Average retirement age rises to 66 years and 4 months
- The average worker retired two and a half months later in 2025 than in 2024.
- Self-employed workers retire three years later than non-self-employed workers, on average.
- An increasing share of retiring workers are women, because more women are now part of the workforce.
In 2025, over 100 thousand workers in the Netherlands retired. The average retirement age rose to 66 years and 4 months, up by over two and a half months compared with 2024. This is according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
| Year | State pension age (age) | Average retirement age of non-self-employed workers (age) | Average retirement age of self-employed workers¹⁾ (age) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001/'02 | 65.0 | 60.7 | 65.7 |
| 2002/'03 | 65.0 | 61.0 | 65.4 |
| 2003/'04 | 65.0 | 60.8 | 65.5 |
| 2004/'05 | 65.0 | 60.9 | 65.3 |
| 2005/'06 | 65.0 | 60.9 | 65.1 |
| 2006/'07 | 65.0 | 61.7 | 65.8 |
| 2007/'08 | 65.0 | 61.9 | 65.4 |
| 2008/'09 | 65.0 | 62.4 | 65.9 |
| 2009/'10 | 65.0 | 62.8 | 65.9 |
| 2010/'11 | 65.0 | 63.2 | 65.7 |
| 2011/'12 | 65.0 | 63.5 | 66.0 |
| 2012/'13 | 65.1 | 63.8 | 66.2 |
| 2013/'14 | 65.2 | 63.9 | 66.5 |
| 2014/'15 | 65.3 | 64.2 | 66.7 |
| 2015/'16 | 65.5 | 64.4 | 67.1 |
| 2016/'17 | 65.8 | 64.8 | 67.1 |
| 2017/'18 | 66.0 | 65.1 | 67.7 |
| 2018/'19 | 66.0 | 65.3 | 68.0 |
| 2019/'20 | 66.3 | 65.7 | 68.1 |
| 2020/'21 | 66.3 | 65.4 | 67.9 |
| 2021/'22 | 66.6 | 65.6 | 68.5 |
| 2022/'23 | 66.8 | 65.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023/'24** | 67.0 | 66.1 | |
| 2024/'25* | 67.0 | 66.3 | |
| * provisional figures ** more detailed provisional figures ¹⁾ figures for 2023/'24 and 2024/'25 are not available | |||
Fewer workers retiring before the state pension age
The rise in the average retirement age is partly due to fewer workers retiring before they reach the state pension age. In 2025, 40 percent of workers retired before they reached 67, compared with 46 percent in 2024. In both years, the state pension age was 67.
Self-employed workers retire later than average
The average retirement age among self-employed workers was 68 years and 9 months in 2023 (the most recent year for which figures are available for this group). This means that they were, on average, almost three years older than non-self-employed workers who retired in that year. Among self-employed workers, 60 percent retired after they had reached the state pension age, compared with 12 percent of non-self-employed workers.
More female workers retiring
In 2025, 45 percent of all the workers who retired were women, compared to 28 percent in 2000. This increase reflects the rise in the increasing participation of women in the workforce. The share of working women aged between 55 and 75 years rose from 17 percent in 2001 to 46 percent in 2024. Partly as a result of this increase, the proportion of women among workers aged 55 and older increased from 32 percent to 48 percent over the same period.
Female workers retire 5 months younger than male workers, on average.
| Year | % women working (aged 55-74 yrs) at start of period (%) | % of female workers (55 yrs or older) at start of period (%) | % of women among retiring employees (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001/'02 | 17 | 31.6 | 27.7 |
| 2002/'03 | 19 | 32.9 | 30.0 |
| 2003/'04 | 20 | 34.0 | 29.6 |
| 2004/'05 | 21 | 35.2 | 30.6 |
| 2005/'06 | 23 | 36.3 | 32.6 |
| 2006/'07 | 24 | 37.2 | 35.2 |
| 2007/'08 | 26 | 37.9 | 35.2 |
| 2008/'09 | 28 | 38.6 | 32.4 |
| 2009/'10 | 29 | 39.8 | 32.4 |
| 2010/'11 | 30 | 41.3 | 35.5 |
| 2011/'12 | 31 | 42.1 | 37.1 |
| 2012/'13 | 32 | 42.9 | 38.6 |
| 2013/'14 | 33 | 43.5 | 40.3 |
| 2014/'15 | 34 | 43.8 | 41.8 |
| 2015/'16 | 34 | 43.8 | 40.3 |
| 2016/'17 | 35 | 44.1 | 41.4 |
| 2017/'18 | 37 | 44.4 | 42.3 |
| 2018/'19 | 38 | 44.8 | 42.2 |
| 2019/'20 | 40 | 45.4 | 41.9 |
| 2020/'21 | 40 | 46.0 | 43.3 |
| 2021/'22 | 42 | 46.5 | 44.5 |
| 2022/'23 | 44 | 46.9 | 44.1 |
| 2023/'24** | 45 | 47.3 | 44.5 |
| 2024/'25* | 46 | 47.8 | 44.7 |
| * provisional figures ** more detailed provisional figures | |||