As the cost of state pensions grows for the states, working in to old age has become a thing in the West .....
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| Working In To Pension Age Becoming More Common |
.... reversing the trend of the past 100 years (although noticeably not in France or Spain), since old age pensions were introduced in 1908 (UK), and 1935 USA .
So that now in the US and UK, more and more people are either choosing to or simply having to work well past the retirement age. Whilst for some this is a lifestyle choice, for many this is the grim economic reality for millions of Americans or others in the Western world who are working into old age, because even retired, they can’t afford not to have a job.
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| RETIREMENT AGES - WESTERN COUNTRIES |
Currently, Americans only get a full social security pension from 66 years and four months. But that will gradually rise to 67. In the UK its currently 66 but is rising to 67. The US Social security benefit rates for the elderly can be as little as $400 (£318), a month in the US (depending upon contributions made into the scheme), and in the UK you need to have made NI contributions for at least 10 years to get any State Pension. If you’ve made contributions for between 10 and 34 years, you get a proportion of the full amount.
However the maximum social security retirement benefit in the US in 2025 was $4,018 (£2,990) each month ($48,863.72 £36,357 pa)– however the average estimated social security retirement benefit for retired workers was $2,008.31 (£1,494) per month, about 8 percent more than US Social Security recipients as a whole. The UK state pension is currently payable at age 66 and is a rather measly maximum of £11,9732 ($16,085) pa, so also needs to be supplemented by another pension or income (or savings).
The difference in social security pensions would suggest that it's the UK that has the bigger issue, but the trend of working into and past retirement has far bigger traction in the USA, because so many are in debt due to being the guarantors to their own or their children's student debts as well as medical bills.
However as we also have a system of student loans in the UK these days (since 1990), we may well be reaching the point where parents of those first loanee's are coming up to retirement, and may be unable to fully retire having debts incurred to help their children pay off student loans ..... but not by those original students themselves, as in the UK any outstanding student loan debt is written off when you reach 65.
CBS have highlighted that despite a need to work until 70 to get maximum social security, and that not enough Americans save for retirement, many are still retiring under age 70 and losing money.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-benefits-90-percent-americans-will-claim-before-70/
Many people are mentally or physically worn out after 40plus years of working ... they just don't want to work anymore. I know that I retired in my early 60's and after a year off couldn't have gone back to work again. Thanks for the comment.
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