> **来源：[研报客](https://pc.yanbaoke.cn)** # Pensions at a Glance 2025 OECD and G20 Indicators # Pensions at a Glance 2025 OECD AND G20 INDICATORS This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD. This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. # Please cite this publication as: OECD (2025), Pensions at a Glance 2025: OECD and G20 Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/e40274c1-en. ISBN 978-92-64-32487-9 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-90357-9 (PDF) ISBN 978-92-64-80894-2 (HTML) OECD Pensions at a Glance ISSN 1995-4026 (print) ISSN 1999-1363 (online) Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found at: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/support/corrigenda.html. $\odot$ OECD 2025 # Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attribution - you must cite the work. Translations - you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of the original work should be considered valid. Adaptations - you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries. Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement. You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work. Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one. # Foreword This edition of *Pensions at a Glance* is dedicated to the memory of Edward Whitehouse, who died in September 2025, aged 56. Ed worked at the OECD in the 1990s and 2000s, becoming Head of Pension Policy Analysis. He co-ordinated and actually wrote much of the first few editions of *Pensions at a Glance*, establishing it not only as the place to go to find international comparisons of pension systems but also insightful analysis of particular areas of pensions policy. He was remarkable in combining analytic excellence with elegant and clear explanations of complex issues. His legacy will persist, at the OECD but also in the wider pensions' community, which continues to rely heavily on the analytic models he developed. This eleventh edition of *Pensions at a Glance* provides a range of indicators for comparing pension policies and their outcomes between OECD countries. The indicators are also, where possible, provided for the other major economies that are members of the G20. Two special chapters provide a review of the pace of population ageing and of recent pension reforms (Chapter 1) and an in-depth analysis of gender differences in pensions (Chapter 2). This report was prepared by the OECD Social Policy Division within the Directorate of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS). Hervé Boulhol led the team and was responsible for revising and enhancing the chapters under the leadership of Monika Queisser (Senior Counsellor and Head of Social Policy). National officials – particularly delegates to the OECD Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee and the OECD Working Party on Social Policy and members of the OECD pension expert group – provided invaluable input to the report. Chapter 1 on "Recent pension reforms" was written by Wouter De Tavernier. Chapter 2 entitled "Gender pension gap" was written by Maciej Lis with contributions from Cemre Dane who was then an intern from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Chapters 3 to 8 were written and the indicators therein computed by Andrew Reilly, while Chapter 9 was written by Romain Despalins with inputs from Pablo Antolin and Stéphanie Payet from the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF). Maxime Ladaique provided support for tables and figures. Hanna Varkki, Marie-Aurélie Elkurd and Alastair Wood prepared the manuscript for publication and the infographics. We are grateful to many national officials, to Carole Bonnet (INED), Emmanuel Bretin and Frédérique Nortier Ribordy (Conseil d'orientation des retraites) for their useful comments as well as to colleagues in the OECD Secretariat, notably Romain Despalins, Stéphanie Payet and Jessica Mosher (DAF), Valerie Frey and Jasmin Thomas (ELS). This publication also benefited from comments by Stefano Scarpetta (Director of ELS) and Mark Pearson (Deputy Director of ELS). The OECD gratefully acknowledges the support from the European Union. # Editorial # What can be done about the Gender Pension Gap? Improving the situation of women in old age and ensuring that they are treated fairly has taken centre stage in pension reform debates, from France and Mexico to Germany and Japan, to name just a few countries. Indeed, in many countries women's pensions are far lower than those of men, and old age poverty affects women disproportionately. While gender pension gaps have been falling from $28\%$ in 2007 to $23\%$ in 2024, on average across the OECD, women still receive only 77 cents for every Euro or Dollar that men receive in pensions. Countries have been trying to address disadvantages of women in retirement in different ways. Chile and Mexico, for example, undertook major pension reforms over the last two years, and in both countries, they included boosts specifically to women's pensions. One policy measure frequently used in the past was to grant women earlier retirement, as a compensation for time spent caring for children and elderly relatives. While many women may have appreciated the opportunity to retire early, this also resulted in lower pensions given the shorter contribution spell. By now, the vast majority of OECD countries have equalised pension ages for men and women or are in the process of doing so; only 6 countries will maintain different ages in the future. Most OECD pension systems link retirement benefits to contributions made by workers over their lifetime. A common feature of these systems is to credit times out of paid work spent caring, mostly by women, in the calculation of pensions. Such pension credits go a long way in narrowing gender gaps, provided that women return to full-time work after maternity and parental breaks. The reality, however, is that many women do not return to full-time work but only work