I hear it frequently: Going to work til I die

[rcjordan]

...particularly from workers in the trades & construction.  Sorry, but there are plenty of 'GOTCHAs' that will nuke that plan.

Working longer may not fix your retirement, economists say

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/18/working-longer-retirement-plan.html

[ergophobe]

Couple that with this
https://www.guardianlife.com/retirement/savings-by-age

The median retirement savings per household for people aged 55-64 in the US is $185,000.

People in that age cohort rarely have pensions.

Social Security is their entire retirement plan

Social Security Trust Fund is running out of money around 2032 which will require benefits to be cut by about 30-35%

Young people are starting to look at federal budgets and realize they are getting utterly screwed (50% of all federal spending last year was SS, Medicare and interest on the debts that the old people getting SS and MC have created), so at a certain point they are going to stop voting for cash for old people.

We had an economist visiting the last few days. He said all of this and more is why when the Fed cut interest rates, interest on a 30-year mortgage went up, something typically only seen in developing countries that are not managing their finances well.

[rcjordan]

>The median retirement savings per household for people aged 55-64 in the US is $185,000.
>People in that age cohort rarely have pensions.
>Social Security is their entire retirement plan

Older Americans Say They Hit Walls Job Searching, Face Workplace Ageism - Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/ageism-workplace-older-workers-job-search-hiring-2025-8

[ergophobe]

> Ageism

Honestly, I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to quit being a historian. I knew I was bored. I thought a change would do me good and it did.

I might have hung on for a few more years, but my hair was graying and I was fast approaching 50 and realized that switching careers with brown hair at 48 was going to be easier than with gray hair at 52.

I know of several men and women who dyed their hair in the later phases of their careers and then quit once they retired.

I do think that will have to change though and I also think that a healthy older worker with Medicare available is quite attractive for a lot of employers in the US - employment-based health insurance is one of the biggest perverters of the market ever invented. On my King of the World list is making it illegal for employers to offer health insurance benefits.

[rcjordan]

^{Mostly posted this because something in the title caught Debbie's eye.}

Retirement age 'should' be 58, survey respondents say, on average.
 
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/23/what-to-consider-before-retiring-early.html?link_source=rss

Wishful Thinking.

58 has long been Debbie's best guess as to when there's a step-up in ageing and medical issues.  Some good numbers in the article;

"On average, as of 2024, men retire at age 64 while women retire at age 62...

Even at those average ages, workers may not have planned to retire. Many Americans, 58%, end up retiring earlier than they expected, according to a 2024 report...

Of those who retired early, 46% pointed to health-related reasons, 43% cited employment issues and 20% family reasons. Just 21% said they retired early because they are financially stable."

[ergophobe]

>> 58

I noticed that around 56-58, there is a huge uptick in people around me starting to realize that their time is limited and they need to make choices. It's not a health decline per se.

I have this theory (aka vague idea) that there is a "slow zone" between about 25 and 55, and things move faster on both sides of that, especially for men who do not have the joy of menopause in their 40s as a first wake-up call.

But at $185,000 median savings for people 55-64, retiring comfortably at 58 is clearly not in the cards for most Americans.