Average Retirement Age in America (2026): By State, Gender, and Occupation

The median actual retirement age in America is about 62 — well below the full Social Security age of 67 — according to EBRI’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. Gallup’s survey data points to a similar range (actual retirement in the low-to-mid 60s). The most common single retirement age is 62, the earliest age to claim Social Security, though doing so permanently reduces benefits. Workers themselves plan to retire later: the median expected retirement age among current workers is 65. This page covers how retirement age varies by gender, occupation, and income, why so many retirements happen earlier than planned, and how the timing decision affects Social Security and required savings.

A note on the data below: National surveys (EBRI, Gallup, the Bureau of Labor Statistics) publish average/median retirement age at the national level and by broad demographic splits, but there is no single official government dataset that publishes precise average retirement age by all 50 states, by narrow occupation categories, or by income band down to fractional years. The state, occupation, and income-level tables further down this page are directional, order-of-magnitude illustrations built from the well-documented pattern that physically demanding, lower-income work correlates with earlier retirement and knowledge-economy, higher-income work correlates with later retirement — they should be read as illustrative, not as precise, individually sourced statistics. Treat any specific number in those tables as an estimate to confirm against current state-level labor force data (e.g., BLS or Census) rather than a hard published fact.

Average Retirement Age Overview

The gap between the actual retirement age (~62) and full Social Security age (67) means most Americans claim a reduced benefit. Waiting until 70 produces the maximum possible Social Security payment — 124% of the full benefit. The average retirement savings for Americans near retirement age make this timing decision critical: insufficient savings often forces early claiming even when delaying would be financially superior.

Average Retirement Age by State (Illustrative Estimates)

See the methodology note above — these figures are directional estimates, not a single official published state-by-state dataset. State-level variation in retirement age is generally driven by two factors: the type of work prevalent in that state’s economy and median household income. States with more physically demanding industries (mining, construction, logging) tend to see earlier average retirement, as workers’ bodies often give out before their savings do. States with a larger share of professional and government jobs — which tend to carry better pensions, higher salaries, and less physical wear — tend to see later average retirement.

Median household income by state is directional and should be checked against current Census Bureau American Community Survey data for exact figures.

Average Retirement Age by Gender

Research consistently finds that women retire somewhat earlier than men on average. Several compounding causes are well documented: women are more likely to step back from work during peak earning years for caregiving, which reduces both lifetime earnings and retirement savings; lower average savings can push women toward claiming Social Security earlier; and coordination with a spouse’s retirement timing is a factor, since among married couples the younger spouse (often the wife) may retire to align with the older spouse. Women also statistically outlive men by several years on average, which makes the case for delaying claiming (when affordable) even stronger — yet they tend to claim earlier in practice.

The exact size of the gender gap in retirement age varies by survey and year; confirm the current figure against the latest EBRI, Gallup, or BLS data rather than treating any single number as fixed.

Average Retirement Age by Occupation (Illustrative Estimates)

See the methodology note above. Occupation is one of the strongest retirement-age predictors, even though there is no single government dataset publishing precise average retirement age by detailed occupation. Physical labor jobs tend to push workers out earlier regardless of financial readiness — bodies wear down, injuries accumulate, and disability becomes a pathway to early retirement. Military and public safety careers have structured early retirement incentives (pension eligibility after a set number of years) that pull workers out in their 40s and 50s. Knowledge-economy workers — lawyers, physicians, engineers, executives — more often work into their mid-to-late 60s because the work is mentally rather than physically demanding.

Why People Retire When They Do

The most important insight from retirement timing research is that a large share of retirements are involuntary. EBRI’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey found that 46% of people who retired in 2025 left the workforce earlier than they had planned. Among those who retired early, 41% cited a health problem or disability (up from 31% in the prior year’s survey) and 35% cited corporate changes — downsizing, business closure, or reorganization. Altogether, factors outside the retiree’s control accounted for about 76% of early retirements. This has serious financial implications: workers who plan to work until 67 or 70 but are forced out earlier due to health or job loss face years of unplanned early retirement without adequate savings. The retiring at 62 guide covers the financial impact of this scenario in detail.

Source: EBRI 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. Categories are not mutually exclusive/additive to 100% — retirees could cite more than one factor.

