Netherlands' average retirement age tops 66 for first time

Last year, almost 94,000 employees in the Netherlands retired. The average age at which this happened was 66 years and 1 month. That is over two months later than in 2023 and the first time that the average retirement topped 66 years, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported.

Last year, 77 percent of employees were 65 years or older when they retired. The state pension age increased to 67 years in 2024, and 40 percent of retiring employees were that age. In 2023, only 6 percent of retiring employees were 67 years old.

The number of employees retiring before 65 has decreased significantly in recent decades, mainly thanks to most early retirement schemes being abolished after 2006. In 2014, 47 percent of retiring employees were 65 years old or older. In 2004, that was only 12 percent. In 2004, almost three-quarters of employees retired before the age of 62. In 2024, this was less than 5 percent. The average retirement age of employees last year was more than 5 years higher than in 2004.

Employees in public administration retired the earliest in 2024, with an average age of 65.3 years. Healthcare (65.7 years), construction (65.9), and education (65.9) workers followed. The sector with the highest average retirement age was other services at 68.1 years, followed by the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector (67.1 years), and other business services (67 years).