Denmark passed legislation in May 2025 to raise its retirement age to 70 by 2040, making it the highest in Europe. The age will increase gradually from 67 to 68 in 2030, to 69 in 2035, and finally to 70 for those born in 1971 or later. Japan also approved measures in 2021 urging companies to allow employees to work until 70.
Denmark will soon be tied with Libya as having the highest official retirement age, at 70 years old. Other countries with high retirement ages include Australia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States.
Because of the huge discrepancy in life expectancy, commentators have proposed increasing the full retirement age only for those who could work longer. That is, only the top 20 percent of each cohort would work until 70, and the increase would be scaled so that low earners would retain the current retirement age of 67.
Denmark just raised the retirement age to 70. Should Australia take notes? Denmark is set to have the highest retirement age among Western nations – 70 by 2040. It's a clear-eyed response to rising life expectancy and budget pressures, linking pension eligibility to how long people are living.
The full retirement age is set to increase again by two months, to 66 years and 10 months old, for people born in 1959. That means the higher FRA for that cohort will go into effect in 2025, with people born in 1959 starting to qualify for their full benefits in November 2025.
Discussions about raising the pension age to 70 are ongoing in the US and UK, with proposals from US policymakers to increase the Social Security full retirement age (FRA) and reviews in the UK considering linking state pension age to life expectancy, as seen in countries like Denmark, though no immediate, universal change to 70 is enacted, but it's a frequent reform idea for fiscal sustainability. Proposals often suggest gradually raising the FRA to 70 for future generations to address shortfalls, but this faces opposition due to potential deep cuts for low-income workers, who see less life expectancy gain, leading to debates over fairness and impact, notes the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Brookings Institution.
Roughly 7% to 9% of American households have $500,000 or more in retirement savings, though figures vary slightly by source, with data from late 2025 suggesting around 7.2% and older 2022 data indicating about 9%, showing it's a significant milestone achieved by less than one in ten families, despite higher averages driven by wealthy individuals.
As of 2017, as reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), only three European member states (UK, Denmark and Poland) and four OECD countries (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States) had laws banning mandatory retirement.
Libya has the highest official retirement age at 70 years old.
Summary. Denmark is a popular place to retire due to its sustainable lifestyle and high standards of living and safety. The average cost of living in Denmark is 9.8% higher than in the US, and the tax rate on retirement pensions is 15.3%. Denmark is ranked as the tenth-best destination for Americans to retire abroad.
How much pension can I collect? People who stop working because of their age are called retirees or “Rentner*innen.” When people are older, they no longer have to go to work; instead, they receive a monthly pension. These individuals are called "pensioners." The current retirement age in Germany is 67.
According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, just 1.8% of U.S. households have $2 million or more saved in retirement accounts. That's based on the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, conducted by the Federal Reserve.
Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru deliver some of the lowest costs of living and most accessible pension visas in Latin America, where a typical $2,000 monthly Social Security check can comfortably cover housing, healthcare, and everyday expenses.
Albania: 1-Year Visa Free Stay
The country offers one of the longest tourist visas for US citizens, making it a good option if you're looking for a temporary move or extended vacation. Length of stay: US citizens do NOT need a visa to enter Albania. You can generally stay for up to 1 year without a residence permit.
You may inherit part of or all of your partner's extra State Pension or lump sum if: they died while they were deferring their State Pension (before claiming) or they had started claiming it after deferring. they reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. you were married or in the civil partnership when they died.
Here is when the new FRA takes effect, by birth year: If you were born in 1960 or later, your FRA is age 67 and will be reached starting in November 2026 and after. If you were born in 1959, your FRA is age 66 and 10 months and was reached in November 2025 and after.
From 20 September 2025, the full pension is available, under the assets test, for homeowner singles whose assessable assets are under $321,500 – for homeowner couples the number is $481,500. The numbers for non-homeowners are $579,500 and $739,500 respectively.