Taiwan’s average retirement age for men and women is on the rise but remains below those in most members from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Men and women left the full-time workforce in Taiwan at age 62.3 and 59.7, respectively, according to the latest five-year survey recently released by the Ministry of Labor. This is up from 61.9 and 59.3 in the 2006-2011 study.
“Although the compulsory retirement was extended from 60 to 65 in 2008, the actual age continues to hover around 60,” an MOL official said.
Based on OECD statistics compiled between 2007 and 2012, Taiwan workers tend to exit the job market earlier than their counterparts in most OECD members.
Mexico, South Korea and Chile males average the oldest retirement ages at 72.3, 71.1 and 69.4, respectively, while Chile, South Korea and Mexico top the female list at 70.4, 69.8 and 68.7.
At the other end of the spectrum, Luxembourg males at 57.6 and Belgian females at 58.7 averaged the youngest retirement ages.
With life expectancy averaging 76 years for males and 83 for females, retirement planning is becoming a hot topic in Taiwan.
In a lifestyle survey released earlier this month by a local asset management firm, traveling, volunteering and grandparenting are top on the to-do list for Taiwan’s working class in their golden years.
Over 76 percent of the 1,069 respondents aged 20 and above said they will spend time traveling, while 50.6 percent and 31.4 percent plan on dedicating themselves to volunteer work and caring for their grandchildren.
The same survey found 27 percent expect to work for 26-30 years before retirement, followed by 40-plus years at 19 percent. (SFC-JSM)
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