56% of full-time workers in their early 50s get pushed out of their jobs (due to circumstances like a layoff) before they’re ready to retire

Working longer is one of the best ways to ensure you don’t outlive your retirement savings, but you can’t always count on it as a strategy.

When it comes to retirement age, there’s a significant gap between expectations and reality. Americans often retire earlier than planned, frequently due to circumstances beyond their control, such as poor health or job loss, research indicates.

In 2022, the average expected retirement age was 66, according to a Gallup poll. However, the actual retirement age was 62 on average. While these averages have varied somewhat over the years, Gallup reports a consistent gap of about five years between expected and actual retirement ages since 2002.

Nearly half (46%) of retirees said they left the workforce earlier than planned, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2023 Retirement Confidence Survey. This proportion has remained relatively consistent for the past two decades, generally hovering between 40% and 50%.

“I think a lot of people who aren’t on track for retirement — maybe they’re in their late 40s or early 50s — say, ‘I want to retire at 65 but I’ll work to 70,’” said David Blanchett, a certified financial planner and head of retirement research at PGIM, the asset management arm of Prudential Financial. “But they probably won’t make it to 70,” he added.

Delaying retirement by just a few years can have a significant positive financial effect, Blanchett said.

Those who delay retirement continue to receive a regular paycheck and don’t have to live off their savings. Additionally, they have extra time to save and for their assets to (hopefully) grow. Moreover, they can likely delay claiming Social Security benefits, which guarantees a higher monthly payout for the rest of their lives.

Conversely, retiring earlier than anticipated can have the opposite effect, experts said.

This issue disproportionately affects people who plan to retire in their early 60s or later, according to Blanchett’s research.