Retirement-income systems are diverse and often involve a number of different programmes. Classifying pension systems and different retirement-income schemes is consequently difficult. The taxonomy of pensions used here consists of two mandatory tiers: a redistributive part and a savings part. Voluntary provision, be it individual or employer-provided, makes up a third tier.

Programmes designed to ensure adequacy of old-age incomes make up the first tier of the OECD’s taxonomy of pension systems.

The second tier of the OECD’s taxonomy of retirement-income provision comprises earnings-related pensions. Key parameters and rules of these schemes determine the value of entitlements, including the long-term effect of pension reforms that have already been legislated.

The rules for eligibility to retire and draw a pension are very complex, often reflecting conflicting government objectives. On the one hand, encouraging people to work longer as the population ages has been a major feature of many pension reforms. On the other hand, government have often been concerned to protect workers perceived as vulnerable and unable to continue their jobs to an older age.

The average effective age of labour market exit was 64.2 for men and 63.1 for women across OECD countries in 2012. The effective age of labour market exit is lower than the official retirement age in 22 OECD countries for both men and women. For 2012 the lowest effective exit age is found for men in Luxembourg and for women in Belgium and the Slovak Republic at 57.6 and 58.7 years respectively. The highest figures for men are found in Mexico, at 72.3 years, with the highest for women in Chile, at 70.4 years.