Retirement age edges up

Retirement age edges up

The retirement age for U.S. workers is edging up after falling for 100 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says 29% of people in their late 60s still have jobs, up from 18% in the mid-1980s. More than 25% of baby boomers plan to never retire, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors.

In reversal, U.S. retirement age rises
By UPI May 31, 2007, 0:30 GMT

EL SEGUNDO, CA, United States (UPI) -- The age U.S. workers choose to retire is rising, after falling for more than 100 years, U.S. government statistics show.

In the mid-1980s, 18 percent of people in their late 60s still had jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The figure is now up to 29 percent, it said.

And experts say it will continue to rise as workers face the prospect of a lengthy and expensive old age, with limited retirement benefits, the Los Angeles Times reported.

More than one in four baby boomers -- born from 1946 to 1964 -- say they never plan to retire, a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors showed.

In contrast to the latter half of the 20th century -- with Social Security retirement benefits, Medicare health insurance and guaranteed income through employer pensions -- workers today face a hazardous landscape, the Times said.

Traditional pensions are rare. Companies have cut back retiree healthcare benefits. Even Social Security is retrenching.

Workers born in 1960 and later will have to wait until age 67, rather than 65, to get their full retirement benefits.

And more Social Security benefits will be subject to income tax and higher Medicare premiums.

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retirement, social security, benefits, pensions, health care costs