Europeans are living and working for longer. Principal’s CEO says companies aren’t ready for the change
Fortune · Sam Birchall ·
With average life expectancy across the EU now exceeding 81 years, Principal Financial's boss warns employers to rethink careers, training, and retirement.
Europeans are living longer than ever. More than one-fifth of the European Union’s population is 65 or older, and the share aged 80 plus is set to more than double by the end of the century.
Deanna Strable, chief executive of Principal Financial Group, believes neither companies nor their staff are ready. “Employers and leaders are going to have to get used to people being in the workforce for a longer amount of time,” she says. “I don’t think we’re all prepared for that.”
Falling birth rates mean fewer young people are entering the workforce, while millions of baby boomers are reaching retirement age. As a result, older workers are make up a larger proportion of the labor market. In 2025, a record two-thirds of 55- to 64-year-olds in the EU were in employment, according to Eurostat.