Increase in effective retirement age levelled out

In 2008 the average effective retirement age was 59.4 years. The change was small: the decrease from the previous year was 0.1 years.

The effective retirement age has increased over the current decade. From 2000 to 2008 the effective retirement age has increased by a good six months. The current drop can mainly be explained by the fact that persons who have already reached the lower age limit for the old-age pension, especially 63 and 64-year-olds, have retired to a larger extent than before.

In 2008 the average effective retirement age for persons who have reached the age of 50 was 61.4 years. This figure does not include persons who have retired before the age of 50, who mainly draw a disability pension.

In the public sector the effective retirement age has continued to increase steadily.

The slight changes in effective retirement age cannot be observed in the employment rate of ageing persons, which continued to increase in 2008. Over the 2000s the employment rate for persons aged 55-64 has increased by 14 percentage points. An especially rapid increase can be observed for over 60-year-olds.

The baby-boomers are nearing retirement age. The first baby-boomer age group reached the lower age limit of 63 years for the old-age pension last year. Therefore the number of new retirees increased clearly from the previous year.