Pensions at a Glance 2025

Mandatory pension contributions

Key Results

Total mandatory effective pension contribution rates for an average earner averaged 18.8% in 2024 among OECD countries. The highest levels are found in Italy (33.0%), Czechia (31.3%), France (27.8%) and Greece (26.0%). The lowest levels are in Canada, Korea, Lithuania and Mexico all under 10%, on top of New Zealand that does not have any mandatory contributory scheme.

This indicator looks at the contribution side, mapping out how much workers contributed towards their pension in 2024. The contribution rates presented are where possible only referring to pension systems, but this information is not always available. In some countries it is not possible to disaggregate the contributions made towards pension and disability or invalidity benefits. In a few other countries, only the overall total contribution towards social security can be used.

Table 8 1 presents pension contributions for mandatory schemes, either public or private. There are 13 countries – Austria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Türkiye – where contributions also finance disability or invalidity benefits. In addition, in Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, it is difficult to separate the pension contributions from the other parts of social insurance such as disability benefits, sickness, unemployment, etc. Overall, the average effective contribution rate equalled 18.8% at the average‑wage level in 2024. The highest total mandatory contribution rate is found in Italy at 33.0%. Czechia, France, and Greece also have high effective contribution rates, around 26‑31%. New Zealand is marked as zero as there is no mandatory pension contributory pension scheme.

By contrast the mandatory contribution rate is only 8.456% in Mexico, 8.72% in Lithuania and 9.0% in Korea. After recent reforms the contribution rates in Korea and Mexico are being gradually increased to 15.0% by 2033 and 13.0% by 2030, respectively.

Several countries have contribution rates that vary depending on the age of the person contributing. Other countries have different contribution rates above and below earnings thresholds. Switzerland has both. For example, in Finland employee contribution rates to the public scheme are 8.65% between age 53 and 62 and 7.15% otherwise. In France, the contribution rates for the points-based occupational scheme are different above and below the ceiling that applies to the defined benefit component. In other countries there is a ceiling to the contribution rate below the average earnings level thereby leading to a lower effective rate. For example, in Canada contributions are only made on earnings up to 78% of the average wage thereby reducing the contribution rate from 11.9% on eligible earnings to an effective rate of 9.2% for an average earner.

The average effective contribution rate to the public schemes is 16.0% compared to 2.8% for private schemes, for the OECD at the average wage, which makes a total of 18.8%. Within the public scheme, employees’ contributions are over two‑thirds of those of employers. In Slovenia, the split is almost reverse, as employees pay 15.5% compared to 8.85% for employers. In Australia and Estonia, all mandatory contributions are paid by employers, while in Lithuania employees pay total contributions.

Countries with higher pension contribution rates often have above average pension benefits (as in the case of France, Italy and Spain). The choice of the contribution level should be the result of trading off lower net wages against higher future pensions. However, in addition higher mandatory contribution rates might hurt the competitiveness of the economy, and lower total employment while potentially increasing informality.

The contribution rates for the non-OECD G20 countries are above 20% in all but Indonesia and South Africa, though the latter does not actually have a mandatory earnings-related pension system. In Indonesia the contribution rate is only 8.7% split between the DB and FDC schemes.

Further reading

OECD (2021), Taxing Wages 2021, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/83a87978‑en.

Table 8.1. Mandatory contribution rates in 2024

Contributions to mandatory and quasi-mandatory pension schemes for private‑sector workers

	Nominal rate					Ceiling (multiple of gross average earnings), public / private	Effective rate on average earnings
	Employee, public	Employer, public	Employee, private	Employer, private	Total
Australia			0.0	11.5	11.5	2.51	11.5
Austria*	10.25	12.55			22.8	1.38	22.8
Belgium**	7.50	8.86			16.4	1.28	16.4
Canada*	5.95	5.95			11.9	0.78	9.2
Chile			11.1	1.5	12.6	2.76	12.6
Colombia	4.0	12.0			16.0	12.90	16.0
Costa Rica	4.17	5.42	1.0	3.25	13.84	None	13.84
Czechia*	6.5	24.8			31.3	3.84	31.3
Denmark*			4.0	8.0	12.0	None	12.7
Estonia	0.0	20.0			20.0	None	20.0
Finland*	7.47 [a]	17.34			24.81 [a]	None	24.81 [a]
France	11.3 [w]	16.5 [w]			27.8 [w]	1.03 / 8.25	27.8
Germany*	9.3	9.3			18.6	1.43	18.6
Greece*	9.67	16.33			26.0	4.10	26.0
Hungary	10.0	11.6			21.6	None	21.6
Iceland*	0.0	6.25	4.0	11.5	21.8	None	21.8
Ireland**	4.0	10.05			14.1	None	14.1
Israel	7.0 [w]	7.6 [w]	6.0	6.5	27.1 [w]	2.99 / 0.76	19.3
Italy*	9.19	23.81			33.0	3.36	33.0
Japan	9.15	9.15			18.3	2.27	18.3
Korea	4.5	4.5			9.0	1.35	9.0
Latvia	10.0	10.0			20.0	3.87	20.0
Lithuania*	8.72	0.0			8.72	4.43	8.72
Luxembourg*	8.0	8.0			16.0	2.08	16.0
Mexico			1.125	7.331 [w]	8.456 [w]	4.95	8.456
Netherlands	18.0	0.0	6.2	12.4	36.6	0.58 / 2.09	22.0
New Zealand					0.0		0.0
Norway**	7.8	13.0	0.0	2.0	22.8	None / 1.92	22.8
Poland	9.76	9.76			19.52	2.43	19.52
Portugal	7.2	15.5			22.7	None	22.7
Slovak Republic	4.0	18.75			22.8	10.31	22.8
Slovenia*	15.5	8.85			24.35	2.08	24.35
Spain**	4.7	23.6			28.3	1.79	28.3
Sweden	7.0	10.81	0.0	4.5 [w]	22.31 [w]	1.06 / none	22.3
Switzerland	4.35	4.35	6.25 [a,w]	6.25 [a,w]	21.2 [a,w]	None / 0.89	16.6 [a]
Türkiye*	9.0	11.0			20.0	3.17	20.0
United Kingdom**	8.0 [w]	13.8 [w]	5.0	3.0	29.8 [w]	None / 0.98	26.6
United States	5.3	5.3			10.6	2.39	10.6
OECD at average wage	6.2	9.8	1.0	1.8			18.8
Argentina	11.0	16.0			27.0	2.02	27.0
Brazil**	7.5 [w]	20.0			27.5 [w]	2.28	28.9
China	8.0	16.0			24.0	3.00	24.0
India*	12.0	12.0			24.0	1.42	24.0
Indonesia	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.7	8.7	2.87 / none	8.7
Saudi Arabia	11.0	11.0			22.0	4.40	22.0
South Africa					0.0		0.0

Note: *Contribution rate also finances disability or invalidity benefits. **The indicated rates cover different social security schemes across countries. OECD averages are for earners at the average wage and do not represent the average of the nominal rate columns. [a] and [w]: rate varies by age and earnings level respectively. See Statlink for more country specific details.

Source: Country profiles and OECD Taxing Wages 2025.

Statlink