64% of Japanese willing to work past retirement age, survey shows

A recent survey shows that 64% of Japanese people are willing to work beyond their retirement age mainly due to financial concerns, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local media on Monday.

In an online survey conducted by Nippon Life Insurance Co covering 7,543 policyholders, 38.7% of the respondents said they want to keep working in their current jobs after retirement and 25.3% said they would prefer different jobs.

Severe labour shortage is one of the challenges the country faces due to a rapidly ageing population and declining birth rate. A legal revision to be implemented next April will urge businesses to let their employees work until the age of 70 in an effort to address the problem.

When asked until when they would like to continue working, 40% said sometime between the ages of 65 and 69, followed by 31.2% who chose the ages of 60 and 64. About 11.7% said they are ready to work beyond 75.

The survey also revealed that the older people are, the more likely that they prefer their current jobs, as more than half of the respondents in their 60s or older said they want to stay on.

To get ready for a post-retirement life, the respondents said they want to save an average of ¥30.33 million, while 62.1% said they are not sure how much they would receive in terms of retirement money and pension benefits.