part-time or stay out of work altogether. This affects lifetime earnings, contributions, and thus pension levels. Add to this the persistent gender pay gaps observed in nearly all OECD countries and it becomes clear that pension systems alone, however well designed, will not be able to remove the disadvantage that women are facing in retirement. It is in the labour markets where gender differences need to be tackled most urgently. The analysis in this report shows that gender differences in employment, hours worked and hourly wages make equal contributions to gender gaps in lifetime earnings – each contribute about one-third to the total. These lifetime earnings gaps, at $35\%$ on average across OECD countries, in turn, are the key factor driving gender pension gaps. And change also has to happen at home; without better sharing of unpaid work it will be difficult for women to increase their working hours. This does not mean, however, that pension policies have no impact on gender pension gaps. Given that more women than men rely on basic pensions and old-age safety nets, any policy measures that support and redistribute towards low-income retirees will also have an effect on gender pension gaps. The gender pension gap is lowered by high levels of means-tested first-tier benefits, as in Denmark, Iceland and Norway. for example, and by a progressive pension formula, as in Czechia. Pension credits, as mentioned, also help stabilise women's pension rights during caring breaks. Moreover, despite increasing labour force participation of women, survivor pensions are still very important. They reduce the gender pension gap in mandatory earnings-related schemes by about one-third on average. Several countries have universal flat-rate pensions which, by definition, have no gender gaps as every retiree gets paid the same. Moreover, public pensions are set in many countries at a level that requires additional occupational and private pensions or personal savings to ensure adequate living standards in old age. And here again, women are at a disadvantage. They are less likely to work in sectors that offer good occupational pensions. Also, employer pension plans rarely credit career breaks or part-time work to provide child- or eldercare. Furthermore, due to lower incomes women also have less capacity to save. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, for instance, are among the countries with the highest gender pension gaps, at above $35\%$ , despite having above-average basic pension entitlements. Thus, in asset-backed pensions, occupational and personal, policymakers also need to address gender gaps. It is only with a comprehensive strategy encompassing labour market, family and pension policies that we will be able to finally close the gender pension gap. Stefano Scarpetta, Director, OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. # Table of contents # Foreword 3 # Editorial 4 # Executive summary 10 # 1 Recent pension reforms 13 Introduction 14 Population ageing will be fast over the next 25 years 17 Working longer: financial incentives and flexible retirement 27 Recent pension reforms 39 References 54 Annex 1.A. Recent pension reform overview 57 Notes 88 # 2 Gender pension gap 93 Introduction 94 Key findings and policy implications 94 Gender disparities in pensions 97 Long-term trends in gender labour market inequalities 106 Four normative questions about the role of pension policy in addressing the gender pension gap 115 What countries do: pension rules and gender inequalities 120 Specific issues affecting the gender pension gap in asset-backed pensions 129 Policy discussion 129 References 132 Annex 2.A. Benefits of older people with no or little contributory pension entitlements 138 Notes 139 # 3 Design of pension systems 145 # 4 Pension entitlements for the base case 159 # 5 Pension entitlements for alternative scenarios 177 # 6 Demographic and economic context 191 # 7 Incomes and poverty of older people 207 # 8 Finances of retirement-income systems 219 # 9 Asset-backed pensions 229 # FIGURES Figure 1.1. Projections have systematically overestimated fertility 18 Figure 1.2. Life expectancy gains have been smaller over the last decade 20 Figure 1.3. Projections of life expectancy at 65 have not been significantly affected by COVID-19 21 Figure 1.4. Projected migration rates are below the average rate between 2000 and 2023 22 Figure 1.5. The old-age to working-age ratio is projected to increase fast until the mid-2050s 23 Figure 1.6. Most countries will age faster over the next than over the previous 25 years 24 Figure 1.7. The importance of fertility and life expectancy in population ageing differs across countries 26 Figure 1.8. Employment rates for older adults continue to lag behind those of prime-age individuals 27 Figure 1.9. Bonuses and penalties compared to the actuarily neutral rate 30 Figure 1.10. Working beyond pension receipt is very common in the Baltic and Nordic countries 32 Figure 1.11. Mandatory retirement ages remain common in OECD countries 37 Figure 1.12. The normal retirement age will be rising in half of OECD countries for men 40 Figure 1.13. Older people are more likely to be in relative income poverty 46 Figure 1.14. Net pension replacement rates for average and low earners 50 Figure 2.1. The gender pension gap has declined steadily across countries 97 Figure 2.2. Gender gaps in disposable income and in pensions are not correlated across OECD countries 99 Figure 2.3. Older women are more likely to be in income poverty than older men 99 Figure 2.4. Women receive first-tier and survivor pensions more often than men but are less covered by earnings-related pensions 101 Figure 2.5. First-tier pensions lower the total gender pension gap 102 Figure 2.6. Survivor pensions lower the gender pension gap substantially in many countries 103 Figure 2.7. Gender gaps in remaining life expectancy at the average labour market exit age 104 Figure 2.8. In a few OECD countries, women