How Many People Are Retiring Every Year for the Next 4 Years?
“Peak 65” might sound like a 90s-era alternative band, but in 2024 it’s the term used for the record number of Americans who are hitting the traditional retirement age of 65. More than 11,200 will turn 65 every day from 2024 through 2027, according to the Retirement Income Institute at the Alliance for Lifetime Income. Those numbers — which equal 4.1 million Americans a year — reflect a peak in the baby boomer population and could presumably lead to a record number of retirements in coming years.
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The notion that 65 is the normal retirement age might be outdated. The actual average retirement age is 61, according to 2022 Gallup poll. Separate research from the Retirement Confidence Survey found that the median retirement age is 62, although many anticipate delaying retirement until age 65.
As the Alliance for Lifetime Income’s Retirement Income Institute report noted, the daily figure of 11,200 turning 65 is up from an average of about 10,000 a day over the past decade. That represents a gain of about 12% a year. The report also pointed out that a significant portion of the Peak 65 generation “lacks sufficient protected income, putting them at risk of outliving their savings.”
The fact that so many are at risk of outliving their savings means many will have to continue working well past age 65 to continue to build up their nest eggs. Many will also be motivated to delay claiming Social Security benefits as long as possible to ensure a bigger monthly check.
In truth, it’s hard to predict or even track how many Americans are “retired” because retirement means different things to different people. Some seniors retire from their full-time careers but still work part-time jobs or side hustles. Many collect Social Security while still working.
If you calculate retirement estimates based on when people first claim Social Security, the recent average has been about 5.6 million a year. Here’s a look at the number of people who were newly awarded Social Security benefits, according to the latest figures from the Social Security Administration:
2022: 5.6 million
2021: 5.4 million
2020: 5.8 million
2019: 5.7 million
Those numbers are not a perfect barometer of how many Americans retire each year, but they might serve as decent baseline. You can also factor in the fact that about 12% more people will turn 65 each year for the next four years vs. the previous 10.
Based on the numbers above — about 5.6 million Americans newly awarded Social Security each year, and a 12% annual rise in people turning 65 — you could make an educated guess that around 6.3 million Americans a year will retire over the next four years. That probably won’t happen, given recent retirement trends. But it could be somewhere in the general ballpark.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Many People Are Retiring Every Year for the Next 4 Years?
