10 Countries Paying People to Retire

These countries have the most generous public pensions

Jul 13, 2012, 9:00 am EDT | By Douglas McIntyre, Co-Founder & Editor, 24/7 Wall St.

Lisbon

#9: Portugal

Pension Replacement Rate: 53.9%
Male/Female Retirement Age: 65/65
Male/Female Life Expectancy: 83/85.3
Sovereign Debt as percentage of GDP: 88%
Employment Rate: 65.2%

In Portugal, both men and women retire at 65, an old retirement age compared to the majority of countries on the list. But at retirement, the pension replacement rate is 53.9% for median income workers, and that number rises to 69.2% after taking into account tax benefits. But Portugal is struggling fiscally, and with sovereign debt accounting for 88% of GDP, it still has a long way to go to reach fiscal health. Meanwhile, its long-term unemployment rate for people age 15-64 is 5.64%, tied with Greece for the second-highest on this list and tied for the fourth highest among all OECD countries.