Poland belongs to the group of countries with the lowest retirement age for women and one of the lowest thresholds for men among all European Union countries. While most OECD countries are gradually raising retirement limits, in Poland the model of 60 years for women and 65 years for men has been in force since 2017.
Although the 2013 reform assumed a gradual increase in the retirement age until it reached 67, it was withdrawn in 2017. This shows how politically controversial this topic is.
Leaders in long work and gender equality
Equal retirement ages for women and men are now standard in most European Union countries. It is used, among others, by: Germany, which is gradually reaching the age of 67, and Spain, where the retirement age is raised to 67 in 2027, with earlier transition possible after meeting the condition of long contribution history. Norway and Iceland keep the formal retirement age at 67 for everyone.
To ensure that systems remain solvent in the face of an aging population, many countries have introduced mechanisms that allow them to continually adapt to demographic changes.
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Three ways to raise the retirement age
Linking the retirement age with life expectancy is not the same everywhere. Countries that have chosen this solution use different models – from rigid algorithms to more flexible adjustments.
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Denmark – automatic indexing based on algorithm
In Denmark, the retirement age is regularly updated based on life expectancy data published by the statistical office. Every few years the government reviews demographic projections, and if life expectancy has increased, the retirement age automatically increases. Changes are announced well in advance – usually several years in advance – to give citizens time to adjust their career plans. As a result, Denmark plans to increase the retirement age to 68 in 2030 and 69 in 2035, but in 2025 the parliament passed a law raising the state retirement age to 70 from 2040
Netherlands – partial correction In the Netherlands, retirement age is linked to life expectancy, but this mechanism operates in a relaxed way. The increase in life expectancy only partially translates into raising the retirement age, and the pace of change can be adjusted by political decisions. This allows the system to respond to demographic changes while remaining more socially predictable.
Sweden – flexible ranges instead of one border
The Swedish model has a minimum age at which you can retire (currently 63) and an upper limit (69) after which the right to work without restrictions expires. As life lengthens, the lower limit of this range is gradually raised. The system encourages longer working lives through higher benefits, but leaves citizens more flexible in their decisions.
Why do countries decide on such solutions? This approach has one fundamental goal: to reduce the risk of destabilization of the pension system in the conditions of aging societies.
Interestingly, in 2023 France adopted a reform raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, but in 2025 the implementation of these changes was suspended (as part of work on the social security budget), in practice until January 2028. The issue of further raising the retirement age remains the subject of social disputes and political debates there.
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Countries in the process of equalizing the retirement age
The second group are countries that have historically maintained a lower retirement age for women, but have already adopted a schedule for its gradual increase. These include, among others: Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Lithuania.
In these countries, a political decision has already been made: the differences between women and men are to disappear in the next dozen or so years.
Different retirement ages affect not only the stability of the system, but also the amount of benefits and the length of their collection, which affects women and men in different ways. Poland belongs to a small group of EU countries where women can retire at the age of 60 and does not have an adopted path for raising this age.
Legal age is not everything. When Europeans really leave the labor market
Comparisons of the statutory retirement age do not provide a complete picture of how long Europeans actually remain in the labor force. Eurostat data shows that the average retirement age in the EU was 61.3 years (2023)even though the formal thresholds in many countries reach the age of 65–67.
However, the differences between countries are clear. Residents of the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, the Netherlands and Switzerland work the longest, where professional activity often lasts until about 65 years of age. At the other extreme there are, among others: Greece, Croatia and Slovakia, where exit from the labor market occurs much earlier, closer to the age of 60.
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Differences can also be seen in how often people they continue to work after they start receiving their pension. This is also confirmed by Eurostat data on people who they continue to work after they start receiving their pension. In 2023, it was on average 13%. retirees aged 50-74, with the highest percentages recorded in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and the lowest in some Southern and Eastern European countries.
Percentage of people working after retirement
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Eurostat
OECD experts in the report “Working Better with Age” indicate that longer professional activity is supported by solutions such as the possibility of combining retirement with work, financial bonuses for later retirement and the lack of institutional barriers after reaching retirement age. These mechanisms function, among others: in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway – countries that are among the European leaders in terms of the actual age of exit from the labor market.
The debate in Europe has shifted from the question “should we raise the retirement age?” to the question “how to do it wisely?”. Although the topic raises great emotions in Poland, it cannot be avoided indefinitely.
Demographic and financial forecasts are clear: with a falling replacement rate, living solely on a state pension will be impossible for many people. This means that regardless of whether politicians dare to change the law, economic reality will still force us to work longer.
