Just as the debate over pensions is emerging in some EU countries the Robert Schuman Foundation has published a table to understand the retirement systems in operation in the Member States of the EU.
Retirement Systems in the European Union
December 6th, 2024
| country | For a minimum rate pension | For a full pension | Pensions expenditures / GDP (% of GDP)(2) | Employment rate for people aged 55-64 (% of the population) (4) | Pension value/last salary (2020/2021) * (5) | Coverage ratio (% of population >65y) ** (6) | Legal retirement age man (2022) (7) | Legal retirement age man women (2022) (7) | Effective average exit age man (2021) (8) | Effective average exit age women (2021) (8) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 15(3) | / | 15 | 57.3 | 0.56 | 144.7 | 65 | 60.5 | 61.6 | 60.9 |
| Bulgaria | / | Men: 39.2 years Women: 36.2 years | 7.8 | 69.5 | 0.46 | 136.9 | 64 | 62 | / | / |
| Belgium | / | 45 | 12.6 | 57.8 | 0.48 | 133.9 | 65 | 60.5 | 61.1 | 61.3 |
| Cyprus | 15 | 40 | 8.8 | 67 | 0.42 | 113.8 | 65 | 65 | / | / |
| Croatia | 15 | 41 | 9.8 | 51.6 | 0.35 | 140.7 | 65 | 63 | / | / |
| Denmark | Min. 3 years of residence between 15 years and legal retirement age *** | 40 years of residence from theage ofage 15 *** | 11.8 | 74.2 | 0.47 | 113.8 | 65 | 65 | / | / |
| Spain | 15 | 37.5 | 13.9 | 59.5 | 0.77 | 103.6 | 65 (with min. 38 years ofcontribution | 65 (with min. 38 yearsof contribu-tion) | 61 | 60,4 |
| Estonia | 15 | / | 8.1 | 76 | 0.46 | 119.2 | 64.7 | 64.7 | 64.6 | 65.1 |
| Finland | Min. 3 years of residence sinceturning 16 *** | / | 13.4 | 71.7 | 0.52 | 124.3 | 64-65 | 64-65 | 63.7 | 63 |
| France | / | 41-43 | 14.9 | 58.4 | 0.59 | 141.2 | 62*** | 62*** | 60.7 | 62.2 |
| Greece | 15 | 40 | 16.4 | 54.1 | 0.78 | 103.4 | 62 if 40 years of contributions67 if 15years ofcontributions | 62 if 40 years of contributions67 if 15years ofcontributions | 63.2 | 59.7 |
| Hungary | 20 | 40 | 7 | 69.3 | 0.51 | 127.6 | 65 | 65 | 63.2 | 60.8 |
| Ireland | 10 | 40 | 4.5 | 67.7 | 0.39 | 137.8 | 66 | 66 | 66.3 | 64.9 |
| Italy | 20 | Men: 42.8 years Women: 41.8 years | 16.3 | 57.3 | 0.75 | 104.5 | 67 | 67 | 63 | 62 |
| Latvia | 15 | 51 | 7.9 | 70.9 | 0.50 | 137.8 | 64.7 | 64.7 | 61.7 | 63.2 |
| Lithuania | 15 | 35 | 7.1 | 69.1 | 0.36 | 165.8 | 64.6 | 64.3 | 63.4 | 63.8 |
| Luxembourg | 20 | 40 | 9.6 | 46.3 | 0.97 (2022) | 234.8 | 65 | 65 | 60.5 | 58.4 |
| Malta | 10 | 40 | 6.4 | 55.9 | 0.53 (2022) | 99.1 | 64-65 | 64-65 | / | / |
| Netherlands | / | 50 | 12.1 | 75 | 0.53 | 114.3 | 67 | 67 | 65 | 63.9 |
| Poland | Men: 25 Women: 20 | / | 10.8 | 58.1 | 0.57 | 132.7 | 65 | 60 | 64.2 | 61.2 |
| Portugal | 15 | 40 | 14.2 | 66.4 | 0.61 | 112.5 | 66.3 | 66.3 | 66.6 | 64.6 |
| Czech Republic | / | 35 | 8.9 | 74 | 0.52 | 129.9 | 64.2 | 60.6 – 64.2 | 64 | 62.2 |
| Roumania | 15 | Men : 35 years Women : 31 years | 8.8 | 51 | 0.48 | 133.8 | 65 | 62.2 | / | / |
| Slovakia | 15 | 30 | 8.5 | 66.6 | 0.62 | 144.8 | 64 | 63-64 | 61.9 | 59.7 |
| Slovenia | 15 | 40 | 10 | 54.2 | 0.44 | 140 | 65 | 65 | 61.9 | 59.7 |
| Sweden | / | Min. 40 years of residence between 16 and 64 years old *** | 10.6 | 78 | 0.59 | 126.6 | 63-65 | 63-65 | 65.5 | 64.5 |
| Germany | 5 | 45 | 12.2 | 74.6 | 0.49 | 124.4 | 65,8 | 65,8 | 63.7 | 63.4 |
Data collated and processed by the Robert Schuman Foundation, © FRS
Sources (consulted on December 6th, 2024) :
(1) European and international social welfare liaison center, https://www.cleiss.fr/docs/regimes/index.html
(2) Insee (2021),Pension spending in the European Union, https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2417714
(3) European Commission, Austria - Retirement pensions, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1101&langId=fr&intPageId=4407
(4) Eurostat, Employment rate by age - % of total population (2023), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tesem050/default/table?lang=fr
(5) Data Europa, Aggregate replacement ratio (2024), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_pnp3/default/table?lang=fr
(6) European Commission, Coverage ratio (% of population >65y), The 2024 Ageing Report: Economic and Budgetary Projections for the EU Member States (2022-2070), https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/2024-ageing-report-economic-and-budgetary-projections-eu-member-states-2022-2070_en
(7) European and International Social Welfare Liaison Centre, Legal retirement ages in European countries (2024), https://www.cleiss.fr/docs/ages_retraite.html
(8) OCDE, Pensions at a Glance 2023 - Ages & years,https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/678055dd-en.pdf expires=1733218871&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=A90825307CCF1520242E0A0D22C65A58
*The aggregate replacement ratio is the individual income
median gross retirement of the population aged 65 to 74 in relation to income
median individual gross work of the population aged 50 to 59, excluding
other social benefits.
**The coverage rate represents the number of retirees compared to the number of
people aged over 65. It therefore gives an idea of the extent to which
a country provides retirement benefits to people under the age of 65.
Therefore, reforms that eliminate or tighten access to early retirement,
increase the legal retirement age or, more generally, attempt to increase the age
effective exit from working life (for example, through a bonus-malus system), reduce
the coverage rate.
*** Pension systems operating on the number of years of residence.
**** From September 1, 2023, this age will be gradually increased, at the rate of three
months per generation from insured persons born September 1, 1961.