Employment rates fall with age in all OECD countries, often sharply. For individuals aged 55 to 59, the average employment rate across all OECD countries was 75.7% in 2024, 56.5% for the 60‑64 age group and 26.4% for those aged 65‑69. Employment rates for men are higher than for women among older workers in all but four OECD countries, Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania: the gender difference averages 13 percentage points across all countries. This contributes to gender gaps in pensions ranging from 6% in Estonia to 47% in Japan, with an OECD average of 23%, with men receiving higher levels in all countries.
Pensions at a Glance 2025
OECD and G20 Indicators
With people living longer than ever, many will want or need to work longer as retirement ages increase. In the OECD over the past two decades, population ageing, increasing statutory retirement ages and rising education levels have led to higher employment rates among workers aged 55 and above. However, progress across countries remains uneven and employment rates still decline from age of 50, and even more rapidly after age 60.
Across the OECD, the employment rate averages 75.7% for those aged 55 to 59, 56.5% for those aged 60 to 64, but only 26.4% for those aged 65 to 69. Amongst those aged 60 to 64 the employment rate is over 70% in Iceland, Japan and New Zealand. However, it is 36% or below in Austria, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Türkiye, all countries with low normal retirement ages. The employment rate is also lower than 45% in Belgium, Costa Rica, France and Poland.
The employment rates fall sharply, by over 40 percentage points, i.e. twice the OECD average, in Austria, Luxembourg and Slovenia when comparing those aged 55 to 59 and those aged 60 to 64. By contrast the fall is by fewer than 10 percentage points in Iceland, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand and Norway.
All OECD countries in the Americas, with the slight exception of Costa Rica, have higher than average employment rates for the 65 to 69 age group but they are all, including Costa Rica, below the OECD average for the two younger age groups apart from those aged 60‑64 in Chile and the United States. In Australia, Israel, Japan, Korea and New Zealand the employment rates are above the OECD for each age group, apart from the 55‑59 age group in Australia being slightly below the average. By contrast, the employment rates are below the OECD average for all age groups considered in Belgium, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Türkiye.
Employment rates for women are lower than that for men in all countries for the 25 to 54 age group. Only the three Baltic countries and Finland reverse this pattern for the older 55 to 64 age group (Figure 6.8). For older workers (55‑64) the OECD average gender gap is 13 percentage points, slightly higher than for the prime age group at 10 percentage points. The largest gender gaps among older workers are found in the four Latin American countries in the OECD and Türkiye, where the gaps are above 30 percentage points.
High employment differences between men and women over time lead to large differences in pension entitlements, especially as employment gender gaps have historically been even wider. Gender differences in hourly wages and hours worked are also significant (Chapter 2). Across the 34 OECD countries where data are available pension payments for women are 23% lower than those for men (Figure 6.9). The level is about 35% or larger in Austria, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and is highest in Japan at 47%. By contrast the gap is below 10% in Czechia, Estonia, Iceland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
Definition and measurement
Employment rates are calculated as the ratio of the employed to the total population in the respective age group. Employed people are those (aged 15 or over) who report that they have worked in gainful employment for at least one hour in the previous week or who had a job but were absent from work during the reference week. The gender pension gap is the difference between the average pension income of men and women expressed as a percentage of men’s average pension. It is calculated for pension beneficiaries aged 65+ to enable comparability across countries.
Further reading
OECD (2025), Pensions at a Glance, OECD Publishing, Paris.
OECD (2025), OECD Employment Outlook 2025: Can We Get Through the Demographic Crunch?, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/194a947b-en.
OECD (2023), Joining Forces for Gender Equality: What is Holding us Back?, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/67d48024‑en.
OECD (2021), Towards Improved Retirement Savings Outcomes for Women, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f7b48808-en.
Note: Data for Argentina and Indonesia refer to year 2023 and 2019 respectively.
Source: OECD database Labour Market Statistics by sex and age: employment-population ratio.
Percentage‑point difference (male – female)
Note: Data for Argentina and Indonesia refer to 2023 and 2019 respectively. Value for Türkiye is 40.6 for 25‑54. For India it is 44.8 and 50.7 for 55‑64 and 25‑54.
Source: OECD database Labour Market Statistics by sex and age: employment-population ratio.
Difference between the average pension of men and women relative to the average pension of men in percent
Note: See Figure 2.1.
Source: See Figure 2.1.