Four in 10 Japanese adults say they intend to continue working into their 70s, as growing financial anxiety about retirement drives more people to extend their working lives.
A mail survey of 1,518 adults aged 18 and older conducted between October and December last year found that 42% planned to work past age 70, according to Nikkei. This marks the first time the figure has exceeded 40% since the survey began in 2018.
Among respondents, 23% said they would work until ages 70-74, while 19% said they would continue working past 75. The survey asked respondents to enter the specific age until which they planned to work. The average desired working age was 68.3 years, exceeding Japan's mandatory employment age of 65.
Older Workers More Willing to Extend Careers
The most common response was working until ages 65-69, at 27%. Notably, older respondents showed a stronger tendency to want to work longer.
Among those in their 60s, 58% expressed willingness to work past 70, with 20% planning to continue past 75.
Younger generations preferred earlier retirement. Those in their 20s averaged 63.4 years, 30-somethings averaged 64.8 years, and those in their 40s and 50s averaged 67.2 years.
Japan revised its Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons in 2012, requiring companies to guarantee employment until 65 for workers who request it. In 2021, legislation was enacted requiring companies to make efforts to extend employment opportunities to age 70.
Retirement anxiety remains widespread. When asked whether they felt anxious about retirement, 75% of respondents said yes.
However, only 4% reported receiving retraining or education to prepare for post-retirement employment, Nikkei reported.
South Korea Shows Similar Trend
The desire to work later in life extends beyond Japan. Analysis of the National Pension Research Institute's 2024 supplementary survey found that two-thirds of South Koreans aged 50 and older support extending the retirement age.
The survey showed 66.0% favored extending the retirement age, while 34.0% opposed it. Support was nearly equal between men (66.2%) and women (65.9%). By age group, support was highest among already-retired seniors: 69.9% of those aged 65-69, 70.4% of those 70-74, and 68.4% of those 75-79.
Supporters of retirement age extension hoped for an average retirement age of 66.3 years, exceeding the pension eligibility age of 65 for those born after 1969. Those aged 70-74 expressed the highest desired retirement age at 66.9 years.
Non-employed respondents showed higher support (67.7%) than employed respondents (64.8%).
Meanwhile, 80.6% of those aged 65 and older said they had heard of senior employment programs. However, 52.0% said they knew little about them despite having heard of such programs.
