Retiring at 70? Why Older Workers Aren't Clocking Out Yet
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An increasing number of Americans are planning to delay retirement until 70, as shifts to Social Security and Medicare continue to reshape expectations around when people can afford to leave the workforce.
New data released Thursday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, or EBRI, shows a growing share of workers plan to retire at age 70 or older. In 2023, 15% of workers reported that they didn't anticipate retiring before age 70. That figure has risen to 20%.
While the median retirement age remains 62, 2 in 10 workers (20%) say they revised their expected retirement age in 2024.
With longer life expectancies, shifting expectations around work and growing financial uncertainty, retiring at 70 isn’t necessarily seen as extreme but a realistic benchmark.
Growing uncertainty around the future of government programs for retirees seem to be fueling concerns and prompting more Americans to rethink what their long-awaited retirement actually looks like. Social Security's trust funds are projected to be depleted by 2035, and without legislative action, retirees could face benefit cuts.
At the same time, older folks appear to be concerned about what the Trump administration’s latest spending cuts — driven by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — might mean for health care programs like Medicare. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees 13 separate agencies including Medicare, eliminated around 10,000 full-time employees in March. It also announced plans to consolidate 28 divisions down to 15.
Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at the EBRI, echoed these concerns in the report, saying that “the concern about Social Security is especially prominent, as almost all retirees say that Social Security is a source of retirement income."
Nearly 80% of workers admit they're worried the government will make "significant changes" to the retirement system. Specifically, 51% and 53% of workers say they have confidence that Social Security and Medicare, respectively, can continue provide the same level of benefits to future retirees as they do today.
Beyond concerns for government programs, older workers are also grappling with market volatility, inflation and how rising costs will affect their ability to save for retirement. A recent Northwestern Mutual survey found that most folks believe they’ll need $1.26 million to retire — down $200,000 from last year's estimate. Still, about 70% say they worry they might need to cut back in order to live comfortably in retirement.
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