Aging populations and declining fertility rates are posing significant challenges to countries around the world, with policymakers across the globe raising their mandatory retirement ages to balance the social issue.
China announced on Friday that it is introducing a gradual raising of its retirement age from 60 to 63 for men, and from 55 to 58 for women. That's still lower than many other countries like the United States and Spain, which are edging towards 67.
In Madrid, Don Alejandro Diaz is enjoying his retired life with friends by playing Petanque, a type of bowling game loved in Spain.
"My name is Alejandro, I retired back in 2013. This year is 2024, so I've been retired for 11 years. And I started working when I was just 16 so I was working for over 40 years. I would recommend everyone to retire when the time comes. Work, save your money and then retire, have fun and enjoy life, you've earned it," said Diaz.
The world at large is battling a similar problem as people are living longer but having fewer children. Spain is one of the countries in Southern Europe with the oldest population in the world, with more than 21 percent of people over 65, according to Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit statistics collection organization.
In 2023, Spain registered 322,075 births, the lowest figure since the beginning of the historical series in 1941.
According to the World Health Organization, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over by 2030.
The population problem has forced the Spanish government to gradually increase the retirement age to 67 by 2027.
Globally, experts said future planning is key to managing this issue.
"Well, the good thing of demographics is that it's a process that can be forecast. So, we can have fair certainty about what will be the trends for the next not only five to 10 years, but, 20 to 50 years almost," said Martin Gonzalez Eiras, an associate professor from University of Bologna.
And governments are resetting their policies to make sure pensions will be paid far into the future.
For Alejandro Diaz, these extra working years should be used wisely.
"I think those additional working years added should serve more as mentoring years to teach new young employees, passing on their knowledge and experience," said Diaz.
Aging populations, declining fertility rates pose challenges to countries around world
