What percentage of people retire at 65?

About 70% of Americans aged 65 to 69 are retired, according to Gallup data covering 2016 to 2022. That means roughly 30% of Americans in that age group are still working, a share that has grown since 2002, when 76% of 65-to-69-year-olds were retired.

How many years do people spend in retirement on average?

Americans expect to spend about 25 years in retirement, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies' 26th Annual Retirement Survey.

Average Retirement Age in the U.S.

Q: What is the average retirement age?

The average retirement age in the United States is 65 for men and 63 for women, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, based on Census Bureau data through 2025 (published 2026).

The average retirement age in America is 63 for women and 65 for men. How has that changed over time?

By Jack Caporal – Updated Jun 17, 2026 at 3:34 AM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Men typically retire at 65, women at 63, with little change over 60 years.
Fewer people plan to never retire, from 19% in 2020 to 10% in 2025.
Most Americans worry about saving enough for retirement.

Despite wages rising and retirement plans becoming more accessible than ever, the average retirement age has hardly moved over the past 60 years. For men, the average age of retirement is 65, essentially unchanged since 1962. For women, the average retirement age has increased from 53 to 63, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

There are signs, however, that the outlook is shifting. The share of workers who do not plan to retire at all fell from 19% in 2020 to 10% in 2025, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies 26th Annual Retirement Survey, conducted in the fall of 2025. At the same time, only 32% of Americans aged 60 to 64 were retired in the most recent Gallup data, down from 41% two decades earlier.

These patterns highlight the importance of a clear retirement strategy and the use of retirement accounts and other tools to help individuals stay on track, whenever that day may come.

The average retirement age: 65 for men, 63 for women

The average retirement age is 65 for men and 63 for women, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, based on calculations from the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey covering 1962 through 2024.

For men, the average retirement age has wavered by only a few years since 1962. For women, the average has increased by 10 years, likely due to more women entering and remaining in the workforce as well as changes to retirement accounts and Social Security benefits that incentivize later retirement.

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Percentage of Americans retired by age

While many dream of retiring before 65, few actually do. Just 32% of Americans aged 60 to 64 were retired between 2016 and 2022, according to Gallup. That drops to 11% for those aged 55 to 59 and below 10% for younger Americans.

While retiring at 65 has long been expected, only 70% of Americans aged 65 to 69 are retired. That share grows to 83% of those 70 to 74 and 88% of those 75 and older.

The percentage of Americans retired across all age groups has decreased since 2002, according to Gallup data. More Americans working later in life suggests many are struggling to save for retirement at a pace needed to keep up with rising costs.

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Fewer workers plan to never retire, but later retirement is still the norm

Among those not yet retired, Americans' expected retirement age has shifted meaningfully since 2020, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies 26th Annual Retirement Survey. The share expecting to retire before age 65 increased from 27% in 2020 to 31% in 2025. Those who expected to retire after age 65 or never decreased from 51% in 2020 to 46% in 2025.

The most notable change is at the far end of the scale. The percentage of workers who do not plan to retire at all fell from 19% in 2020 to 10% in 2025, while those expecting to retire at age 70 or older increased from 23% to 26%.

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Retirement expectations grow more pessimistic with age

Today, 31% of workers plan to retire before 65, and 10% have no plans to retire at all, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies' 26th Annual Retirement Survey. While 23% expect to retire at 65, another 37% expect to retire at 66 or later.

Retirement expectations grow more pessimistic with age. Among Gen Z, 42% believe they will retire before 65, and 22% think they will retire at 65. Just 13% say they do not plan to retire. Millennials are similarly hopeful: 36% expect to retire before 65, and 25% expect to retire at 65.

Older generations are more cautious. For instance, 37% of Gen X do not expect to retire before 65, and 15% do not expect to retire at all. Baby boomers are the least optimistic: only 7% see themselves retiring before 65, 64% expect to retire after 65, and 15% do not think retirement is on the table at all.

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Why do early retirement expectations erode as workers age? Younger workers may underestimate retirement costs. Housing, healthcare, and the overall cost of living have continued to increase. Gen Z and millennials may also overestimate their ability to save for retirement, particularly if they face unexpected life events such as prolonged unemployment, medical expenses, or other issues.

Additionally, older workers are often incentivized to delay retirement and keep working to reach full retirement age, get the most out of their Social Security benefits, and stay off Medicare.

Most Americans worry they cannot save enough to retire

The gap between the expected retirement age and the actual retirement age is partly financial. Six in 10 Americans (62%) agree they could work until retirement and still not save enough to meet their needs, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies 26th Annual Retirement Survey.

Among not-yet-retired workers, the median estimated savings target is $500,000 in today's dollars. Still, half of those who offered a number said they arrived at it by guessing, and only 13% used a retirement calculator. The uncertainty runs deeper still: 72% of not-yet-retired workers agree with the statement "I am concerned that when I am ready to retire, Social Security will not be there for me."

Average retirement savings and net worth data paint a similar picture of financial unpreparedness for many households, underscoring why the average retirement age has remained elevated even as expectations have shifted earlier.

Retiring on your terms

The average retirement age over the last 60 years has barely moved for men and risen meaningfully for women. Fewer people are retiring in their 60s than two decades ago, and the financial headwinds, savings shortfalls, debt, and Social Security uncertainty are real for a large share of workers across every generation.

The share of workers who do not plan to retire at all has fallen sharply, from 19% in 2020 to 10% in 2025, suggesting that more Americans are holding onto the expectation of retirement even if the timeline is later than they once hoped. For those planning beyond age 65, a clear retirement strategy remains critical to making the most of their years after work.

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About the Author

Jack Caporal is the Research Director for The Motley Fool and Motley Fool Money. Jack leads efforts to identify and analyze trends shaping investing and personal financial decisions across the United States. His research has appeared in thousands of media outlets including Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and CNBC, and has been cited in congressional testimony. He previously covered business and economic trends as a reporter and policy analyst in Washington, D.C. He serves as Chair of the Trade Policy Committee at the World Trade Center in Denver, Colorado. He holds a B.A. degree in International Relations with a concentration in International Economics from Michigan State University.

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