The age at which Americans plan to retire is creeping upward. A recent Gallup poll found that 37 percent of working Americans said they expect to retire after age 65, which is up from 22 percent a decade ago and 14 percent in 1995.
Similarly, the percentage of nonretirees who said they intend to retire before age 65 has declined to 26 percent from 49 percent in 1995. Those who plan to retire at age 65 held at 26 percent, according to Gallup.
In April, Gallup polled roughly 2,000 adults age 18 and older, split between about 600 retirees and 1,400 nonretirees.
The average working American now expects to retire at age 66, up from 60 in 1995. Meanwhile, the average retirement age for those who have already left the workforce was 61. That contrasts to the average retirement age of 57 in 1993 and 59 in 2003.
However, Gallup points out that since most of the upswing came before the 2008 recession, the change in retirement age expectations may not be solely based on the economy. "It may also indicate changing norms about the value of work, the composition of the workforce, the decrease in jobs with mandatory retirement ages, and other factors," said Alyssa Brown of Gallup, in a summation of the poll. She also stated the average retirement age will continue to increase in the coming years.
