Japan Data

Many People Over 60 in Japan Want to Keep Working

Society Lifestyle

A survey by Japan’s Cabinet Office found that the country’s citizens aged 60 and over were more likely to be concerned about their living expenses than peers in the United States, Germany, and Sweden.
  • English
  • 日本語
  • 简体字
  • 繁體字
  • Français
  • Español
  • العربية
  • Русский

Difficulties with Living Expenses

On June 12, the Cabinet Office released its 2025 Comprehensive Survey on Measures for an Aging Society, which compares the lives and attitudes of older people in Japan to other countries. The survey focused on people aged 60 and over in Japan, the United States, Germany, and Sweden.

Do you want to keep working?

When asked about their willingness to work in the future, 46.1% of people in Japan aged 60 and over said they wanted to continue working in a job that provides income, the highest percentage among the four countries surveyed. In all four countries, around 60%–70% of respondents identified public pensions as their main source of income. However, Japan had the highest share of people whose main source of income was earnings from work, at 27.3%, exceeding Germany, which was second at 19.3%. Among the four countries, Japan also had the lowest proportion of respondents who said that they were not having difficulties with their daily living expenses, at 26.2%. The findings suggest that many older people in Japan want to continue working because they feel that public pensions alone are insufficient.

Need for More Savings

How adequate are your current savings and assets as preparation for retirement?

Another survey question asked whether respondents felt their current savings and assets were adequate for retirement. Nearly 60% of those in Japan expressed concern, describing their savings as “somewhat” or “completely” inadequate. Another characteristic about the respondents from Japan was that only 1.0% of them said they were adequately provided for by the social security system, the lowest proportion among the four countries surveyed.

Retirement Preparations Before 50

When asked what they had done before 50 to prepare for retirement, the respondents in the other three countries reported a variety of measures, such as private pension plans, mutual funds, and real-estate investments. In contrast, Japanese respondents were relatively less likely to mention anything other than bank savings. This may suggest that the economic anxiety many Japanese feel about retirement is related, in part, to retirement planning that over-emphasizes such savings, rather than choosing a more diversified range of investments.

Data Sources

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)

employment aging