Personal Finance

Charted: Retirement Age by Country

Published

2 months ago

October 2, 2023

Rida Khan

Article/Editing:

Omri Wallach

Graphics/Design:

Alejandra Dander

charting the world's retirement age by country

Charted: Retirement Age by Country

The retirement landscape can look completely different depending on what country you’re in. And charting the retirement age by country reveals a lot of differences in the the makeup of a labor force, both for economic and cultural reasons.

This graphic delves into the current and effective retirement ages across 45 nations in 2020, based on comprehensive data from the OECD 2021 report.

Defining Retirement Ages

Before we dive into the numbers, let’s clarify the measurements used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

The current retirement age is the age at which individuals can retire without penalty to pension after completing a full career starting from age 22.
The effective retirement age refers to the average age of exit from the labor force for workers aged 40 years or more.

Many countries have seen workers effectively retire earlier or later than the current retirement age. This variance can arise due to a multitude in factors including differences in career start ages, some industries offering earlier retirements or benefits for later commitments, or countries facilitating different workforce exits due to market demands and policies.

Some people also choose to retire early due to personal reasons or a lack of available work, receiving a smaller pension or in some cases forgoing it entirely. Likewise, some people choose to stay employed if they are able to find work.

Retirement Age by Country in 2020

Here’s a snapshot of the current and effective retirement ages by country in 2020:

Country	Retirement age (Current)	Retirement age (Effective)	Retirement age (Women, Effective)
🇦🇹 Austria	65	62	61
🇧🇪 Belgium	65	61	60
🇨🇦 Canada	65	64	63
🇨🇱 Chile	65	65	61
🇨🇴 Colombia	62	67	60
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	62	67	62
🇨🇿 Czech Republic	64	63	62
🇩🇰 Denmark	66	64	N/A
🇪🇪 Estonia	64	64	65
🇫🇮 Finland	65	63	64
🇫🇷 France	65	60	61
🇩🇪 Germany	66	63	N/A
🇬🇷 Greece	62	61	58
🇭🇺 Hungary	65	62	60
🇮🇸 Iceland	67	66	64
🇮🇪 Ireland	66	64	N/A
🇮🇱 Israel	67	65	N/A
🇮🇹 Italy	62	62	61
🇯🇵 Japan	65	68	67
🇰🇷 Korea, Republic of	62	66	65
🇱🇻 Latvia	64	66	65
🇱🇹 Lithuania	64	63	N/A
🇱🇺 Luxembourg	62	59	60
🇲🇽 Mexico	65	66	63
🇳🇱 Netherlands	66	64	63
🇳🇿 New Zealand	65	68	66
🇳🇴 Norway	67	65	63
🇵🇱 Poland	65	62	60
🇵🇹 Portugal	65	65	63
🇸🇰 Slovakia	63	60	N/A
🇸🇮 Slovenia	62	62	61
🇪🇸 Spain	65	61	60
🇸🇪 Sweden	65	66	65
🇨🇭 Switzerland	65	65	64
🇹🇷 Türkiye	52	61	59
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	66	64	63
🇺🇸 United States	66	65	N/A
🇪🇺 European Union (Average)	64	63	N/A
🇦🇷 Argentina	65	62	63
🇧🇷 Brazil	62	62	59
🇨🇳 China (People's Republic of)	60	66	61
🇮🇳 India	58	67	N/A
🇮🇩 Indonesia	57	69	N/A
🇷🇺 Russia	62	62	60
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	47	59	N/A
🇿🇦 South Africa	60	60	56

Three countries had the highest current retirement age at 67 years, Iceland, Israel, and Norway, but all had slightly lower effective retirement ages on average. On the flip side, Saudi Arabia had the lowest current retirement age at only 47 years with full pension benefits. Only Türkiye at 52 years was close, and notably both had much higher effective retirement ages on average.

Discrepancies between different regions are clear across the board. Many Asian countries including China, India, and South Korea have official minimum retirement ages in the early 60s and late 50s, but see workers stay in the workforce well into their late 60s. Meanwhile, most European countries as well as the U.S. and Canada have more workers retire earlier than minimum retirement ages on average.

Almost all of the countries with measured effective retirement ages for women also saw them exit the workforce earlier than men. This can be the result of cultural gender norms, labor force participation rates, and even the setup of pension systems in different countries.

The five exceptions in the dataset where women retired later than men? Argentina, Estonia, Finland, France, and Luxembourg.

Looking to the Future

In 2023, France sparked controversy by raising its early retirement age by two years. This decision triggered widespread strikes and riots and ignited debates about the balance between economic sustainability and individual well-being.

