by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
The retirement age hasn’t changed much in 60 years. Americans’ expectations have
These shifting patterns highlight the need for strategic retirement planning and the use of retirement accounts and other tools to help individuals stay on track for retirement, whenever that day may come.
Key findings
The average retirement age is 65 for men and 63 for women.
The average retirement age has changed little since 1962 for men, but increased by ten years for women.
47% of workers plan to retire after 65, or not at all.
How the average retirement age has changed since the 1960s
The average retirement age for men is 65 and 63 for women, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
For men, the average retirement age has wavered only by a few years since 1962.
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Percent of Americans retired by age
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Nearly half of Americans expect to retire after 65 or not at all
Retirement expectations grow more pessimistic with age. Among Gen Z, 42% believe they’ll retire before 65 and 22% think 65 will be the age they retire. Just 24% think they’ll retire later than that. Millennials are similarly hopeful. Thirty-six percent think they’ll retire before 65 and 25% believe they’ll retire at 65.
Older generations expect to retire later. Thirty-seven percent of Gen X don’t think they’ll retire before 65 and 15% don’t think they’ll ever retire. Baby boomers are even less optimistic — 64% see themselves retiring after 65, and like Gen X, 15% don’t think retirement is on the table at all.
These expectations reveal a widening gap between hopes and reality when it comes to retirement.
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Why do early retirement expectations erode as workers age? Younger workers may underestimate retirement costs. Housing, healthcare, and the overall cost of living have continued to increase. Gen Z and millennials may also overestimate their ability to put savings into their retirement accounts, particularly if they run into unexpected life events, like prolonged unemployment, medical expenses, or other issues.
Additionally, older workers are often incentivized to put off retirement and keep working to reach full retirement age and get the most out of their Social Security benefits, and to delay enrolling in Medicare.
Retiring on your terms
This story was produced by The Motley Fool and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
Source: Black Enterprise
