Greetings!,

When do you plan to retire? Or rather, when do you want to retire? (Yes, those can be two different things.)

It used to be that age 65 was the normal retirement age. Then, in 1983, Congress passed a law to gradually raise the age because people are living longer and are generally healthier in older age. The law raised the full retirement age beginning with people born in 1938 or later. The retirement age gradually increases by a few months for every birth year, until it reaches 67 for people born in 1960 and later.

However, according to a 2024 survey by Yougov.com, 59% of American workers said they would like to retire before age 65. If you are in the minority of workers who plan work past age 65, Yahoo Finance would like you to consider 3 facts. Take a look at these and see if this may change your plans at all:

1) Life expectancy is the USA is 74.6 years. However, The healthy life expectancy in America is just 63.9, (both numbers according to the WHO). After that, you’re more likely to suffer from chronic medical issues that can leave you unable to easily enjoy your golden years.

Of course, not everyone will develop medical issues after age 65, but the swiftness and severity can be surprising and debilitating. If you are older than 63.9 years old your health may be on borrowed time.

2) If you work fulltime over the course of a normal working career, Gettysburg College estimates that you will spend 90,000 hours working before age 65. That much time away from family, friends, and things you enjoy may put the time and effort you spend on your career into perspective. Using the life expectancy above, your total living hours are 653,496 and healthy living hours are 559,764. A few more hours doing something other than work may have greater value later in life.

3) The Global Health Research and Policy Journal states that early retirement can reduce or eliminate depression. If you can retire early under positive circumstance with goals and aspirations for life after work, your outlook tends to be much more positive. Being forced to retire due to health, downsizing, or other issues can impact both your physical and mental health. Taking control of your destiny and retiring on your own terms is one way to have a smoother retirement.

With all of this in mind, Yougov.com also noted that while 59% of workers want to retire early, only about 40% believe they can actually achieve this goal.

We all know that early investing helps. We also know the importance of planning. If you want to see what your retirement options are, or how to plan to leave work on your own terms, please reach out to us. We have the tools and knowledge to lead you to your goals.

As always, thanks for reading.



Bernie & Chad