More Americans planning to work past age 65

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More Americans are planning to delay retirement and work longer. A 2014 CBS news poll shows that a little more than half of Americans who have not yet retired say they plan to retire by the time they are 65. In 2005, more than two-thirds (67 percent) planned to retire by age 65.

Equally noteworthy, three times as many people today expect to retire in their seventies (22 percent) than expected to do so in 2005 (8 percent), according to the poll. Yet, of retirees polled, 79 percent say they retired by the age of 65. Only seven percent say they were over 70 when they retired.

Health care costs are not among the most serious financial concerns of Americans not yet retired. Only 8 percent of them have current or future medical costs as their biggest financial worry. The poll does not capture whether Medicare and the Affordable Care Act help allay their fears.

Most working Americans have as their biggest financial concern paying bills (25 percent) and, after that, saving for retirement (24 percent)

Many Americans do not realize that Social Security is virtually certain to be there for them. It cannot go broke. However, more than six out of 10 Americans not yet retired do not believe that Social Security will have the benefits they expect.

Much like the Pentagon, unless Congress decides to end the program, Social Security will continue. In fact, so long as working people pay into Social Security, those funds are available to supplement the Social Security Trust Fund.

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Comments

8 responses to “More Americans planning to work past age 65”

April 2, 2015

Mark Krain

Great article, but you have not told the grimmest part of the story. I am one of those working into my 70s. I am lucky. I have the opportunity to stay at work and I like what I am doing. Many of my age-mate buddies have been forced out of work for one reason or another but need the work. Savings dwindle rapidly. Social Security is precious but doesn’t pay all the bills. Many “retirees” have no pension or their pension is much less than they expected. But finding work at our age is a frightful experience. Nobody gets work at their skill level or at a decent rate of pay. Many have more than one job or skip from job-to-job looking for the mythical “good job” or at least a job that is easy at the pay level they can get. I cannot help but wonder what my children’s old age will be like. This will be a tough century.

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April 2, 2015

Nora Edwards

If the question was calculated by age of the respondent, the answers would be that as people got older and more tired, they would be more likely to want the earlier retirement. Certainly, a later retirement is more financially rewarding. But if your health is impacted, it might be better to retire when you are still healthy.

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April 2, 2015

Richard Smith

like your S.S.? thank F.D.R. the greatest president this country ever had and it’s likely to EVER have. he was a DEMOCRAT who believed in THE PEOPLE. if the republicans get their way, in a few decades there WON’T be any social security, unemployment insurance, medicaid or medicare. palins death panels are alive and well and working IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

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April 2, 2015

John Satunas

I agree and I will never understand why people in this country don’t see this they seam to vote agaist their own intrest.

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April 2, 2015

Mark Krain

I think I know why, JohnSatunas. The GOP lies. Not just a little but all the time and very rapidly and repetitively. They seem to feel that they are entitled to lie because they feel that everything that does not go their way is socialist or anti-American. Anything they do, including flat-out lying, is justified for the greater good in their mind. Their lies are so frequent that by the time the fact-checkers and truth-tellers expose the first lie the GOP is well into a whole new round of lies. The truth often never gets published or when it is it appears in the small print way in the back of the paper, not in the headlines like the original lie. If they can keep doing this, and folks like the Koch brothers are there to see that they can, the public (voters) will live smothered in a culture of myth and untruth. Even more to the point, the GOP, and conservatives in general, are quick to label anything liberal as socialist and communist. They smear everything even slightly progressive with these vicious labels. This distracts many ordinary people from thinking critically. They accept (not necessarily believe) the lies because they feel that it is better to accept them than to trust (“socialist-communist”) liberals. This pattern, I fear, is the leading feature of the politics of our time. Hopefully, in the next 2 years, as the right wing-nuts get their way, the public will see the wreckage these people can do when they do things their way. Hopefully, a public awakening will result.

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April 2, 2015

Susan Allen

Mark Krain, you are right on point. I agree with every word you said. This is all about lies. Because they own the media, it’s very easy to corroborate their lies and by the time they’re found out, as you said, they’ve moved on to tell bigger, stinkier lies.

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April 2, 2015

Mary Keller

Next month I will be 81 and I am still working as a psychotherapist. I feel fortunate that I am able to work but the real reason I continue to work is the feeling of being useful and helpful and sharing in patients’ reaching for attaining a sense of hope in this troubled world.

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April 2, 2015

Emilie Ratterma

I plan to work until 70 to receive as much SS as I am entitled to. I am 66 now. The house will be paid off and I bought a car that should last into my 70s, but my husband will need a newer one. I have two concerns: What volunteer work will I choose to continue to keep my mind sharp and meet my need to feel like I am doing something valuable to make a difference in others lives? I do a lot of information and referral along with assessing people for our elderly services program. The other issue is this: We can’t depend indefinitely on work income to support us. We get calls from people who worked past 70 and now cannot work, cannot live on just SS alone and continue living where they do, paying their bills. At least 2/3 of our clients are living on just Social Security. It is inevitable that the mind and/or body will fail for some reason. We need to be smart before we hit our 60s about making sure we have back-up savings, our loans paid off, and get ourselves into housing with reasonable utilities and maintenance. So most people need to be able to live on just their SS.

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