‘Zapped time and time again’: More workers say they expect to retire at 65, but research shows they may be overly optimistic about how long they can remain in the workforce

Americans are more likely to retire at 62

The latest installment from the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s (EBRI) 34-year survey of workers and retirees revealed 28% of workers expect to retire at age 65 — up from 23% a year ago.

But in reality, the median age of retirement has been 62 for several years — the same year Americans can start claiming Social Security benefits.

Multiple experts and finance personalities like Suze Orman have touted the idea of delaying retirement and claiming Social Security benefits later to snag bigger payouts, but some older Americans simply have no choice than to retire at 62, or even earlier.

Half of retirees surveyed in the EBRI report said they retired earlier than planned and nearly 70% point to reasons outside of their control, such as health issues, layoffs or the need to provide care for family members.

Craig Copeland, director of wealth-benefits research at EBRI, told the Wall Street Journal that this raises the stakes of how much Americans need to save for retirement.

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Experts point to ‘rampant ageism’ in the workplace

While three-quarters of workers in the EBRI study say they expect to continue working in retirement, only 30% of retirees actually do.

Hal Hershfield, a psychologist at the University of California Los Angeles told the WSJ a bias toward optimism leads many Americans to believe “work will be there for us, while that may not be the case due to rampant ageism.”

AARP research showed that 64% of adults aged 50-plus in the labor force think older workers face age discrimination in the workplace today.

And nearly one in six of these adults currently working or looking for work report they were not hired for a job they applied for within the past two years due to their age.

Hiring managers might make discriminatory judgments and assume older workers aren’t as tech-savvy or productive as younger folks, or have concerns regarding potential health issues.

Older workers are sometimes perceived as "doddering but dear,” Christina Matz, associate professor at the Boston College School of Social Work, and director of the Center on Aging and Work told BBC.

"They're labeled as slower and set in their ways, well-meaning on one hand and incompetent on the other. People of a certain age are considered out-of-touch, and not seen as progressive and innovative,” Matz said, adding that women face additional hurdles.

What older Americans need to know

Advocates for older workers say the group brings incredible value to the workplace due to their lived experiences and reliability — while digital skills can be taught through training.

John Tarnoff, a reinvention career coach based in L.A., told Moneywise in 2022, “It's vital that older workers dive in and roll up their sleeves along with everybody else. There is no reason why an older worker can't learn the same remote work skills and technology skills as a younger worker.”

Tarnoff also explained that while the Age Discrimination and Employment Act was enacted in 1964 to protect workers over 40, it’s “not a particularly useful tool” since it’s so hard to prove age discrimination in the workplace.

His advice to older Americans looking for jobs is to “really double down on the value proposition that you deliver as a worker” and match themselves to employers and companies that are seeking that specific value proposition.