Given aging demographics in many developed countries and a continued need for labor, this isn’t expected to be the only country to reassess retirement. The OECD projects a two-year increase in the average effective retirement age by the mid-2060s.

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United States

Mapped: What You Need to Earn to Own a Home in 50 American Cities

What does it take to own a home in the U.S. in 2023? Here’s a look at the salary needed for home ownership in the top 50 metro areas.

Published

2 months ago

October 16, 2023

Pallavi Rao

A cropped map of the U.S. with the median home price as well as the salary needed to own a home 50 American cities.

What You Need to Earn to Own a Home in 50 American Cities

Once a fundamental part of the American dream, the ability to own a home is drifting farther and farther away for many Americans.

Between skyrocketing prices, stagnating wages, and now rising interest rates, the deck seems to be increasingly stacked against home ownership.

Using May 2023 data tabulated by Home Sweet Home, we map out the annual salary needed to afford a 30-year mortgage (at 6.37%) to buy a home in America’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas.

The monthly minimum mortgage payment includes taxes and insurance as well, and is capped at roughly one-third of the income. This analysis also assumes that the homeowner will put down a 20% down payment.

The Least and Most Affordable American Cities to Own a Home

At the top of the list, and at the very west of the country, San Jose is the least affordable city to own a home for the average American.

One would have to earn at least $374,000 a year to afford a $1.6 million dollar home in the city.

To put those numbers into perspective, the median American annual income is $75,000, about one-fifth what’s required to buy a home in San Jose.

Here’s a look at the annual earnings needed to afford a home in all 50 largest cities in the U.S., ranked from least to most affordable.

Rank	Metro Area	State	Median Home Price	Annual Salary
1	San Jose	California	$1,618,400	$373,696
2	San Francisco	California	$1,192,600	$282,167
3	San Diego	California	$880,000	$209,110
4	Los Angeles	California	$746,800	$181,106
5	Seattle	Washington	$699,300	$170,340
6	Boston	Massachusetts	$644,400	$165,239
7	New York City	New York	$577,300	$160,233
8	Denver	Colorado	$636,100	$150,622
9	Washington, D.C.	N/A	$557,200	$139,911
10	Miami	Florida	$560,000	$137,574
11	Portland	Oregon	$556,800	$136,147
12	Riverside/San Bernardino	California	$550,000	$133,607
13	Austin	Texas	$467,900	$128,995
14	Sacramento	California	$500,000	$125,304
15	Salt Lake City	Utah	$522,700	$122,717
16	Providence	Rhode Island	$417,000	$112,281
17	Orlando	Florida	$419,900	$104,772
18	Dallas	Texas	$372,400	$103,460
19	Phoenix	Arizona	$439,700	$103,112
20	Raleigh	North Carolina	$420,000	$102,572
21	Las Vegas	Nevada	$431,400	$101,310
22	Tampa	Florida	$390,000	$97,387
23	Minneapolis	Michigan	$361,500	$94,466
24	Hartford	Connecticut	$314,900	$93,861
25	Charlotte	North Carolina	$387,200	$93,735
26	Jacksonville	Florida	$370,000	$93,422
27	Baltimore	Maryland	$357,800	$93,378
28	Nashville	Tennessee	$385,800	$93,168
29	Chicago	Illinois	$321,000	$92,868
30	Houston	Texas	$327,000	$91,826
31	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	$339,600	$89,752
32	Atlanta	Georgia	$354,300	$89,198
33	Richmond	Virginia	$362,300	$88,769
34	San Antonio	Texas	$320,500	$88,683
35	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	$315,300	$87,293
36	Virginia Beach	Virginia	$313,200	$79,336
37	Kansas City	Missouri	$291,000	$76,147
38	Columbus	Ohio	$284,700	$76,133
39	Indianapolis	Indiana	$289,300	$71,409
40	New Orleans	Louisiana	$265,200	$68,946
41	Memphis	Tennessee	$268,600	$68,005
42	Birmingham	Alabama	$276,500	$67,773
43	Cincinnati	Ohio	$252,200	$66,260
44	Buffalo	New York	$206,800	$63,386
45	St Louis	Missouri	$231,100	$63,260
46	Detroit	Michigan	$227,000	$62,758
47	Louisville	Kentucky	$246,000	$62,741
48	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	$227,300	$62,161
49	Cleveland	Ohio	$191,400	$55,515
50	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	$175,000	$50,316
	National		$371,200	$97,204

Other Californian cities, San Francisco (ranked 2nd), San Diego (3rd), and Los Angeles (4th) all require an annual income of at least $180,000 to attempt home ownership within their metropolitan boundaries.

