North Korea Raises Retirement Age, Asking Office Workers to Work Longer

North Korean elderly people are at a health center in this archival picture from Choson Sinbo. (Yonhap)

JAKARTA - North Korea has raised the retirement age for office workers by three years. This policy comes as the country faces an aging population and low birth rates.

Quoted from Yonhap, Wednesday, May 13, the information refers to a paper published in the first edition of the Journal of the Kim Il Sung University in 2026. In the revision of the 2024 labor regulations, the retirement age of state pension-receiving office workers is 63 years for men and 58 years for women.

Previously, based on the 1978 employment law, the retirement age was set at 60 years for men and 55 years for women.

However, this change only applies to office workers. The retirement age for manual workers and farmers has not changed.

According to the paper, the amendment was adopted by the North Korean assembly's standing committee in September 2024. This report is the first confirmation that the extension of the retirement age applies only to office workers.

"The revision reflects the evolving pension system and the increasing importance of intellectual work," the paper said.

"In a situation where the population is aging and life expectancy is increasing, raising the retirement age is a reasonable step," the paper continued.

North Korea is now in the category of an aging society. Based on data from the South Korean Ministry of Data and Statistics released in December, the population aged 65 and over reached 11.4 percent of the total population of North Korea, which amounted to 25.87 million people in 2024.

North Korea's total fertility rate has also fallen. In 2024, the figure was recorded at 1.60, below the replacement level of 2.1. Total fertility rate is the average number of children born to a woman throughout her reproductive life.

North Korea also revised its constitution in October 2024. The minimum working age was raised from 16 to 17 years. The voting age and candidacy age also rose by one year to 18 years.