start receiving old-age earnings-related pensions at substantially younger ages than men 105 Figure 2.9. The gender gap in the average age of labour market exit widened between 1970 and 2000 but has almost halved since 106 Figure 2.10. Expected career duration differs substantially between men and women 108 Figure 2.11. Large reduction of gender gaps in average career duration across all OECD countries 109 Figure 2.12. Employment rates of women are lower than men's in all age groups 110 Figure 2.13. Gender gaps in average working hours have declined 111 Figure 2.14. The gender gap in hourly wages is very large in some countries 112 Figure 2.15. The gender wage gap has decreased in most OECD countries since 2008 112 Figure 2.16. Women earn one-third less than men over the lifetime on average across OECD countries 114 Figure 2.17. Changes in career length and hourly wages strongly reduced gender gaps 115 Figure 2.18. Measures affecting women's pensions 116 Figure 2.19. Women have lower retirement ages in some countries, reducing their future pensions 121 Figure 2.20. Pensions mitigate the transmission of gender earnings gaps into pension gaps 124 Figure 2.21. Pensions cushion significantly the impact of a five-year break for childcare in many OECD countries 126 Figure 3.1. Taxonomy: Different types of retirement-income provision 147 Figure 3.2. Non-contributory first-tier benefits 149 Figure 3.3.Contributory first-tier benefits 149 Figure 3.4. Number of years required for partial and full contribution-based basic pensions 151 Figure 3.5. Number of years required for partial and full minimum contributory pensions 151 Figure 3.6. Difference in the normal retirement age by gender and by age of career start 155 Figure 3.7. Gender gap in current and future normal retirement ages 156 Figure 3.8. Current and future normal retirement ages for a man with a full career from age 22 157 Figure 3.9. Current and future early retirement ages for a man with an uninterrupted career from age 22 157 Figure 4.1. Gross pension replacement rates in percentage: Low and high earners 163 Figure 4.2. Gross pension replacement rates: Average earners at retirement age and age 80 163 Figure 4.3. Personal income taxes and social security contributions paid by pensioners and workers 167 Figure 4.4. Net and gross pension replacement rates: Average earners, in percentage 169 Figure 4.5. Net pension replacement rates: Low and high earners, in percentage 169 Figure 4.6. Gross pension wealth for lower earners by gender, multiple of annual earnings 173 Figure 4.7. Gross pension wealth for average earners by gender, multiple of annual earnings 173 Figure 4.8. Net pension wealth for lower earners by gender, multiple of annual earnings 175 Figure 4.9. Net pension wealth for average earners by gender, multiple of annual earnings 175 Figure 5.1. Gross total pension entitlements of low and average earners with a 5-year unemployment break versus workers with full careers 181 Figure 5.2. Gross total pension entitlements of low and average earners with a 10-year unemployment break after entering the labour market 5 years later 181 Figure 5.3. Gross total pension entitlements of low and average earners with a 5-year childcare break versus women with two children with an uninterrupted career 183 Figure 5.4. Gross pension entitlements of low and average earners with a 10-year childcare break versus women with two children with an uninterrupted career 183 Figure 5.5. Earnings profile compared to base case for a retirement age of 66 years 185 Figure 5.6. Theoretical relative pensions of the self-employed as a percentage of those of employees 189 Figure 6.1. Uncertainty about total fertility-rate projections 193 Figure 6.2. Current life expectancy at age 65 for men and women, in years, 2024 195 Figure 6.3. Projected remaining life expectancy at age 65, 2065, in years 195 Figure 6.4. Structural breaks in life-expectancy gains 195 Figure 6.5. The working-age population will decline in a large number of OECD countries 197 Figure 6.6. Future demographic old-age to working-age ratio projections differ based on data sources 197 Figure 6.7. Employment rates of workers aged 55-59, 60-64 and 65-69 in 2024 199 Figure 6.8. Gender gap in employment rates by age group, 2024 199 Figure 6.9. Gender gap in pensions in selected OECD countries, latest year available 199 Figure 6.10. Employment rate at ages 60-64 vs. normal retirement age in 2024 200 Figure 6.11. Change in employment rates of older workers and prime-age workers, 2004-24 201 Figure 6.12. Growth of employment rates of older workers by education level 201 Figure 6.13. Average effective age of labour market exit and normal retirement age in 2024 203 Figure 6.14. Average effective age of labour market exit in OECD countries, 1970-2024 203 Figure 6.15. Remaining life expectancy at average labour market exit age, by gender in 2024 205 Figure 6.16. Expected life years after labour market exit, OECD average 1970-2024 205 Figure 7.1. Income sources of older people, 2022 or latest available year 209 Figure 7.2. Income poverty rates by age: older vs. total population, 2022 or latest available year 211 Figure 7.3. Income poverty depth by age: older vs. total population, 2022 or latest available year 212 Figure 7.4. Change in income inequality over time among the older and the total population 215 Figure 7.5. Change in average wage, national currency 217 Figure 8.1. Private pension expenditure as a percentage of total public and private expenditure 225 Figure 8.2. Percentage point change in pension expenditure between 2023-24 and 2050 227 Figure 9.1. Minimum or mandatory contribution rates (for an average earner) in mandatory and auto-enrolment plans, 2024 (or latest year available) 233 Figure 9.2. Average annual contribution per active account or member in selected OECD countries, latest year available 233 Figure 9.3. Asset allocation of pension providers at the end of 2024 or latest year available 237 Figure 9.4. Asset