What Is the Average Retirement Age?

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The brief’s key findings are:

  • Since the mid-1990s, the average retirement age has risen:
    • from 62 to 64 for men; and
    • from 60 to 62 for women.
  • This trend toward later retirement has been driven by several factors:
    • changing incentives in Social Security and employer pensions;
    • better education and health coupled with less strenuous jobs; and
    • the decline in retiree health insurance.
  • In addition, more older women are working today because more of them started working when younger.
  • These factors suggest the trend toward later retirement will continue but risks remain, such as the move away from career employment.