Majority of Irish Workers Aspire to Retire by 60 or Earlier
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Nearly three-quarters of Ireland’s workforce hopes to retire by the age of 60 or sooner, according to new research by Royal London Ireland.
The Retirement Aspirations survey found that 40% of respondents would like to retire by 50 or earlier, if financially possible. However, 7% of those surveyed said they never intend to fully retire—a figure that rises to 11% among those aged 55 and older.
Meanwhile, 15% of respondents are content to retire at the State pension age of 66, while 6% are willing to work until 70.
Mark Reilly, Pension Proposition Lead at Royal London Ireland, noted that the findings reflect a growing preference for early retirement.
“In both our 2023 and 2025 surveys, age 60 emerged as the most popular retirement target, chosen by over a third of respondents,” he said. “However, this year we saw a significant rise in those hoping to retire at 50—26% in 2025, up from 21% in 2023.”
Reilly also highlighted gender differences in retirement preferences. “More women expressed a desire to retire at 50, whereas a greater number of men indicated they would retire immediately if they had the means.”
The survey, conducted by iReach, gathered responses from 1,000 participants across Ireland.