allocation of public pension reserve funds, at end-2024 237 Figure 9.5. Split of pension assets by type of plan, at the end of 2024 or latest year available 241 Figure 9.6. Assets and liabilities of defined benefit plans (in billions of national currency) and their ratio (in percent) in selected jurisdictions, 2014-24 245 Annex Figure 2.A.1. Pensions mitigate old-age inequalities for low earners 139 # INFOGRAPHICS Infographic 1. Facts and figures 12 # TABLES Table 1.1. Fewer obstacles to combining work and pensions after the normal retirement age 33 Table 2.1. Motherhood or childcare-related employment breaks affect normal retirement ages in seven OECD countries 122 Table 3.1. Structure of retirement-income provision through mandatory schemes 147 Table 3.2. Current level and recipients of first-tier benefits 149 Table 3.3. Indexation of first-tier benefits 151 Table 3.4. Future parameters and rules of mandatory earnings-related pensions, latest legislation 153 Table 3.5. Current early and normal retirement ages by type of pension scheme 155 Table 3.6. Future ages, penalties and bonuses for early, normal and late retirement by type of pension scheme 158 Table 4.1. Gross pension replacement rates by earnings, in percentage, mandatory schemes 163 Table 4.2. Gross pension replacement rates from mandatory public, mandatory private and voluntary private pension schemes, full career workers, in percentage 165 Table 4.3. Treatment of pensions and pensioners under personal income tax and mandatory public and private contributions 167 Table 4.4. Net pension replacement rates by earnings, in percentage 169 Table 4.5. Gross and net pension replacement rates from mandatory (public and private) and voluntary pension schemes, in percentage 171 Table 4.6. Gross pension wealth by earnings, multiple of annual earnings 173 Table 4.7. Net pension wealth by earnings 175 Table 5.1. Gross pension entitlements by household composition: singles versus couples, percentage of average earnings 179 Table 5.2. Gross and net pension benefit level by earnings profile 185 Table 5.3. Annual economic assumptions 186 Table 5.4. Gross pension replacement rates by different economic assumptions 187 Table 5.5. Contribution requirements to mandatory and quasi-mandatory pensions for the self-employed 189 Table 6.1. Total fertility rates, 1964-2064 193 Table 6.2. Demographic old-age to working-age ratio: Historical and projected values, 1954-2084 197 Table 7.1. Incomes of older people, 2022 or latest available year 209 Table 7.2. Income poverty rates by age and gender, 2022 or latest available year 211 Table 7.3. Change in relative income poverty rates between 2011 and 2022 by age 213 Table 7.4. Income inequality by age: older vs. total population, 2022 or latest available year 215 Table 7.5. Gross average wage (AW), 2024 217 Table 8.1. Mandatory contribution rates in 2024 221 Table 8.2 Public expenditure on cash old-age and survivor benefits 223 Table 8.3. Private pension-benefit expenditures 225 Table 8.4. Projections of public expenditure on pensions, 2023-60, percentage of GDP 227 Table 9.1. Participation rate in pension plans in the OECD and selected other jurisdictions, latest year available 231 Table 9.2. Assets earmarked for retirement in OECD countries and selected other major economies, at end-2024 or latest year available 235 Table 9.3. Nominal and real geometric average annual investment rates of return of pension providers in 2024 and over the last 5, 10, 15 and 20 years, in percent 239 Table 9.4. Nominal and real geometric average annual investment rates of return of selected public pension reserve funds in 2024 and over the last 5, 10, 15 and 20 years, in percent 239 Table 9.5. Types of pension plans available in the OECD area and selected other major economies according to the OECD taxonomy, 2024 241 Table 9.6. Fee structure and fee cap in selected OECD and other major economies 243 Table 9.7. Annual fees charged to members of defined contribution plans by type of fees, 2024 243 Annex Table 1.A.1. Pension reforms decided between September 2023 and September 2025 57 # Executive summary This edition of *Pensions at a Glance* reviews the pension measures legislated in OECD countries between September 2023 and September 2025. It includes a discussion of recent demographic trends and ageing projections and a summary of bonus/penalty pension schemes, of combining work and pension practices and of mandatory retirement ages in OECD countries. The thematic chapter provides an in-depth analysis of differences in pension levels between men and women. As with past editions, a comprehensive selection of pension policy indicators is included for OECD and G20 countries. # Population ageing - Population ageing will be fast over the next 25 years. On average across the OECD, the number of people aged $65+$ per 100 people aged 20-64 is projected to increase from 33 in 2025 to 52 in 2050 while it was 22 in 2000. The projected increase is particularly strong in Korea, by almost 50 points, and in Greece, Italy, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Spain by more than 25 points. - Fertility rates continue to decline in many countries, while past population projections have systematically overestimated the evolution of the total fertility rate. The COVID-19 pandemic has not affected the long-term projections of life expectancy at age 65. # Main recent pension policy measures in OECD countries over the last two years - Czechia and Slovenia have raised the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67, to be reached in 2056 and 2035, respectively. In Slovenia, the retirement age without penalty with 40 years of contributions will also go from 60 to 62. Moreover, the Slovak Republic has linked early-retirement conditions to life expectancy. - The average normal retirement age among OECD countries will increase from 64.7 and 63.9 years for men and women retiring in 2024 to 66.4 and 65.9 years, respectively, when starting the