Pensions at a Glance 2021

Chapter 6. Demographic and economic context

Abstract

Population ageing has been one of the main driving forces behind changes in pension policies. Ageing is the result of demographic trends in fertility and life expectancy. The first indicator looks into the number of births per woman and its development over the last 50 years. Changes in life expectancy – at birth and at age 65 – are shown as the second indicator. The third looks into the degree of ageing measured as the level of and change in the number of people aged 65 and above relative to the number of people of working age (20‑64). The fourth indicator looks at the employment rates of older workers. The fifth indicator presents calculations for the age at which people leave the labour market – the “Effective age of labour market exit”, with the last indicator measuring the expected life years from this age by combining life expectancy with the previous indicator.

Fertility

Life expectancy

Demographic old-age to working-age ratio

Employment rates of older workers and gender gaps

Changes in employment rates of older workers

Effective age of labour market exit

Expected life years after labour market exit

Further reading

[2] D’Addio, A. and M. d’Ercole (2005), “Trends and Determinants of Fertility Rates: The Role of Policies”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 27, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/880242325663.

[7] OECD (2021), OECD Employment Outlook 2021, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a700c4b-en.

[1] OECD (2021), Towards Improved Retirement Savings Outcomes for Women, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/f7b48808-en.

[5] OECD (n.d.), “Ageing and Employment Policies”, Working Better with Age reports on Denmark, France, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Switzerland and the United States, https://doi.org/10.1787/19901011.

[6] Sonnet, A., H. Olsen and T. Manfredi (2014), “Towards More Inclusive Ageing and Employment Policies: The Lessons from France, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland”, De Economist, Vol. 162/4, pp. 315-339, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10645-014-9240-x.

[4] Whitehouse, E. (2007), “Life-Expectancy Risk and Pensions: Who Bears the Burden?”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 60, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/060025254440.

[3] Whitehouse, E. and A. Zaidi (2008), “Socio-Economic Differences in Mortality: Implications for Pensions Policy”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 71, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/231747416062.