In reversal, U.S. retirement age rises
Monsters & Critics.com, May 30th, 2007
The age U.S. workers choose to retire is rising, after falling for more than 100 years, U.S. government statistics show.
In the mid-1980s, 18 percent of people in their late 60s still had
jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The figure is now
up to 29 percent, it said.
And experts say it will continue to rise as workers face the
prospect of a lengthy and expensive old age, with limited retirement
benefits, the Los Angeles Times reported.
More than one in four baby boomers -- born from 1946 to 1964 -- say
they never plan to retire, a recent survey by the National Association
of Realtors showed.
In contrast to the latter half of the 20th century -- with Social
Security retirement benefits, Medicare health insurance and guaranteed
income through employer pensions -- workers today face a hazardous
landscape, the Times said.
Traditional pensions are rare. Companies have cut back retiree healthcare benefits. Even Social Security is retrenching.
Workers born in 1960 and later will have to wait until age 67, rather than 65, to get their full retirement benefits.
And more Social Security benefits will be subject to income tax and higher Medicare premiums.
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