--- title: Retirement Is Vanishing for Many Older Workers description: A new survey shows over half of older workers expect to never retire — some because of choice, but others out of financial necessity. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 498 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-01-02T16:53:12.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 793 canonical: https://money.com/no-retirement-work-forever/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Senior man with worried expression at an office meeting](https://img.money.com/2025/08/News-No-Retirement-For-Workers.jpg) Many retirement-age Americans are planning to continue working — forever. Some 51% of employed Americans 65 or older say they expect to work “indefinitely,” according to a report from Asset Preservation, a financial advisory firm. Meanwhile, about 6 in 10 respondents say they plan to work “at least five more years” before retiring, putting the earliest age they would consider retiring at 70. ## Protect your retirement with a Reverse Mortgage ### If you are over 62, a Reverse Mortgage from Longbridge Financial (NMLS# 957935) can help you take care of expenses or even invest in things that will improve your quality of life. Click on your state to learn more. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/s978d3010185?ap_referrer=%2Fno-retirement-work-forever%2F) “Financial insecurity and related concerns are a driving reason for this decision, but they’re only part of the bigger picture,” says Stewart Willis, financial advisor and president of the firm, in the [report](https://www.apsitaxes.com/blog/working-past-retirement?utm_source=Website%2BEvents%2BPage&utm_medium=Organic). “Some people continue to work because they’re not quite ready to quit. Others find their job gives them a sense of purpose or helps them feel valued or mentally engaged.” The analysis is based on the firm’s poll of 1,000 Americans aged 65 to 99 who are still working either part- or full-time. ***Deal of the Week: [AARP Subscription for Just $15 For the First Year](https://money.com/pr/q11022f27ca6?data-trk-company=aarp-review&data-trk-imp=true&data-trk-pcu-type=direct_link&data-trk-pcu-uuid=q11022f27ca6&encoded_id=)*** ## Working through retirement: a new norm? Asset Preservation’s report provides a snapshot of the motivations of those who are working through their retirement years. Why older Americans are working so late in life seems to be a fairly even split between necessity and choice. About one half works to cover basic living expenses, like food, health care and housing, while the other half chooses to work to stay mentally and physically active. For those working out of financial necessity, the picture can be grim. A [2024 report](https://www.gao.gov/financial-security-older-americans) from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found that 49% of Americans 55 and older have no retirement savings whatsoever. And it's not because they intend to fall back on pensions: Defined-benefit plans have become rare, with only 17% of that group enrolled in one. "Pensions have become much less common as defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, have become the primary type of retirement plan," the report states. "This shift has increased the risks and responsibilities for individuals in planning and managing their retirement." But this change in the U.S. retirement system is part of what’s pushing many Americans to continue working well into their 60s and 70s. At the same time, some older folks actually *want* to continue working. "For many Americans, the definition of retirement seems to be changing from 'retiring from work' to 'finding a role that's more meaningful to me,'" John Roberts, an executive vice president at Northwestern Mutual, said in the firm’s [2025 retirement study](https://news.northwesternmutual.com/2025-04-14-Americans-Believe-They-Will-Need-1-26-Million-to-Retire-Comfortably-According-to-Northwestern-Mutual-2025-Planning-Progress-Study). "Instead of golf, cruise boats and cocktails, large percentages see themselves employed at an organization or a cause that they believe in." A separate Northwestern Mutual survey investigated why people choose to work past 65, and the top responses were that they enjoy their job and want to continue it, want disposable income or simply want to stave off boredom. ***Gold Offer: [Sign up with American Hartford Gold today and get a free investor kit, plus receive up to $20,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases](https://money.com/pr/u3ef79664b8e)*** ## Retirement expectations versus reality Overall, working late in life remains relatively rare and could be an overblown fear fanned by the economic woes du jour. According to the nonprofit Employee Benefits Research Institute, or EBRI, only 29% of retirees in 2025 reported actually having worked during their retirement for pay — far below the expectation from workers, of which 75% said they planned to work during their retirement. These figures have remained largely unchanged since 1999. Similarly, EBRI’s research shows that Americans typically overestimate the age in which they retire. The latest report found that the median expected retirement age is 65, but the actual median starting age of retirement was 62. Economic and political crises — such as high inflation or dwindling Social Security funds — can distort retirement expectations. When inflation ticks up, for example, the [amount of money Americans believe they’ll need to retire](https://money.com/retirement-cost-estimate-record/) balloons. (It's currently $1.3 million, far more than what most people typically retire with.) And [Social Security’s impending insolvency](https://money.com/social-security-funds-run-out-2034/) heightens fears that the program won’t be around to support future retirees. (The truth: Even in the unlikely event that Social Security funds run dry, the program will still pay out benefits, albeit at a reduced rate.) Still, if you want to ensure that you don't spend your golden years working 9-5, preparation is key. While you may not need over $1 million in your 401(k) to retire, you will want to build a healthy savings to round out your Social Security benefits. The sooner you start saving, the better. *Editor's note: Money originally published this article on August 11, 2025.* ## With a Reverse Mortgage, you can invest in your future starting today ### Work with a licensed Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative today. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/t879fd448b2c?ap_referrer=%2Fno-retirement-work-forever%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/no-retirement-work-forever/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Is Vanishing for Many Older Workers" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/no-retirement-work-forever/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/no-retirement-work-forever/", "name": "Retirement Is Vanishing for Many Older Workers", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-01-02T16:53:12.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/no-retirement-work-forever/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/no-retirement-work-forever/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Retirement Is Vanishing for Many Older Workers", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/08/News-No-Retirement-For-Workers.jpg", "width": 1600, "height": 1067, "caption": "News-No-Retirement-For-Workers" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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