career in 2024. The normal retirement age will increase in more than half of OECD countries based on current legislation. Future normal retirement ages range from 62 in Colombia (for men, 57 for women), Luxembourg and Slovenia to 70 years or more in Denmark, Estonia, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. - Chile undertook a systemic reform strengthening its pension system, improving earnings-related pensions as well as pension protection for low earners. Mexico has introduced a large earnings-related top-up to the mandatory scheme, changing the nature of its earnings-related pensions. It guarantees that old-age pensioners receive $100\%$ of their last monthly salaries, up to the average monthly salary of social security participants and even after only 20 years of contributions. Both countries have taken measures to boost women's pensions. - Chile increased targeted benefits significantly. Korea expanded childcare credits for parents, which will significantly raise their pensions. - Slovenia legislated a comprehensive pension reform, which will improve both the financial sustainability and the equity of the system. Beyond the increase in the retirement age, the reference wage period for the calculation of benefits has been extended from the best 24 to the best 35 years, benefit accrual rates have been increased and the indexation of pensions in payment lowered. - To improve pension financial sustainability, Ireland and Korea have raised mandatory contribution rates, Japan has increased its contribution ceiling and Czechia has reduced future benefit levels. - Ireland has introduced automatic enrolment in occupational pensions, while Lithuania abolished it. - On average across OECD countries, full-career average-wage workers entering the labour market now will receive a net pension at $63\%$ of net wages. Future net replacement rates are below $40\%$ in Estonia, Ireland, Korea and Lithuania. The future net replacement rate of full-career workers at half the average wage is higher at $76\%$ on average. # Pension gap between men and women - Women receive monthly pensions that are about one-quarter lower than men's on average across OECD countries, ranging from less than $10\%$ lower in Czechia, Estonia, Iceland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia to more than $35\%$ lower in Austria, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and reaching $47\%$ lower in Japan. - The large average gender pension gap (GPG) across OECD countries has declined from $28\%$ in 2007 to $23\%$ in 2024, and this downtrend is projected to continue. - The GPG is the key indicator of average gender differences in pension levels. However, it does not measure differences in living standards between older men and women because living standards account for other sources of income, household compositions and income sharing within households. There is actually no correlation across countries between the GPG and the gender gap in the average household disposable income of the $66+$ . - Gender differences in lifetime earnings are the main driver of the GPG. Gender differences in employment, hours worked and hourly wages make a similar contribution to the gender gap in lifetime earnings (about one-third each), which averages $35\%$ across OECD countries. - Women will still be able to retire without penalty at lower age than men in Colombia, Costa Rica, Hungary, Israel, Poland and Türkiye, which negatively affects their pension levels. Countries wanting to promote gender equality in the labour market and reduce the GPG should eliminate earlier access to pensions for women. - Mothers can retire between four months and four years earlier than childless women in Czechia, France, Italy, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. Care-related pension credits are an effective instrument to cushion the impact of relatively short employment breaks, especially at low-income levels. Mandatory pensions cushion about half of the effects of a five-year child-related employment break on pensions for mothers with two children on average across OECD countries. Nine countries give credits just for having had children or provide pension bonuses to parents, irrespective of whether a career break occurred. - Protecting survivors' standards of living following the partner's death is an important policy objective. Survivor pensions reduce the gender pension gap in mandatory earnings-related schemes by about one-third on average, as women account for $88\%$ of recipients on average. - The most efficient measures to reduce the GPG over the long term should tackle gender differences in employment, hours worked and wages. The unequal share of unpaid care between men and women as well as persistent disparities in education and labour market pathways have large implications. - Reducing income inequality in old age is often part of the objectives of pension systems. Policy instruments that reduce the impact of labour market inequalities on retirement-income differences tend also to reduce the GPG. The GPG is actually lowered by high levels of first-tier benefits, particularly when means-tested as in Denmark, Iceland and Norway, and by a progressive pension formula, as in Czechia. # Infographic 1. Facts and figures # Mandatory pensions vary widely across OECD countries But this ranges from under $35\%$ in Ireland and Lithuania to over $90\%$ in the Netherlands, Portugal and Türkiye. Across the OECD, workers on an average wage with a full career from age 22 in 2024 will take home $63\%$ of their previous income when they reach retirement. # Retirement ages are set to rise in over half of OECD countries Normal retirement age, men Current retirement age OECD average: 64.7 years currently, 66.4 in the future. # Men have higher disposable income in retirement than women Income of men and women over 65, as % of average disposable income of total population Women OECD average: $92\%$ for men, $82\%$ for women. # Gender pension