In 1985, men in the U.S. began receiving their pension at the age of almost 64 years, compared to 58 years in the Soviet Union, with a difference of 5.5 years. For women, the difference was 9.3 years, as those in the U.S. worked until the age of 63, compared to 54 in the USSR. In the U.S., men and women both worked until the roughly the same age, whereas men in the Soviet Union worked for approximately four years more than women.

The statistic above provides information about the average retirement age in the United States from 1900 to 2012. Most of the people were about 76 years old when they ended work in 1900, while the generation in 2010 was aged 64.

Additional information on the retirement age in the United States

Societal changes, technological advancements and domestic social welfare pension policies have all contributed to a general lowering of the average retirement age. Although the average retirement age has remained relatively steady between 63 and 65 for decades, age demographic disparities are set to threaten the continence of this trend. The retirement age is similarly low in other developed countries subject to the same trend.

The average retirement age of workers in the United States and the effect it has on the wider economy and society has become an important focus. In recent years many countries, including the United States, have acknowledged the issue of aging populations and the potential strain this may put on the economy. The danger lies in rising pension payments and gaps in the labor force upon the looming retirement of the so-called baby boom generation born following the Second World War.

While there is a commonly accepted consensus that the government should play at least a role in the provision of financial means to retirees, policy action in regards to this growing problem has been minimal. Such an approach will do little to minimize the existing fears held by retirees over payment of basic needs and medical expenses. Perhaps as a response to these concerns, many current workers in the United States expect to continue working in a full or part time capacity upon reaching the retirement age.

The life expectancy for men aged 65 years in the U.S. has gradually increased since the 1960s. Now men in the United States aged 65 can expect to live 17 more years on average. Women aged 65 years can expect to live around 19.7 more years on average.

Life expectancy in the U.S.

As of 2021, the average life expectancy at birth in the United States was 76.33 years. Life expectancy in the U.S. had steadily increased for many years but has recently dropped slightly. Women consistently have a higher life expectancy than men but have also seen a slight decrease. As of 2019, a woman in the U.S. could be expected to live up to 79.3 years.

Leading causes of death

The leading causes of death in the United States include heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases and cerebrovascular diseases. However, heart disease and cancer account for around 38 percent of all deaths. Although heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death for both men and women, there are slight variations in the leading causes of death. For example, unintentional injury and suicide account for a larger portion of deaths among men than they do among women.

In 2023, the median age of the population of the United States was 39.2 years. While this may seem quite young, the median age in 1960 was even younger, at 29.5 years. The aging population in the United States means that society is going to have to find a way to adapt to the larger numbers of older people. Everything from Social Security to employment to the age of retirement will have to change if the population is expected to age more while having fewer children. The world is getting older It’s not only the United States that is facing this particular demographic dilemma. In 1950, the global median age was 23.6 years. This number is projected to increase to 41.9 years by the year 2100. This means that not only the U.S., but the rest of the world will also have to find ways to adapt to the aging population.

This table contains 2394 series, with data for years 1991 - 1991 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 items: Canada ...), Population group (19 items: Entire cohort; Income adequacy quintile 1 (lowest);Income adequacy quintile 2;Income adequacy quintile 3 ...), Age (14 items: At 25 years; At 30 years; At 40 years; At 35 years ...), Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Females; Males ...), Characteristics (3 items: Life expectancy; High 95% confidence interval; life expectancy; Low 95% confidence interval; life expectancy ...).

In 2022, about 17.3 percent of the American population was 65 years old or over; an increase from the last few years and a figure which is expected to reach 22 percent by 2050. This is a significant increase from 1950, when only eight percent of the population was 65 or over.

A rapidly aging population

In recent years, the aging population of the United States has come into focus as a cause for concern, as the nature of work and retirement is expected to change in order to keep up. If a population is expected to live longer than the generations before, the economy will have to change as well in order to fulfill the needs of the citizens. In addition, the birth rate in the U.S. has been falling over the last 20 years, meaning that there are not as many young people to replace the individuals leaving the workforce.

The future population

It’s not only the American population that is aging -- the global population is, too. By 2025, the median age of the global workforce is expected to be 39.6 years, up from 33.8 years in 1990. Additionally, it is projected that there will be over three million people worldwide aged 100 years and over by 2050.

Israel, Iceland, and Norway had the highest current retirement ages worldwide of the 45 countries included at 67 years. Meanwhile, Indonesia had the highest effective retirement age at 69.

As of January 1, 2024, retirees in Russia received a gross pension of approximately 20,800 Russian rubles on average, or 233 U.S. dollars per month at the exchange rate as of August 15, 2024. The reform of 2019 introduced a retirement age hike to gradually increase the retirement age to 60 years for women and 65 years for men until 2028. Pensions in Russia are guaranteed by the state, like in many European countries. Pension growth in Russia The amount of retirement benefits in Russia increased by roughly 1,500 Russian rubles, or 7.6 percent, over the course of 2023. The pensions increased more significantly than prices in the country, as Russia's annual inflation rate stood at around 5.9 percent in the same year. Pensioners in Russia Despite the increase in pension amounts, there has been a decrease in the number of individuals entitled to receive pensions. As of January 1, 2024, the number of pensioners in Russia reached roughly 41.1 million, down more than five million from five years ago. That corresponded to 281 pensioners per 1,000 population. In total, approximately 22.1 million women aged 60 years and older and 8.7 million men aged 65 years and above resided in the country.

The number of retired workers receiving Social Security benefits increased from approximately 34.59 million in 2010 to 50.15 million in 2023. This figure has increased at the same rate year-on-year over the past decade and is likely to continue into the future.

What is Social Security?

Social Security benefits are payments, which are paid out by the U.S. government to qualified retirees and disabled people, as well as to their spouses, children and survivors. These payments are meant to provide them with partial replacement income. Social security expenditure is forecast to increase year-on-year over the next decade, as it has since the beginning of the 21st century.

The impact of demographic change

This is likely to the fact that the U.S. population is aging rapidly, which means that seniors will account for a greater proportion of the population in the future. This demographic change will put pressure on government resources, because the workforce whose tax dollars pay for social benefits will make up a smaller percentage of the population than now. Americans who are 65 years and older are the demographic group estimated to grow the most over the next 40 years, whereas the other groups will mostly remain the same.

In 2023, the real median household income for householders aged 15 to 24 was at 54,930 U.S. dollars. The highest median household income was found amongst those aged between 45 and 54. Household median income for the United States since 1990 can be accessed here.