Boston (ranked 6th) and New York (ranked 7th) represent unaffordability on the East Coast, both requiring at least $160,000 a year to buy homes there.

It’s not just the coasts that are expensive however. To buy a home in Denver (ranked 8th) and Salt Lake City (15th) means earning more than $120,000 a year.

However, cities in the Midwest and South, like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Oklahoma City, and Louisville, are far more affordable, requiring less than $63,000 a year to buy a home.

Interest Rates Rock Home Ownership Chances

Aside from the obvious price differences in housing markets, a key factor that has elevated income requirements across the board is the rapid rise in interest rates in the last year. In fact the average 30-year mortgage has pushed past 7%, the highest it’s been since the 2000s.

This means that while the median price of a house in San Jose has actually come down between 2022 and 2023, the minimum monthly payment has increased from $7,717 to $8,720 this year.

Rank	Metro Area	State	Median Home Price	Monthly Payment
1	San Jose	California	$1,618,400	$8,720
2	San Francisco	California	$1,192,600	$6,584
3	San Diego	California	$880,000	$4,879
4	Los Angeles	California	$746,800	$4,226
5	Seattle	Washington	$699,300	$3,975
6	Boston	Massachusetts	$644,400	$3,856
7	New York City	New York	$577,300	$3,739
8	Denver	Colorado	$636,100	$3,515
9	Washington, D.C.	N/A	$557,200	$3,265
10	Miami	Florida	$560,000	$3,210
11	Portland	Oregon	$556,800	$3,177
12	Riverside/San Bernardino	California	$550,000	$3,118
13	Austin	Texas	$467,900	$3,010
14	Sacramento	California	$500,000	$2,924
15	Salt Lake City	Utah	$522,700	$2,863
16	Providence	Rhode Island	$417,000	$2,620
17	Orlando	Florida	$419,900	$2,445
18	Dallas	Texas	$372,400	$2,414
19	Phoenix	Arizona	$439,700	$2,406
20	Raleigh	North Carolina	$420,000	$2,393
21	Las Vegas	Nevada	$431,400	$2,364
22	Tampa	Florida	$390,000	$2,272
23	Minneapolis	Michigan	$361,500	$2,204
24	Hartford	Connecticut	$314,900	$2,190
25	Charlotte	North Carolina	$387,200	$2,187
26	Jacksonville	Florida	$370,000	$2,180
27	Baltimore	Maryland	$357,800	$2,179
28	Nashville	Tennessee	$385,800	$2,174
29	Chicago	Illinois	$321,000	$2,167
30	Houston	Texas	$327,000	$2,143
31	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	$339,600	$2,094
32	Atlanta	Georgia	$354,300	$2,081
33	Richmond	Virginia	$362,300	$2,071
34	San Antonio	Texas	$320,500	$2,069
35	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	$315,300	$2,037
36	Virginia Beach	Virginia	$313,200	$1,851
37	Kansas City	Missouri	$291,000	$1,777
38	Columbus	Ohio	$284,700	$1,776
39	Indianapolis	Indiana	$289,300	$1,666
40	New Orleans	Louisiana	$265,200	$1,609
41	Memphis	Tennessee	$268,600	$1,587
42	Birmingham	Alabama	$276,500	$1,581
43	Cincinnati	Ohio	$252,200	$1,546
44	Buffalo	New York	$206,800	$1,479
45	St Louis	Missouri	$231,100	$1,476
46	Detroit	Michigan	$227,000	$1,464
47	Louisville	Kentucky	$246,000	$1,464
48	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	$227,300	$1,450
49	Cleveland	Ohio	$191,400	$1,295
50	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	$175,000	$1,174
	National		$371,200	$2,268

So to afford a median-priced home in the country, an American needs to earn closer to $100,000 a year, up from $75,500 in 2022. And even then, they would be priced out of owning a home in nearly half of the 50 largest cities in the country.

As a result Americans may yet further delay home ownership. Renting is now a far more attractive option, thanks to the biggest difference between rent and mortgages in over 50 years.

Where Does This Data Come From?

Source: Home Sweet Home (HSH).

Note: HSH used different sources for their median home prices, mortgage rate, property taxes and home insurance figures for their analysis. Please visit their website for more information.

Other: If other personal debts exceed 8% of one’s given monthly gross income, this may increase the salary needed to qualify for a mortgage.