Many Americans are working into their 70s and 80s — or longer — because of longer life spans, changing attitudes about retirement and insufficient savings.
Older people can certainly find jobs, though they may face additional challenges compared to younger job seekers. Factors like age discrimination, health concerns, outdated skills, and stereotypes about older workers can make the job search more difficult for those later in their careers.
The average retirement age is 64 for a work life of about 42 years, not anywhere close to 48 or 52 years. And less than 10% of Social Security recipients get the maximum benefit by claiming at 70, and those that do are the highest-income individuals.
People 75 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this group of older workers is expected to grow by 96.5% by 2030. And according to a U.S. News Report, the average age of retirement is 63.
Factors like increased life expectancy and decreased savings rates may play a role. In 2022, 8.2% of people 75 and older were part of the labor force. Their colleagues included 18.4% of the Americans between ages 70 and 74, and 33.3% of those from 65 to 69.
The full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954. The full retirement age increases gradually if you were born from 1955 to 1960 until it reaches 67. For anyone born 1960 or later, full retirement benefits are payable at age 67. The chart on the next page lists the full retirement age by year of birth.
You're Likely to Live Longer If You Retire After 65.
The median retirement age in the U.S. is 62, with nearly six in 10 retirees telling the research firm that they stepped back from the workforce earlier than they had planned. Almost half of those people said the reason came down to health issues, such as physical limitations or disability.
The Not-So-Good News: About one in three women ages 75 through 85 has osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease, which greatly increases the risk of fractures of the hip and spine. Studies show strength training can build muscle, which can take force off the joints.
New jobs for those over the age of 55 are few and far between, and many people age 60 or older are hitting a solid barrier preventing them from getting hired. “I've held a VP role at two Fortune 500 companies, but my current job search is leading to a dead end,” said Ann, who was calling for job search assistance.
About 26% of people between 65 to 74 are continuing to work, and that number shrinks to about 7.3% for people over 75, according to census data. "We can recognize that these folks are indeed not representative of the underlying cohorts that they're born into," he said.
One study classified older adults into the young old (60 to 69 years), the middle old (70 to 79 years), and the very old (80 years and older). Other cultures also have their own answer to the question, how old is considered elderly? Japan classifies under 75 as “pre-old.”
You can receive benefits even if you still work. Waiting beyond age 70 will not increase your benefits. You can claim your retirement benefits now. Because you are age 70 or older, you will receive no additional benefit increases if you continue to delay claiming them.
Working until age 70 could be a smart move if you want to add more money to your retirement fund. If you have a 401(k), for example, you could continue making contributions up to the annual limit, along with catch-up contributions while you're employed.
The unemployment rate for people ages 16 to 24 in the United States in 2023 was 9.7 percent. However, this rate was much lower for people aged 45 and over, at 2.6 percent.
Older Americans Are in the Workforce Longer
From 2015 to 2019, 6.8% of Americans 75 or older were in the workforce, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Archival data show that rate has been growing, as it stood at 6.6% from 2014 to 2018, and 5.9% from 2009 to 2013.
Conclusions. We did not find an association between early retirement, compared with continued work participation, and mortality. On-time retirement, compared with working beyond retirement, was associated with a higher risk of mortality.
According to 2015 age-specific mortality rates, almost 60 percent of the 2015 birth cohort will live past 80, while more than 20 percent will die before 70.
Financial planners often recommend replacing about 80% of your pre-retirement income to sustain the same lifestyle after you retire. This means that if you earn $100,000 per year, you'd aim for at least $80,000 of income (in today's dollars) in retirement.
The $1,000 per month rule is designed to help you estimate the amount of savings required to generate a steady monthly income during retirement. According to this rule, for every $240,000 you save, you can withdraw $1,000 per month if you stick to a 5% annual withdrawal rate.
But even if you never worked and therefore don't have an earnings record, you're not necessarily out of luck. If you're married (or were married) to someone who's entitled to Social Security, you can collect spousal benefits equal to 50% of your husband or wife's benefits at full retirement age.
When is someone too old to work or too old to get hired? According to many employers, 62 is the cutoff for working, and 58 for hiring.