Russian men spend fewer years at work than their European and Asian counterparts, while working life for Russian women is on par with the global average, a new study has shown.
Russian men spend an average 33.8 years of their lives officially employed, according to research conducted by the Moscow-based Higher School of Economics (HSE). Japanese men reportedly have the longest working life at 45.2 years, followed by Dutch, Canadian and Swedish men.
“Why do we work so little, according to official data? Because we have some of the world’s lowest retirement ages,” Rossiiskaya Gazeta cited economist Sergei Smirnov as saying about the research Thursday.
He argued that raising the pension age by five years — currently 60 for men and 55 for women — would shorten the gap. President Vladimir Putin is reportedly considering to raise the pension age after the March 2018 election to help pay for increased domestic spending.
Russian women work 32.1 years, approximately the same as their Spanish, French and American counterparts, according to the “Working Life Expectancy in Russia” published by HSE.
“Sadly, lack of work kicks a person out of society, and this can lead to a decline in life expectancy rather than an increase,” Smirnov was cited as saying.