gaps are large, but are steadily declining % difference of average pension of women relative to men OECD average: $28\%$ in 2007, $23\%$ in 2024. # Gender gaps in career length have dropped sharply Difference in expected career length between men and women in years OECD average: 10.2 years in 2000, 5.9 years in 2023. # Unforeseen fertility declines pose challenges for pensions Evolution of the OECD average total fertility rate, based on projections carried out in different years If fertility falls further, populations may age even faster than projected, making pension sustainability harder to achieve. # 1 Recent pension reforms This chapter looks into pension developments over the past two years. It presents an overview of pension reforms introduced in OECD countries between September 2023 and September 2025. The chapter also describes recent demographic trends and ageing projections. The section on employment at older ages provides an overview of bonus/penalty pension schemes, of combining work and pension practices and of mandatory retirement ages in OECD countries. # Introduction Over the next 25 years, populations in OECD countries will age almost twice as fast as over the last 25 years. Past projections have systematically overestimated total fertility rates, and even the most recent projections are built on the assumption that total fertility rates will stabilise at current levels on average. However, long-term projections of life expectancy at older ages have been little affected by COVID-19 and life-expectancy gains are still projected to be lower than between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s when they were exceptionally strong. Pensioners who want to work, still face obstacles to do so in many OECD countries. Half of OECD countries have at least some restrictions to work while receiving a contributory pension after the normal retirement age, and two-thirds have such restrictions before that. Moreover, half of OECD countries allow or require mandatory retirement practices for private-sector workers and over two-thirds do so for public-sector workers or civil servants. Chile and Mexico undertook systemic reforms in their pension systems over the last two years. Chile has boosted its earnings-related pensions through a sharp increase in the mandatory contribution rate. It also increased redistribution in its pension system by adding several components, including a contribution-based basic pension, a pension supplement for women and higher targeted benefits. Mexico has introduced a huge earnings-related top-up to the mandatory funded defined contribution (FDC) scheme, which changes the nature of its earnings-related pensions. In addition, the Slovak Republic substantially increased its minimum contributory pensions, and both the Slovak Republic and Switzerland increased pensions overall by introducing a 13th month payment. Increasing retirement ages remains a common strategy to improve financial sustainability of pension systems without reducing pension levels. Alternatively, financial sustainability can be pursued through raising contributions paid or reducing benefit levels. More than half of OECD countries will increase the normal retirement age for future retirees based on current legislation. Only Czechia and Slovenia decided to increase their statutory retirement ages since September 2023, from 65 to 67, and access to early retirement was tightened in the Slovak Republic. Ireland and Korea have increased contribution rates and Japan has raised the contribution ceiling to mobilise more resources for the pension system. Czechia has improved pension finances by reducing future pension benefits. Furthermore, seven countries have made it easier or financially more interesting to combine work and pensions. Finally, several countries expanded the coverage of certain pension schemes. Ireland has introduced automatic enrolment in FDC pensions, but Lithuania abolished it. Japan, Korea and Mexico have expanded coverage to include one or more types of non-standard workers. The expansion of childcare credits in Korea has significantly increased the pensions of parents taking childcare breaks. This chapter is structured as follows. The first section looks into population ageing and takes stock of past and projected evolutions in fertility, life expectancy and migration, and their implications for the development of the old-age to working-age ratio. The second section presents employment at older ages and provides an overview of bonus/penalty schemes, combining work and pension practices and mandatory retirement ages in OECD countries. The chapter then turns to pension reforms legislated in OECD countries since the previous edition of Pensions at a Glance. # Key findings # Population ageing - Population ageing will be fast over the next 25 years. On average across the OECD, the number of people aged $65+$ per 100 people aged 20-64 is projected to increase from 33 in 2025 to 52 in 2050 while it was 22 in 2000. The projected increase over this period is particularly strong in Korea, by almost 50 points, and in Greece, Italy, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Spain by more than 25 points. - The working-age population (20-64) is projected to decrease by over $30\%$ in the next four decades in Estonia, Greece, Japan, the Slovak Republic and Spain and even over $35\%$ in Italy, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. - Fertility rates continue to decline in many countries, while past population projections have systematically overestimated the evolution of the total fertility rate. If countries do seek to boost fertility, they should create conditions that help adults have the number of children they desire at the time of their choosing. - Fertility declines threaten the financial sustainability of pay-as-you-go pension systems. As the effectiveness of policies to uphold or increase fertility levels is uncertain, it would be prudent to prepare for a low-fertility