Is 70 the new retirement age?
Yes, very likely so. I posted an article from Forbes (not lost behind a paywall) several times that discussed the labor force participation rate and which provided loads of statistics showing the drop was in the younger cohorts. That is a very bad thing for reasons that I argued several times previously.
Older people working longer is not going to have the economic impact of younger people actually working.Many people look forward to retirement after spending years struggling through the daily grind. Unfortunately, a growing number of Americans may have to wait even longer to make their grand exit from the workforce. Although the average retirement age in the U.S. is just 63, according to a recent study by human resources consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, almost a quarter of Americans believe they won't be able to retire until age 70 or older. Worse yet, 5% are convinced they'll never be able to retire at all.
Even workers who plan to retire at 65 aren't so sure of themselves. Those surveyed admit that, while they'd like to retire at 65, they think there's a 50% chance they'll wind up working until 70.
So why all the negativity? A lot has to do with insufficient savings. With Social Security only designed to replace about 40% of the average American's pre-retirement income, most of us have to save independently to ensure a reasonably comfortable retirement.
Maybe that is why some economists see the flaccid GDP growth rates as the new normal.