Many people dream of retirement, hoping to live many years in good health and without work. But data analyzed by Bloomberg show that the chances of doing so vary dramatically from country to country, Rador said.

In 2019 (the most recent comparative data available), average life expectancy in OECD countries for those over 60 was 82 years, and the average effective retirement age was 64 years.

In fact, the length of time people spend in retirement varies greatly by country, from 12.9 years in Mexico (for men) to 23.3 years in France. If the health perspective is taken into account in the equation, then the period that a pensioner will spend in good health ranges from 7.7 to 18.5 years.

A person who reaches the age of 60 in some countries, such as Mexico, Colombia and the United States, can expect to spend only ten years as a healthy retiree – or even less. In contrast, in countries such as France and Luxembourg, men can count on a pension of more than 18 healthy years.

The situation is slightly better for women, as they live longer. On average, women in OECD countries spend about 22.8 years in retirement, but a third of that time is spent in poor health.