The given charts delineate the common age of male and female retired from work in seven nations in the years 2004 and 2008.
In general, while there was a rise in the average retirement age in several nations, Sweden had the highest retirement age and Italy had the lowest retirement age for both genders.
Looking at the data for men, Sweden had the highest average retirement age, from 63 in 2004 to approximately 64 in 2008. The Netherlands and the UK followed by 62 and 61 in 2004, then increased to around 62 in 2008. In addition, the initial ages of men in Germany, Denmark and France were 60, 59 and 58.5. These figures then experienced a slight rise to 61, 60 and 59, respectively. However, the figure for Italy remained stable in both years, at precisely 58.
Regarding the figures for women, the retirement age in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK increased from 59, 61, 62 and 60 in 2004 to 60, 62, 62.5 and 61 in 2008, respectively. The figures for Denmark and France experienced growth from nearly 58 in 2004 to about 58.5 in 2008. Nevertheless, Italy was the only country saw a drop in the average retirement age, from 57 to 56 in a four-year-period.
