What’s the Average Retirement Age? 

The average retirement age in the United States is 61 to 64 years old (depending on the data you use). A recent Gallup survey says it’s 61, but the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College says it’s 64.7 for men and 62.1 for women.

One thing is certain: The average retirement age is up from 57 in the 1990s.

Changes in the average retirement age are due to several factors, including economic conditions, health, lifestyle, and personal preferences. For some people, the right retirement age means reaching age 67, the normal retirement age when they receive full retirement benefits from Social Security. For others, it means age 62, when they are first eligible for Social Security benefits, although at a reduced amount. That number could be different for many others.

Factors Affecting Retirement Age

Many factors influence the average retirement age. These include:

• Economic conditions/savings: In 1983, the retirement age for full Social Security benefits was gradually increased from 65 to 67. That delayed retirement for many who wanted to obtain full Social Security benefits to help pay their living expenses when they stopped working. On average, employees with a 401(k) account retire one to two years later than those who have a pension, possibly to accumulate more wealth in those accounts. In addition, nearly half of all Americans have no retirement savings, which could delay their retirement.
• Lifestyle: How you want to live your life also determines when you retire. For instance, if you plan to travel often during retirement, you will need more money to fund those trips.
• Health: For those in good health, you may decide to work longer to increase your retirement savings. However, someone living with a chronic or debilitating condition may be forced to retire sooner than planned.
• Location: How much it costs to live where your home is located also plays a role in when you retire, because you want to have enough money to pay your living expenses. If you plan to downsize and move to a smaller community with a lower cost of living, your retirement savings needs could be lower, so you may be able to retire sooner.
• Personal preferences: What are your plans for retirement? Do you want to be able to spend a lot of time with your grandchildren? Move to a dream location such as another country, the beach, or the mountains? Or, maybe you like your work and want to continue for as long as possible. Your answers to questions like these will help you determine when to retire.
  

Average Retirement Age in the U.S.

Historically, there has been some fluctuation in the average retirement age for men in the United States, with the age dropping to age 62 from 1986 to 1995, before increasing to the current 64.7. For women, the average retirement age has gradually increased from age 53 in 1962 to 62.1 in 2021.

Average Retirement Age for Men and Women Over Time
Year	Age—Men	Age—Women
1962	66	53
1971	65	56
1974	64	56
1983	63	56
1986	62	57
1998	63	60
2010	64	62
2016	65	63
2021	64.7	62.1

Regional Variations in Retirement Age

The average retirement age is typically lower in Southern states than in other parts of the country, although there are some exceptions. Alaska and West Virginia have the lowest average retirement age at 61, while Washington, D.C., has the highest at 67. Hawaii, Massachusetts, and South Dakota have the second-highest average retirement age at 66.

Average Retirement Age by State
State	Average Retirement Age	State	Average Retirement Age
Alabama	62	Montana	64
Alaska	61	Nebraska	65
Arizona	63	Nevada	63
Arkansas	62	New Hampshire	65
California	64	New Jersey	65
Colorado	65	New Mexico	62
Connecticut	65	New York	64
Delaware	63	North Carolina	63
District of Columbia	67	North Dakota	65
Florida	64	Ohio	63
Georgia	63	Oklahoma	62
Hawaii	66	Oregon	63
Idaho	64	Pennsylvania	64
Illinois	64	Rhode Island	65
Indiana	63	South Carolina	63
Iowa	65	South Dakota	66
Kansas	65	Tennessee	64
Kentucky	62	Texas	65
Louisiana	62	Utah	65
Maine	63	Vermont	65
Maryland	65	Virginia	65
Massachusetts	66	Washington	64
Michigan	62	West Virginia	61
Minnesota	65	Wisconsin	64
Mississippi	63	Wyoming	64
Missouri	63

Retirement Age by Profession

What you do for a living also can affect your retirement age. Those with less physically demanding jobs tend to work longer, as do those who are better educated. For example, there are nearly 5 million workers ages 65 and older in management, professional, and related occupations such as chief executives, lawyers, and postsecondary teachers.

By contrast, there are only about 1.6 million workers ages 65 and older in service occupations such as firefighters, food servers, and bank tellers. For construction, maintenance, and natural resources occupations, the number of workers ages 65 and older drops even more to just 731,000. This includes carpenters, roofers, computer repairers, and locksmiths.

Retirement Age and Social Security

The current retirement age for receiving full Social Security benefits is 67 for those born in 1960 and later. For those born in the years 1943 to 1959, the retirement age is from 66 to 66 years and 10 months.

However, you can start receiving Social Security benefits at age 62, although they will be permanently reduced. How much less depends on exactly when you start taking benefits. Retiring up to 36 months early reduces the benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each month. If you retire more than 36 months early, the benefit is further reduced by 5/12 of 1% per month.

For instance, if your retirement age is 67 and your full benefits would be $1,000 per month if you opt to take retirement at age 62, your benefit would be reduced by 30% to $700 per month.

If you decide to retire after you reach full retirement age, your benefit will increase when you start collecting Social Security through delayed retirement credits. How much your delayed retirement credits will be depends on your birth year. For instance, if you were born in 1943 or later, your delayed retirement credit is 8% per year until age 70. There is no additional delayed retirement credit after age 70.

Retirement Age and Financial Planning

If you plan to retire at a specific age, you’ll need time to save enough money to fund that retirement. Obviously, the earlier you begin saving for retirement, the more likely you will reach your savings goal by retirement age. Many retirement tools, such as retirement accounts, whole life insurance policies, and investment accounts take time to grow the money you put into them.

For instance, retirement accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or 401(k)s rely on compound interest to increase the money you put in the account, so you need time for those earnings to accumulate. The same is true for whole life insurance policies that accumulate a cash value.

Creating a plan to save and grow your money, and then sticking with that plan, will help you achieve your goal of having enough money to retire when you are ready.

Strategies for Early or Late Retirement

If you wish to retire earlier than the average retirement age, the following tips could help you achieve that goal.

1. Set up retirement accounts when you start working.
2. Take advantage of employer-sponsored plans such as 401(k)s, especially if the employer matches some or all of your contributions.
3. Keep debt to a minimum.
4. Contribute to an investment account.
5. Create alternate sources of income, such as a rental property or a part-time job, to increase savings.

If you plan to retire later than the average retirement age, these strategies could help you along the way.

1. Sign up for Medicare as soon as you become eligible at age 65, to avoid paying a penalty for signing up later.
2. Wait to take Social Security until you stop working full-time. If you don’t, you may be limited in how much you can earn and still receive full benefits.
3. Take advantage of catch-up contributions for your retirement accounts. For instance, the maximum allowed contribution for a 401(k) is $23,000 in 2024. If you are age 50 or older, you can contribute an extra $7,500 each year to your account. If you have an IRA and are age 50 or older, you can contribute an extra $1,000 beyond the maximum annual contribution of $7,000.

The Bottom Line

Planning for retirement starts with knowing when you want to retire. Understanding that the average retirement age is 61 to 64 (depending on the data you use) will help you create a savings plan to reach your financial goals. This includes deciding when to take Social Security benefits to further fund your retirement.

If you plan to take Social Security benefits early, then having other savings tools, such as retirement and investment accounts, is essential to help you pay for your retirement years.