Retirement, and the average retirement age, has been a hot topic. France has seen widespread protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64. In the United States, there's been talk of pushing the full retirement age for Social Security from 67 to 70.
Recent research shows that the typical American retires quite a bit sooner than that. Keep reading to find out the average retirement age in the U.S., as well as how long retirement lasts here compared to other countries.
Key findings
Key findings
- The average retirement age for Americans is 61.
- The average retirement age has increased by a few years since the early 1990s, when the average American retired at 57.
- The expected retirement length in the U.S. significantly rose between 1970 and 2020 from 12.8 to 18.6 years for men and from 16.6 to 21.3 years for women.
- Out of 42 countries with retirement length data, the U.S. ranks 28th for men and 37th for women.
History of retirement age
Average retirement age in the U.S. has held steady
The average age of retirement in the U.S. is 61, according to Gallup. That hasn't changed much over the past two decades. Since 2002, the average retirement age has ranged from 59 to 62. Going back further, the average retirement age was 57 in 1991, 58 in 1992, and 57 again in 1993.
Interestingly, Americans expect to retire later than they actually do, with the usual difference being five or six years. In an annual survey, Gallup asks retirees how old they were when they retired and asks non-retirees the age when they expect to retire. Here are the averages going back to 2002:
| Year | Average Retirement Age | Average Expected Retirement Age |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 59 | 63 |
| 2003 | 59 | 63 |
| 2004 | 60 | 64 |
| 2005 | 60 | 64 |
| 2006 | 60 | 65 |
| 2007 | 60 | 64 |
| 2008 | 60 | 64 |
| 2009 | 60 | 65 |
| 2010 | 59 | 65 |
| 2011 | 60 | 66 |
| 2012 | 60 | 67 |
| 2013 | 61 | 66 |
| 2014 | 62 | 66 |
| 2015 | 60 | 65 |
| 2016 | 61 | 66 |
| 2017 | 61 | 66 |
| 2018 | 61 | 66 |
| 2019 | 61 | 65 |
| 2020 | 61 | 66 |
| 2021 | 62 | 64 |
| 2022 | 61 | 66 |
Retirement rates
Retirement rates have declined, especially among older adults
In every age group Gallup surveyed, the percentage of adults who are retired has declined during the 21st century. The largest decreases have been among older adults in the 55-to-59, 60-to-64, 65-to-69, and 70-to-74 age ranges. The percentage of retired adults was at least 5% lower in each group.
Even though early retirement has become a popular concept, there hasn't been a rise in retirement percentages among younger adults. In fact, they decreased among adults in their 40s between 2002 through 2007 and 2016 through 2022.
| Age | Percentage Retired, 2002-2007 | Percentage Retired, 2008-2015 | Percentage Retired, 2016-2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40-44 | 2% | 1% | 1% | (1%) |
| 45-49 | 3% | 4% | 2% | (1%) |
| 50-54 | 9% | 7% | 6% | (3%) |
| 55-59 | 19% | 15% | 11% | (8%) |
| 60-64 | 41% | 39% | 32% | (9%) |
| 65-69 | 76% | 71% | 70% | (6%) |
| 70-74 | 88% | 80% | 83% | (5%) |
| 75 and older | 89% | 89% | 88% | (1%) |
Retirement length
Retirements are lasting longer in the U.S. and around the world
The amount of time people spend in retirement has risen dramatically over the past 50 years. In 1970, men in the U.S. could expect 12.8 years of retirement and women could expect 16.6 years, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). By 2020, those numbers had risen to 18.6 years for men and 21.3 years for women.
The same is true internationally. Among the OECD's 38 member countries, men had an average expected retirement of 12 years and women had 16 years in 1970. By 2020, the average expected length of retirement was 19.5 years for men and 23.8 years for women.
However, in recent years, the expected length of retirement in the U.S. has dropped. The average U.S. retirement length peaked in 2012 for men and in 2005 for women. Here's how expected retirement lengths have changed in the U.S. and around the world:
| Year | Expected Number of Years in Retirement in U.S., Men | Expected Number of Years in Retirement in U.S., Women | Expected Number of Years in Retirement in OECD Countries, Men | Expected Number of Years in Retirement in OECD Countries, Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12.8 | 16.6 | 12.0 | 16.0 |
| 1975 | 14.3 | 19.0 | 13.1 | 17.3 |
| 1980 | 15.0 | 19.2 | 14.0 | 18.7 |
| 1985 | 15.7 | 20.1 | 15.1 | 20.4 |
| 1990 | 17.0 | 20.6 | 16.1 | 21.3 |
| 1995 | 18.0 | 21.3 | 17.1 | 22.4 |
| 2000 | 18.2 | 21.6 | 18.1 | 23.7 |
| 2005 | 19.4 | 23.0 | 18.8 | 23.6 |
| 2010 | 19.6 | 21.9 | 19.2 | 23.8 |
| 2011 | 19.9 | 22.3 | 19.2 | 23.7 |
| 2012 | 20.1 | 22.3 | 19.1 | 23.3 |
| 2013 | 20.0 | 22.6 | 19.1 | 23.4 |
| 2014 | 19.5 | 22.7 | 19.0 | 23.5 |
| 2015 | 19.6 | 22.8 | 19.3 | 23.7 |
| 2016 | 19.1 | 22.3 | 19.2 | 23.7 |
| 2017 | 18.7 | 21.9 | 19.0 | 23.7 |
| 2018 | 18.4 | 21.5 | 18.9 | 23.6 |
| 2019 | 18.2 | 21.1 | 18.9 | 23.3 |
| 2020 | 18.6 | 21.3 | 19.5 | 23.8 |
Retirement by country
How do retirement lengths differ by country?
