Change of Plans: Americans Retiring Later in Life

Over the past three decades, the retirement age of American workers has trended upward.

According to Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey, the current average reported retirement age is 61, up from 57 in 1991, while non-retirees now have an average target retirement age of 66, compared to 60 in 1995.

Results were based on telephone interviews conducted from April 1–19, 2022, with a random sample of 1,018 adults living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

The trend coincides with delayed eligibility for full Social Security retirement benefits, which now start after age 65. In 1983, Congress raised the age for full retirement benefits, so that individuals born between 1937 and 1959 are eligible between ages 65 and 67. Those born after 1960 must wait until age 67 to be eligible for their full benefit.

Retirees have consistently reported an average retirement age about five years younger than that expected by non-retirees. Despite increasing expected and actual retirement ages and new age requirements for full benefits, the discrepancy persists.

This gap may be due to workers assuming they can work longer than they actually end up working, influenced by factors like employer decisions, health issues or family circumstances. The age and retirement status of interviewees at the time of the survey may also exaggerate the gap, because many currently retired individuals stopped working at younger ages while many currently non-retired individuals expect to work until an older age.

The shift to a later retirement is most evident in Americans aged 55 to 74, with significantly fewer retirees compared to the same age group at the beginning of the 21st century, and with smaller, yet still notable, declines among Americans aged 65 to 74.

Factors contributing to later retirement may include extended life-spans, increasing cost of living and a gradual transition away from physical labor. Whether household income is a contributing factor remains unclear.

Source: “More in U.S. Retiring, or Planning to Retire, Later,” by Jeffrey M. Jones; Gallup, July 2022.