Is Life in Retirement Really Tough for Single Salarymen? A Realistic Simulation

For those who have worked as salarymen for many years as singles, life in retirement is a source of anxiety. Can you live on your pension alone after retirement? Can you cover rent and living expenses? The situation changes significantly depending on whether you live in an urban area or choose to return to the countryside. Here, based on average data, let's simulate a realistic retirement life.

Average Pension Benefit Amount

According to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data (around 2024-2025), the average monthly amount of old-age employees' pension for company employees (those enrolled in the Employees' Pension Insurance) is about 145,000 yen (including the National Pension portion). For single men, the average is around 150,000 to 160,000 yen per month. After deductions for social insurance premiums and taxes, the take-home pay is often around 140,000 to 150,000 yen per month.

However, this is an average. It varies greatly depending on the enrollment period and annual income during one's working years, and in some cases, it can be as low as 100,000 yen per month. Assuming you start receiving it at age 65, a monthly take-home pay of 150,000 yen is a realistic baseline.

Living in an Urban Area: Rent is a Major Burden

For example, if you continue to live alone in the Tokyo suburbs, such as Ichikawa City in Chiba Prefecture, the market rent for even an older 1K apartment (a so-called "dilapidated apartment") is around 50,000 to 70,000 yen. Including management fees, it can cost around 60,000 yen per month.
• Pension take-home: 150,000 yen/month
• Rent: 60,000 yen/month
• Remaining: 90,000 yen/month
If you subtract food, utilities, communication, and medical expenses from this, the amount left in your hands becomes quite tight.

Let's calculate living expenses more specifically.
• Food: 500 yen per meal x 3 meals x 30 days = 45,000 yen/month (this is about right even if you cook at home. It goes up further if you eat out more)
• Utilities and communication (electricity, gas, water, smartphone, internet): 20,000-30,000 yen/month
• Other (daily necessities, medical, transportation): 20,000 yen/month
The total is over 80,000-90,000 yen per month, and there is a high possibility that you will have almost nothing left or end up in the red.

The Engel coefficient (the proportion of food expenses) is relatively high at an average of 28-30% for elderly households, and the reality is that food costs easily put pressure on the household budget.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Family Income and Expenditure Survey, the average consumption expenditure for a single unemployed household aged 65 or older is about 150,000-160,000 yen per month. It is easy to fall short with just a pension, and about 150,000 yen per month is considered necessary for a minimum standard of living. For a comfortable life, 200,000 yen or more per month is the benchmark.

Re-employment After Retirement Inevitably Leads to Lower Income

Many people choose re-employment after the mandatory retirement age of 60, but there is a major hurdle here. In many companies, it is common for the salary upon re-employment to be reduced to about 50-70% of the pre-retirement level. On average, it is about 75% of the pre-retirement level (for full-time work), but in reality, it is not uncommon for it to be less than half.

The reasons include reduced responsibility due to position retirement, shorter working hours, and adjustments with pension benefits. As a result, the average annual income for those aged 60-65 is in the 4-5 million yen range, which can be nearly half of the peak during their active career.

If you can earn 200,000-300,000 yen per month through re-employment, you will have some leeway when combined with your pension, but the reality is that many people are forced to lower their standard of living due to a sharp drop in income.

Is "Returning to the Countryside for Zero Rent and Easy Living" True?

If your parents' home is in the countryside and you don't have to pay rent, it seems advantageous. However, the blind spot of country living is the cost of maintaining a car.

In the countryside, public transportation is inconvenient, and a car is essential. The maintenance cost for one light vehicle (kei car) is:
• Voluntary insurance: 60,000-80,000 yen per year (5,000-7,000 yen per month) for those over 60 with a gold license. It becomes more expensive with new enrollment or age
• Gasoline, vehicle inspection, taxes, maintenance: 20,000-30,000 yen per month
• Total: 30,000-40,000 yen or more per month
In the case of a new N-BOX, there are examples where insurance alone costs 70,000-80,000 yen per year, so even a light vehicle is not cheap. The reality is that even used cars have high resale value, making it difficult to keep costs down. Some argue that driving a new car until it breaks down is cheaper in the long run.

Even with zero rent, if car maintenance costs 40,000 yen per month, it may be on par with or more than the rent burden in urban areas. It is better not to underestimate the severity of the countryside where life cannot function without a car.

Conclusion: It's Not a Total Dead End, But Preparation is Key

The retirement of a single salaryman certainly has tough aspects. Covering rent and living expenses with a pension of around 150,000 yen per month is barely enough or risks being in the red. Moving to the countryside also has a high possibility of increased burdens depending on the car.

However, it is not a complete "dead end." As countermeasures:
• Accumulate retirement funds through early savings and the use of iDeCo/NISA
• Supplement income through re-employment or part-time work
• Review living expenses (thorough home cooking, saving)

The benchmark for retirement funds is said to be 20-30 million yen for a single person. If you face reality and start preparing now, you should be able to live a secure life. I hope that everyone's retirement will be at least a little more prosperous.

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