Retirement lengths for men and women significantly vary depending on where they live. In some countries, the expected retirement length is more than twice as long as it is in others.
Indonesia has the shortest average expected retirement length for both men (11.5 years) and women (13.2 years). For the longest expected retirements, Luxembourg is best for men, with an average of 24 years. For women, it's Greece, with an average of 28.4 years.
The U.S. is at the lower end of the rankings. Out of 42 countries for which the OECD has data, the U.S. ranks 28th for men and 37th for women in expected retirement lengths.
Retiring on your terms
No matter when you want to call it a career, retirement planning is extremely important. By estimating how much money you're going to need and consistently saving, you'll be able to live more comfortably in retirement.
A good general guideline on saving for retirement is to put away at least 15% of your income. That works well if you start at age 30 and plan to retire in your mid-60s. If you're starting later, you may need to see if you can save more. Make sure you also invest that money and use tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as:
While the average American retires in their early 60s, this varies quite a bit. Figuring out when to retire is both a personal and financial decision, but, even if you’re young, it's one to start thinking about now so you're ready when you get there.
Sources
- Gallup (2022). "More in U.S. Retiring, or Planning to Retire, Later."
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2023). "Employment: Expected number of years in retirement, by sex."
Expert retirement advice
Jialu Streeter, PhD,
The Motley Fool: There are no hard and fast rules about when to retire or how much we should have saved, but what three pieces of advice would you give someone who is just starting their first retirement savings account?
Streeter:
- Start saving early.
- Save more than the default rate.
- Max out on the retirement contribution if you expect that your retirement income will be lower than your current income, and of course, if it doesn’t interfere with your other financial goals.
Rita Assaf
The Motley Fool: In 2019, the average retirement account savings for American households was $65,000 with the average American under 35 having $13,000 saved for retirement. Why do you think this average is so much lower than what experts typically expect Americans to have?
Rita Assaf: Coming out of the pandemic, we’ve actually seen some powerful signs that younger people are more optimistic and driven to save for the future, compared to older generations. In general, younger generations have had more exposure to workplace savings plans and we’ve seen a lot more democratization of investing. It’s now easier to get started to save and invest with mobile apps and access to information has spread as well as we see saving and investing topics in social media. Younger generations have also seen their parents and grandparents weather recessions and are much more aware of their financial life.
Additionally, younger generations are leading the way when it comes to taking action toward retirement saving, with the number of IRA account openings in Q3 2022 for Gen Z increasing by 83% when compared to Q3 2021 and the number of Millennial accounts increasing by 25%. Furthermore, Millennial Roth IRA accounts with a contribution increased by 5.8% year-to-date.
The Motley Fool: There are no hard and fast rules about when to retire or how much we should have saved, but what three pieces of advice would you give someone who is just starting their first retirement savings account?
Rita Assaf: Planning for retirement is the biggest goal we invest in throughout our lives. While it might seem daunting, it’s beneficial to start saving for retirement as early as you can to make sure your money has the greatest potential for growth over time. When thinking about retirement, it's important to set a goal and start saving early to maximize your efforts, as the growth potential of just one year’s contribution can have a significant impact on your retirement savings.
As a general rule, these are the three actions that can make the biggest impact on retirement readiness for those saving in their twenties or thirties:
- Save as much as you can: Young people today are 30 or more years away from retirement. At this point, your retirement plan should really be focused on determining how you are saving on a regular basis and what accounts those savings should be put into based on tax and investing considerations. To help determine that, Fidelity suggests aiming to save at least 15% of your pre-tax income each year, which includes any employer match, with a goal to save 10 times (10X) your pre-retirement income by age 67. Breaking this down by age, aim to save at least 1x your income by age 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, and 8x by 60.
- Increase contributions over time: If starting off saving 15% of more of your income isn’t possible, small increases over time can make a big difference. If you have access to a 401(k) with a company match, try to save to at least your company match level. If you don’t save to that level, it’s like leaving free money on the table. A great way to regularly increase your contributions to your retirement savings is to do it if and when you get a raise each year. Get in the habit of increasing your contribution rate by 1% each year until you get to the 15%.
- Review your asset mix: Getting your investment mix right—investing for growth— from the start, can make a big difference. You want to make sure your money is working for you and has potential for growth. Make sure you have the right mix of stocks, bonds and cash based on your how far you are from retirement, and how comfortable you are taking potential risk in your portfolio.
