69% of the U.S. population anticipates an increase in retirement age
The retirement age in the United States is always a mystery for working people, especially for those who still have to contribute for a few more years to be eligible to apply for this pension. In fact, American citizens are firmly convinced that the standard age for retirement will be increased in the coming years, so they will have to continue working longer to qualify for retirement benefits from the American Social Security system.
In fact, the majority of American society expects the retirement age in the United States to increase, according to a survey by Newsweek, which asked more than a thousand workers, between December 23 and 30, 2024, if they thought the legal age for retirement would be increased when it was their turn. The results cleared up any doubt: a resounding 69 percent answered “yes”, only 16 percent answered “no” and another 15 percent said they were “not sure”.
Predicted increase in the retirement age in the USA
According to the agency that carried out the survey, respondents from Generation X, aged between 43 and 58, were particularly pessimistic, with 74 percent predicting that the figure will be higher; Millennials, aged between 27 and 42, were equally pessimistic, with 72 percent answering “yes”; while 71 percent of those surveyed from Generation Z, people aged between 18 and 26, gave the same answer.
However, in contrast to these figures, only 44 percent of baby boomers (those aged between 59 and 77) and 56 percent of the Silent Generation (those aged between 78 and 98) said they expected the official retirement age in the United States to be higher when they retired. Therefore, the results seemed to show a considerable difference that could be explained by a generational gap.
In fact, according to Justina Raskauskiene, Human Resources director of a marketing platform for e-commerce companies, current longevity is unprecedented, which means that many older professionals continue to be valuable to companies in later stages of life. Likewise, 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”.
Younger generations, especially Generation Z, have grown up in a context of economic instability and an explosion of the digital world, which has shaped their completely different views on work. Career paths that swap between different jobs allow for temporary savings, entrepreneurship and opportunities for hybrid or remote working challenge tradition. As a result, the concept of a strict ‘retirement age‘ may have lost relevance.
Ultimately, 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 therefore not subject to a fixed condition, but rather to the economy, the age of workers and the budget of Social Security.