future. This could be achieved through parametric reforms or through introducing automatic adjustment mechanisms adapting pensions to total contributions or a proxy thereof, such as growth of the wage bill, GDP or the number of contributors. - Improvements in life expectancy at age 65 have slowed significantly for both men and women compared to the period between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s. The COVID-19 pandemic has not affected the long-term projections of life expectancy at age 65. - UN population projections are based on net migration rates over the next 30 years that are two-thirds of their levels between 1990 and 2020 in the OECD on average. # Working longer - On average across the OECD, $65.5\%$ of people aged 55-64 and $25.7\%$ of those aged 65-69 are in employment, compared to $82.5\%$ of those aged 25-54. In Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Sweden, the gap in employment rates between people aged 55-64 and those aged 25-54 is 10 percentage points (p.p.) or less. That gap is between 25 and 30 p.p. in Austria, Poland and Türkiye, and it is even larger in Luxembourg and Slovenia. - The annual bonus and penalty rates in contributory pension schemes are $4.8\%$ and $4.4\%$ , respectively, on average among OECD countries, close to actuarial neutrality. Within contributory basic, defined benefit or points schemes, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as Hungary for women, are the only countries that do not apply penalties. Disincentives to work after the normal retirement age are large in Belgium, Costa Rica, Greece, Luxembourg and Türkiye as bonuses to defer pensions are low or do not exist. - There are no restrictions on combining work and pension receipt beyond the normal retirement age in half of OECD countries, and one-third of countries have no such restrictions before the normal retirement age. Moreover, in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Türkiye, pension contributions are generally paid when pension recipients work beyond the normal retirement age while no or reduced pension entitlements are built up. - Eleven OECD countries do not apply any form of mandatory retirement to either public or private-sector workers. Half of OECD countries, by contrast, have mandatory retirement practices for both public- and private-sector workers. In the remaining eight countries, mandatory retirement exists solely for public-sector workers or statutory civil servants. # Current income of pensioners - The average income of people over 65 is equal to $87\%$ of that of the total population on average across OECD countries. Those aged over 65 currently receive $70\%$ or less of economy-wide average disposable income in Estonia, Korea, Latvia and Lithuania on average, and about $100\%$ or more in Israel, Italy, Luxembourg and Mexico. # Recent pension policy measures # Retirement ages and incentives to work longer - The average normal retirement age among OECD countries will increase from 64.7 and 63.9 years for men and women retiring in 2024 to 66.4 and 65.9 years, respectively, for those starting their career in 2024. The normal retirement age will increase in more than half of OECD countries based on current legislation. Future ages range from 62 in Colombia (for men, 57 for women), Luxembourg and Slovenia to 70 years or more in Denmark, Estonia, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. - Czechia and Slovenia have raised the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67, to be reached in 2056 and 2035, respectively. Moreover, in Slovenia, the retirement age without penalty with 40 years of contributions will go from 60 to 62. - The Slovak Republic has linked early-retirement conditions to life expectancy. Italy has extended further multiple early-retirement schemes although conditions have been tightened for several of these. Czechia has introduced the option for workers in arduous or hazardous jobs to retire without penalty between 15 and 30 months earlier, and Spain now determines the arduousness or hazardousness of occupations based on occupational accident and sickness-leave statistics. - Czechia, Greece, Japan, Lithuania, Spain and Switzerland have made it easier or financially more interesting for pension recipients to work, and Denmark has increased its tax incentive for working beyond the statutory retirement age. # Benefits and contributions - Chile undertook a systemic reform strengthening the pension systems, improving earnings-related pensions as well as pension protection for low earners. Chile has raised pension benefits for both current and future pensioners and increased contribution rates significantly. - Mexico has introduced a large earnings-related top-up to the mandatory FDC scheme, changing the nature of its earnings-related pensions. It guarantees that old-age pensioners receive $100\%$ of their last monthly salaries, up to the average monthly salary of social security participants, and even after only 20 years of contributions. As the residence-based basic pension is paid on top of that, the replacement rate for low earners is well over $100\%$ . How this reform will be financed over time is unclear. - Several countries have taken measures to boost women's pensions. Chile has introduced a benefit compensating women for their lower retirement income due to their higher life expectancy, given that Chile applies sex-specific mortality tables. Mexico has introduced a new residence-based basic pension specifically for women before the statutory retirement age. - Chile has increased targeted benefits significantly and the Slovak Republic raised the levels of minimum contributory pensions. - Slovenia legislated a comprehensive pension reform, which will improve both the financial sustainability and the equity of the system. Beyond the increase in the retirement age, the reference wage period for the calculation of benefits has been extended from the best 24 to the best 35 years, benefit