A third (29%) of European employees are unhappy with government policy to raise the retirement age in their country, says new research from Aon Consulting.
The Aon Consulting European Employee Benefits Benchmark surveyed 7,279 employees across Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
The research revealed that 24% of Irish workers said they never expected to retire at 65 and expected to be working longer than their parents, which was the same view held by 44% of British and Danish workers, as well as 41% of Dutch respondents.
Over a quarter (26%) of Europeans said that they will take responsibility for their own financial situation by purchasing financial tools such as an annuity.
Oliver Rowlands, head of retirement, EMEA, at Aon Consulting, said: “The turbulent economic environment of the past few years has really forced people and governments to take stock, look at their and their nation’s retirement plans and evaluate whether they will be ready for an ageing population.
“In the UK, for example, the massive fluctuations in equity markets mean that workers with defined contribution (DC) pension arrangements are still not back to the same levels of savings before the financial crisis began.
“Europeans are living longer and more productive lives than previous generations, so it is no longer a given that people should retire in their early sixties. Health and wellness initiatives such as employee assistance lines, flexible benefits, occupational health initiatives and flexible working days, are all ways of helping to ensure the health and welfare of an ageing [workforce].”
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), more than 25% of the population of OECD countries will be 65 years or older by 2050.
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