In 2021, I retired from federal employment after 38 years of service but I am still working. My pension is mostly paying for our health care. It helps but certainly not enough to live on.
So you might think social security is next? Not if our politicians have anything to do with it and gut it even more. Now they have made retirement age 67 for me since I was born after 1960.
401(K) or Other retirement savings?
After a divorce and drops in the stock market, there isn’t a nest egg there either.
I am resigned to the fact that I will have to work until I can’t work anymore. It’s just reality for me. We have to live and you can’t live on less. I don’t know how much longer that will be for me. I assume that if my health holds up that it will be another 10-15 years.
I try not to dread it but there are days I get tired of working. The positive of my current employment is that I work from home which I am so fortunate to be able to do. It kinda feels like a retirement since I can be home and not be away for 8-10 hours each day. I also work a lot more than I did in an office environment.
I actually like working for my current employer. I like being a part of changing technology and doing my part for the team. I will probably be with them as long as they want to keep me.
Here are some facts about Retirement in the United States:
- About 52% of working Americans ages 18 to 64 (nearly 76 million workers) lack access to an employer-provided retirement plan.
- The average actual retirement age in the U.S. is 64, while current workers expect to retire around age 66.
- Nine out of ten people over 65 receive Social Security benefits, which average roughly $1,900 to $1,976 per month Annuity.org. Many older adults rely on it for 30% to over 50% of their total income.
- About 59% of current workers plan to work or earn income in some capacity during their retirement years.
- There are roughly 58 million Americans aged 65 and older, a figure projected to grow to 82 million by 2050.
- Social Security serves about 90% of adults over 65, providing an average monthly benefit of $2,071 as of early 2026.
According to data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the minimum required income for a single individual to cover basic necessities (housing, food, healthcare, and basic transit) without any savings or discretionary spending is roughly $30,000 to $45,000 a year, depending on the local cost of living.
So, as you can see, for MOST people you have to either work to live or retire and stress if you have saved enough to live out the rest of your years.