accrual rates have been increased and pension indexation has been lowered. - To improve the financial sustainability of public pensions, Ireland and Korea have raised contribution rates, Japan has increased its contribution ceiling and Czechia has reduced future benefit levels. - Beyond Chile and Mexico, Korea, the Slovak Republic and Switzerland have increased benefits from mandatory earnings-related pensions. - Taking into account all legislated measures, full-career average-wage workers starting their career at age 22 in 2024 will receive on average a net pension at $63\%$ of net wages. Future net replacement rates are below $40\%$ in Estonia, Ireland, Korea and Lithuania. The future net replacement rate of full-career workers earning half the average wage is higher at $76\%$ on average. # Coverage Ireland has introduced automatic enrolment in occupational pensions, while Lithuania abolished it. Japan, Korea and Mexico have expanded coverage to include one or more types of non-standard workers. - Korea expanded childcare credits for parents, which will significantly increase their pensions. # Population ageing will be fast over the next 25 years Population ageing is driven by changes in three factors: fertility, life expectancy and migration. This section briefly looks into past trends and future projections of each of these factors, and of the resulting old-age to working-age ratio. As the relative importance of these three factors in population ageing can differ across countries, the last part of this section provides a decomposition of changes in the old-age to working-age ratio over the past 10 years by driver of population ageing. # Declining fertility Total fertility rates (TFRs) halved on average across OECD countries since the 1960s. Increased educational attainment among women, improved access to effective contraceptive measures, a growing predominance of dual-earner households often grappling to reconcile work and family commitments, and increased economic, labour market and housing insecurities especially among younger people have all contributed to declining birth rates (OECD, 2024[1]). This trend may further have been spurred by changes in attitudes towards parenthood. Indeed, men and women increasingly find meaning outside of parenthood, while more intensive parenting norms emerged. More gender equality in households has exposed more fathers to the need to better balance time between work and family life. At the same time, family and care policies such as paid leave and formal early childhood education and care services have been strengthened to support families and help working parents balance work and family responsibilities. Low fertility challenges the financial sustainability of pay-as-you-go pension systems. A total fertility rate below the population replacement level of 2.1 children per woman results in each future generation being smaller than the previous one, and thus a higher old-age to working-age ratio. While a low fertility rate entails a higher pressure on working-age people, pension systems' parameters (retirement age, pension level and contribution rate) can be set in a financially sustainable way. Declining fertility requires regular reassessment of these parameters. Keeping a pension system financially sustainable in a context of low fertility is politically challenging in particular in the absence of automatic adjustment mechanisms; such an absence makes pension systems especially sensitive to the uncertainty around fertility-rate projections. Projections have systematically overestimated the total fertility rates, and have therefore underestimated the pace of population ageing. Invariably, projections have assumed that the decline in the total fertility rate would stop around the time the projections were published and start increasing again soon after, only for the next edition to reveal that the trend reversal did not happen – except for a brief period between 2005 and 2010 (Figure 1.1). Estimates of the total fertility rate in 2025 have been corrected downward with almost every new edition: while the 1994 edition still foresaw a total fertility rate of 2.01 in 2025 on average across OECD countries, by the 2024 edition the estimate had decreased to 1.46. The most recent projections still display a trend reversal around the time of the projection, but do not assume a substantial rebound in fertility levels. Projections in the 1990s assumed a quick return to the replacement level of 2.1 live births per woman by the end of the projection horizon in 2050, although editions since 2012 project a milder increase over the rest of the century. Under the 2024 projections, the average total fertility rate across OECD countries is projected to reach its lowest point in 2025, at 1.46, after which it would slightly increase. Evolution of the OECD-average total fertility rate in different projections, 1980-2070 Figure 1.1. Projections have systematically overestimated fertility Note: The lines refer to estimates and medium-variant projections for the 1994, 1996, 2002, 2006, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024 editions of the World Population Prospects. As data are only available for five-year periods before 2022, the data are smoothed over a five-year period to produce annual estimates. Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. World Population Prospects 1994-2024: http://population.un.org/wpp/. StatLink https://stat.link/s9jiy2 As much as possible, pension systems should be resilient to low fertility, which is a challenge for policymakers. The impact of the decline in fertility on the number of people contributing to the pension system can to some extent be mitigated by higher employment rates, in particular of women and older people (OECD, 2025[2]). Yet, given the uncertainty around the evolution of both fertility and employment rates in the future, it would be prudent to prepare for a low-fertility future (OECD, 2024[1]). For pension policy,