On average across 18 mostly middle-income countries surveyed, the ideal age for retirement is 57.9. Nigerians suggest the oldest ideal age for retirement (62.7, on average). Respondents in Ghana and Kenya also suggest a relatively high age (60.6 in each).
Colombians give the youngest ideal age, saying 52.1 is the best age to retire. The ideal age is similarly low in Turkey (52.7).
By comparison, the real retirement age – defined here as the age people become eligible for age-related pensions – varies widely across countries. And in most nations surveyed, people say the best age to retire is younger than the age they are first eligible to receive these benefits.
For example, Mexico has one of the highest retirement ages of the countries surveyed: 65 years old. But Mexican adults say the best age for retirement is more than eight years earlier, placing it at 56.6.
There are also countries where the ideal retirement age is older than the actual threshold for receiving benefits. Nigerians, for instance, suggest the oldest ideal age for retirement in the survey, though eligibility for benefits starts at age 50 in Nigeria. People in Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Thailand also say it is best to retire after the age of eligibility.
Refer to Appendix A for actual ages of eligibility for retirement benefits in each country.
The ideal retirement age also varies within countries. For example, though 31% of Turks say the best age to retire is between 50 and 54, a similar share think it’s between 55 and 59. Roughly one-in-five say it’s best to retire before 50, while 14% say the best age is between 60 and 64.
The preferred retirement age similarly varies in Nigeria, where the best age to retire is placed at 62.7. While about a third say the ideal age is between 60 and 64 (36%), substantial shares think it’s best to retire between 65 and 69 (21%) and at 70 or older (22%).
Views in Thailand are more uniform. A 59% majority say the best age to retire falls between 60 and 64, and roughly equal shares prefer older or younger age ranges.
Views by age and gender
In 11 of 18 countries, adults ages 50 and older prefer an older age for retirement than younger adults (those under 35) do.
Views of the ideal retirement age also vary between men and women in some countries. In seven – Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Mexico and Tunisia – men suggest a higher age than women. The opposite is true in India, Kenya, the Philippines and South Africa, where women suggest a higher age than men.
Notably, responses do not vary by education or income level in most countries surveyed.
