70 Is the Retirement Age Called for by 2050, Report Says

The report, We'll Live to 100 - How Can We Afford It, said the U.K., U.S., Japan and Canada are some of the countries whose citizens should work until 70 before qualifying for pensions, Social Security and other government programs that help retirees, according to BBC News.

There are more people over 65 than ever before, and that number is expected to triple to a worldwide 2.1 billion by 2050. The number of workers per retiree is then expected to be four, which is half what it is now, the BBC reported.

Recent U.K. reforms have resulted in more than 6 million workers being automatically enrolled in a retirement savings program, but administrators aren’t sure how much is being saved in those programs, the BBC reported.

The current average retirement age is 65 for men and 63 for women in advanced economies, CNN Money reported.

WEF has called the lack of preparation for retirement and shortfall in government program funding a "timebomb," according to CNN Money. The forum estimated that there will be a $400 trillion shortfall by 2050 from eight countries: the U.S., U.K., Japan, Canada, Australia, India, China and the Netherlands.

"We must address it now or accept that its adverse consequences will haunt future generations, putting an impossible strain on our children and grandchildren," WEF official Michael Drexler said, according to CNN.

Aging populations and "significantly lower" investment returns in recent years have led to worsening shortfalls than in previous decades, CNN reported. Countries also need to improve workers’ understanding of retirement needs and options and make it easier for them to save, WEF said.

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