70? The PM said stop, we need to think about it

In Poland, the mere initiation of a discussion by politicians about raising the retirement age leads to an immediate loss of political support, as the PO-PSL government found out a few years ago. It’s different in Denmark: since 1956, the retirement age there has been linked to average life expectancy. The current retirement age is 67, and by 2040 it is to increase to 70. It is worth adding that this country has one of the highest rates of senior employment in Europe.

Retirement age in Denmark

Next year, the Danish parliament is set to vote on raising the retirement age for people born after January 1, 1971, to 70. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen unexpectedly announced that a model other than raising the retirement age in tandem with life expectancy must be found.

Just before the long-awaited vote, Mette Frederiksen promised to find a “new model” for pensions. In her opinion, “more social balance and common sense are needed,” but she did not reveal how she envisions the new pension system.

– All parties will have to accept the fact that Danes need a good life in retirement, Frederiksen said in an interview with Berlingske.

Retirement age around the world

Every two years, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publishes a report on the state of pension systems around the world. The latest edition, “Pension at Glance,” saw the light of day in 2023. It contains information on how pension systems are prepared for demographic challenges on over 200 pages.

In 2022, the average normal retirement age in OECD countries was 64.4 and 63.6 for men and women, respectively. The “normal retirement age” is the age at which you can apply for the full benefit, without any deductions related to early retirement.

The longest working lives are now in Denmark, Norway, Iceland and, for men, Israel, where the normal retirement age is 67. In theory, Italians also have to work until 67, but if the sum of the retiree’s current age and length of service is at least 102, then they can retire at 64 without any deductions.

Turkish men and women work the shortest hours, with the normal retirement age being 52 and 49, respectively! They can also apply for a pension early in Colombia (62 for men and 57 for women), as well as in Luxembourg and Slovenia (62 for women and men).

Discussing the retirement age is political suicide

And how does it look in relation to Poles? The retirement age for women in our country is 60, and for men – 65. In 2019, ZUS reported that the average age of people at the time of granting a pension in Poland is 61.4 years for men and 58.7 years for women. This lowering of the age is due to early retirement, to which representatives of many professional groups are entitled (including professional military, police officers, firefighters).

In Poland, we are putting off discussions about raising the retirement age. After the Minister of Funds Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz admitted a few days ago that she does not rule out raising the retirement age, politicians from the ruling party came out with assurances that there is no talk of raising the retirement age. In the meantime, whether we like it or not, it will be a necessity. We are living longer and in better health than previous generations.

Moreover, a system based on the principle that contributions from professionally active people are earmarked for pension payments cannot function when the percentage of retirees exceeds the percentage of those working. And we will soon be faced with such a situation. Today, there are “only” 40 retirees per hundred working people. However, according to the forecast of the Central Statistical Office, this indicator will grow and at a fairly rapid pace. In just 15 years, it will be 50 retirees.