Europeans are grappling with some of the same retirement issues as the United States. Older workers are finding that they can't retire at age 60 like their parents did. Instead, many plan to continue working until age 67 or beyond, a hot topic among politicians, according to a story in Bloomberg Businessweek.
With 20 percent of Europe's young people unable to find work, it is hard to justify raising the retirement age in these countries. Many believe that older workers are acing out younger ones for jobs.
State pensions across Europe are under pressure to reduce costs, the story said, so they increased the legal retirement age, passed anti-age discrimination laws and rolled back early retirement plans.
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In Italy, the percentage of people between the ages of 50 and 64 that are still working rose to nearly 50 percent in 2011, up from 47.3 percent in 2008, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. In France, 56.5 percent of people 50 to 64 were still employed in the second quarter of 2012, up from 55.4 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
The European Union's unemployment rate reached 11.4 percent in August. For those 25 and under, the rate was 22.8 percent.
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