More and more people work after 70 years of age

The situation demographic of Japan is forcing the government and companies to adapt their regulations to maintain the balance between a very aged workforce and a serious labor shortage young man who has caused decades of drop in birth ratedropping to its historic low of 1.15 children per woman.

One of the measures that is being applied most in companies is the extension of the mandatory retirement age. In this way, the most senior employees they can continue working even beyond the age of 70 if they wish.

9.14 million senior employees. According to data published by Nikkei Asia, Japanese companies employ more than 5.4 million employees aged 70 or over. If the focus is expanded to those over 65 years of age, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs estimates that 9.14 million people in that age group returned to work in 2024, approximately 25.3% of that population group. According to a report According to the Japanese Business Federation of 2024, the employment rate among those over 65 years of age in Japan is 25.2%, well above the 18.6% in the US, 10.9% in the United Kingdom or the 3.9% recorded in France.

According to that same report, 99.9% of Japanese companies had measures to guarantee the employment of its workers beyond the age of 65, following the 2025 labor reform of the retirement age in Japan, which went from 60 to 65 years. However, Japanese companies have taken the legislation a little further: 29.7% of them have measures that guarantee employment up to age 70 and beyond.

In Japan, 70 is the new 60. According to the data of a survey conducted in 2023 by the Japanese Ministry of Labor, 80% of workers of retirement age wanted to continue working beyond the legal retirement age. Of them, 70% of them would prefer to do it in their current job.

Part of this desire to continue working beyond the age of 70 is due to the fact that Japan has one of the highest life expectancy rates on the planet. According to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan published by Nippon.comJapanese life expectancy is 87.14 years for women and 81.09 years for men. This means that Japanese employees reach their legal retirement age in good health, which allows them to extend their working lives by adapting their working hours to their physical limitations.

“60-year-olds are young. In this era of labor shortages, managers need to find ‘older men who add value,'” said Atsushi Morishita Morishita, 78, founder of Tenpos Holdings.

Pensions in Japan. Another reason that is leading retirees to delay their effective retirement age as much as possible is the amount of their pensions. With an aging population, the pension budget balance suffers since there are more people in a position to receive them what contributors youths.

Retirees can only receive from the Public Pension System a maximum of 831,700 yen annually (equivalent to about 5,100 euros), which are added to the allocations from the private pension funds that workers and companies have contracted (or not) throughout their working life. According to estimates Bloomberg, that leaves them with an average monthly public pension of 40,000 yen (about 245 euros per month). An income at all insufficient to survive.

The Japanese government approved in June 2025 a reform of the pension system with changes that benefit those who continue working at retirement age. In April 2026 he entered in force The last change, which raises the income threshold from which the benefit is penalized or reduced, rising from 510,000 to 620,000 yen per month. This will allow some 200,000 active retirees to collect their full pension even if they continue working. The reform also extends the maximum age to subscribe to private pension plans to 70 years.

Companies tailored to the elderly. According to the published figures by Nikkeiemployees over 65 years old represent around 15% of the company workforce in Japan. These employees are given the least demanding day shifts.

“Rather than fitting people into a system, it is essential to manage work hours in a way that adapts to our diverse talent,” Kazushige Mori, president of Gashouen, a company that operates senior care centers whose workforce is made up of 15% people over 70, explained to Nikkei.

Those who work 20 hours or more adopt the status of contract employees, which implies a higher hourly wage than those considered part-time workers. “Compared to young people, who have a high turnover rate, senior professionals who work with us for a longer time are the backbone of our company,” said Kimino Osada, president of Seisei Server.

A version of this article was published in May 2025.

In Xataka | Japan has the jobs, but it lacks the workers. So they are already paying up to 6,000 euros to go there

In Xataka | Japan believed it had a demographic problem. Until he looked at his census and discovered that he was missing three million people

Image | Unsplash (Jaipreet Singh)