Social Security and Retirement Age

Your Social Security benefit changes based on when you claim. The difference between claiming at 62 versus 70 is a permanent gap in monthly income for life: claiming at 62 pays 70% of your full benefit, while delaying to 70 pays 124% — a 54-percentage-point spread. On a $2,500 full benefit, that’s $1,750/month at 62 versus $3,100/month at 70, a $1,350/month difference that compounds over decades. The rough break-even age between claiming at 62 and 70 is around 80 — meaning someone who lives well past 80 tends to collect more lifetime income by waiting, though the exact break-even depends on your own numbers. See when to claim Social Security for a full break-even analysis.

For more, see when to claim Social Security.

How Much Do You Need to Retire?

Each year of earlier retirement requires more savings for two reasons: more years to fund and lower Social Security income (because you’re claiming earlier). The table below uses a $60,000/year spending target and a rough “25x” rule of thumb (roughly consistent with a 4% starting withdrawal rate) as a simplified savings benchmark. Actual needs vary by Social Security income, healthcare costs, and spending, and current research (see Morningstar’s 2026 safe-withdrawal-rate analysis) suggests a starting rate closer to 3.9% may be more conservative for a 30-year retirement. A couple claiming at 62 with a $1,750/month combined Social Security benefit receives about $21,000/year — leaving $39,000/year to be funded from savings, requiring roughly $975,000 in portfolio assets on the 25x rule.

The 25x figure here is simply $60,000 × 25 in every row — it does not adjust for the fact that a shorter payout horizon (e.g., retiring at 70 with fewer years to fund) could support a somewhat higher sustainable withdrawal rate than a longer one. Use a full retirement calculator for a personalized number.

Earlier retirement means more savings needed. Use our retirement savings calculator or FIRE calculator to plan your numbers.

Average Retirement Age by Income Level (Illustrative Estimates)

See the methodology note above. Income is a strong predictor of retirement age in the research literature: higher earners more often retire later by choice, while lower earners more often retire early out of necessity — poor health or job loss — without adequate savings.

Lower-income workers are more likely to claim Social Security at 62 — the earliest possible age — because they need the income, even though this permanently reduces their monthly benefit. For strategies to make fixed retirement income last longer, see managing money in retirement.

The Early Retirement Cost

The roughly three-year Medicare gap between 62 and 65 is one of the most overlooked costs of early retirement. Without employer coverage, a 62-year-old must purchase individual health insurance for those years — commonly several hundred to over a thousand dollars per month per person at that age, depending on income, subsidy eligibility, and state, before Medicare kicks in. This healthcare cost alone can consume a meaningful portion of the extra savings needed to retire at 62 versus 67.

Retiring at 62 vs. 67 has a large financial impact that compounds over time:

Worked Example: Retiring at 62 on $800,000

To make this concrete, consider a single person retiring at 62 with $800,000 in a 401(k)/IRA and a Social Security full benefit of $2,200/month (a hypothetical example — your own full benefit depends on your earnings record; check your actual estimate at ssa.gov).

Social Security: Claiming at 62 reduces the $2,200 full benefit by 30%, yielding $1,540/month ($18,480/year).

Savings gap: Targeting $60,000/year in spending, the shortfall is $60,000 − $18,480 = $41,520/year to be drawn from savings.

How long savings last: $800,000 ÷ $41,520 ≈ 19.3 years, meaning savings alone run out at roughly age 81 in this simplified example (this ignores investment growth on the remaining balance during drawdown, so an invested portfolio would typically last longer than this simple division suggests). Confirm your own numbers with a full retirement calculator that models ongoing investment returns.

The delay benefit: Waiting just three years to 65 reduces the benefit cut to 13.3% ($1,907/month, or $22,884/year). The savings gap drops to $37,116/year. The same $800,000 divided by that lower gap lasts roughly 21.6 years using the same simplified math.

The Medicare bridge: Health insurance from 62–65 costs vary widely by income and state on the ACA marketplace — confirm current premiums and subsidy eligibility for your situation, since this is one of the most volatile costs in early-retirement planning.

This table uses simple division (balance ÷ annual gap) with no investment growth assumed, which understates how long a properly invested portfolio would actually last — it’s meant to illustrate the relative effect of claiming age, not to be a precise depletion forecast.

This example illustrates why many financial planners suggest delaying Social Security when savings are moderate and health/circumstances allow it. See the full retiring at 62 guide for detailed scenarios.

Bottom Line

While the median American retiree left work around age 62, many are forced into earlier retirement by health or job loss. Building adequate savings, understanding your Social Security benefits, and having a realistic plan for how much you need to retire are essential regardless of when you plan to stop working.

For more on retirement planning at every age, see the Retirement Planning hub.

Written by WealthVieu

WealthVieu researches and writes data-driven personal finance guides using primary sources including the IRS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, and Census Bureau.