The retirement age in the United States is always a mystery to working people, especially those who still have a few years to contribute before being eligible to apply for this pension. In fact, American citizens are convinced that the retirement age will be raised in the coming years, forcing them to work longer hours to qualify for Social Security benefits.
In fact, the majority of American society expects the retirement age in the United States to rise, according to a Newsweek survey that asked more than a thousand workers between December 23 and 30, 2024, if they thought the legal retirement age would be raised when it was their turn. The results removed any doubt: 69 percent said “yes,” 16 percent said “no,” and 15 percent said they were “not sure.”
Predicted increase in the retirement age in the USA
According to the agency that conducted the survey, respondents from Generation X, aged 43 to 58, were particularly pessimistic, with 74% predicting that the figure will be higher. Millennials, aged 27 to 42, were equally pessimistic, with 72 percent responding “yes,” as were 71 percent of Generation Z respondents, aged 18 to 26.
In contrast to these figures, only 44 percent of baby boomers (those aged 59 to 77) and 56 percent of the Silent Generation (those aged 78 to 98) expect the official retirement age in the United States to be higher when they retire. As a result, the findings appeared to show a significant difference, which could be attributed to a generational gap.
In fact, according to Justina Raskauskiene, Human Resources director of an e-commerce marketing platform, current longevity is unprecedented, implying that many older professionals are still valuable to companies in their later years. Similarly, the businesswoman continues, “the costs of living are increasing while pensions are being reduced, also as never before, which makes prolonged careers a necessity for many people”.
Future of retirement in the United States
Younger generations, particularly Generation Z, have grown up in an era of economic insecurity and the explosion of the digital world, resulting in vastly different perspectives on work. Career paths that switch jobs allow for temporary savings, entrepreneurship, and opportunities for hybrid or remote working, all of which challenge traditional thinking. As a result, the concept of a fixed’retirement age’ may have lost relevance.
Finally, the future of retirement has less to do with “extending one’s working life and more to do with how one views one’s social and economic security,” explains Raskauskiene. Retirement is therefore a reality that is adjusted and dependent on several factors, and is thus not subject to a fixed condition, but rather to the economy, worker age, and the Social Security budget.
