Why the Traditional Retirement Age Is Breaking Down
For Brian Burdick, still working at 82 has turned out to be one of the most unexpected sources of happiness in his life.
The Wichita, Kansas, resident began his career manufacturing airplane parts and later selling insurance. But a string of hardships — including an injury in his 50s, an expensive divorce, the death of his sister, and a house fire — drained his savings and left him under heavy financial strain. To get by, he took a job as a school bus driver and worked evenings at a department store.
Now, years later, his persistence has paid off. Earning $28 an hour along with his monthly Social Security, Burdick says his job is no longer just about making ends meet, even if money remains tight. Instead, it’s about the impact he has on the children he transports each day.
“I’ve taught autistic kids to talk. I’ve dealt with the very worst kids in the whole system, and I’ve changed a lot of them,” Burdick says. “I saw a piece on how to have a happy life. It was someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to. I have an excuse to get out of bed.”
Burdick is part of a growing number of Americans who are moving away from the traditional idea of retiring at 65. Rather than working for decades and then stepping away once Social Security begins, many are continuing to work well into their later years — or, on the flip side, retiring much earlier.
Reporting from the “80 Over 80” series highlights this shift. Census data shows that 4.2% of people over 80 are still working, up from 3% in 2010. Workers aged 75 and older are now the fastest-growing segment of the labor force, while about one in five Americans over 65 remains employed — roughly double the rate seen in the 1980s.
At the same time, younger Americans are increasingly drawn to the FIRE movement — short for financial independence, retire early. A 2023 Harris Poll survey of more than 2,000 people found that a quarter hoped to retire before age 50, though far fewer actually achieve that goal.
Despite their differences, both older workers and early retirees share a dissatisfaction with the traditional retirement model. Rising costs of housing, childcare, and groceries, longer life expectancies, economic uncertainty, and delayed life milestones have all contributed to changing attitudes. For many, work is no longer just a means to an end, but something that should provide meaning and fulfillment throughout life.
While the average American still retires around age 62, the widening gap between those working into their 80s and those aiming to retire decades earlier signals what some experts describe as a gradual decline of the old retirement framework.
Vicki Vosper-Fenton, 81, represents one of the more positive outcomes of this shift. After raising children, going through a divorce, and changing careers, she returned to school at 40 to become a counselor. By her early 60s, she had built a comfortable financial cushion.
But instead of fully retiring, she continues to stay active in Idaho, working as an online teacher and a genealogist for her church while maintaining a busy social life.
“Serving others in whatever capacity just simply brings joy to my life and keeps me young,” Vosper-Fenton says. She added, “I’ve decided to mentally be 55. I don’t go to the senior citizen centers because I’m too young.”
Many older workers say they feel too healthy and capable to stop working entirely. For some, continuing to work provides purpose and keeps them engaged. Others, however, face more difficult circumstances, including physically demanding jobs and long hours, sometimes starting before dawn or ending late at night. Some described the toll as exhausting and painful.
Even so, many find meaning in their roles — whether by contributing to their communities, setting an example for younger generations, or simply staying active. Some noted that friends who fully retired seemed to decline more quickly, reinforcing their desire to keep working.
Robert Bruno, director of the Labor Education Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said that while today’s jobs are often safer and more flexible, people have always sought purpose in their work. He also pointed out generational differences in how workers approach balance.
Among younger workers, “there was this more conscientious approach to thinking about a balance between their hours on the job and how that fed into the rest of their life, whereas older workers just seem to have accepted what the hours were, and then would go about figuring it out,” Bruno said.
For Jim Billman, 83, part-time work has helped fill gaps in his life. After decades in construction and teaching, he now works limited hours in construction and hotel maintenance in Michigan, while focusing more on family and community.
“I’ve done some pretty risky stuff in my life — dodging bullets, climbing on and building roofs, sawing, scaffolding, and motorcycles,” Billman said. “I don’t suppose I’ll spend much time on roofs or ladders other than my own. A person tries to be careful and stay within their capabilities. I’ve never been a daredevil.”
Meanwhile, many younger Americans pursuing FIRE are not necessarily seeking a life without work. Instead, they aim for flexibility and the freedom to choose meaningful or less stressful careers.
“Retirement equals a full-funded lifestyle change,” said Amanda Walt, 33, a tech program manager in Boston. “Shifting away from ‘retirement means never working’ has also enabled me to take intentional career breaks that have accelerated longer-term growth.”
Ewa Linn, 37, reached financial independence after years of saving aggressively with her husband, investing heavily, and minimizing expenses. By 2025, she only needed to work about a quarter of the year.
“We used to say yes to everything. We were in the rat race, trying to make this all happen. Now we don’t have to,” Linn says. “We only say yes to clients who are enjoyable and projects that fulfill us.”
Grant Sabatier, author of the bestseller “Financial Freedom,” said financial independence allows people to prioritize experiences and relationships.
“Older people say, ‘I wish I would have spent more time with family, or I wish I would have not worked as hard or traveled more.’ A lot of people in the FIRE movement have internalized those lessons,” Sabatier says.
Meg Nichols, 31, has already taken multiple “mini retirements” and expects to fully retire between ages 45 and 50. After years of disciplined saving — putting away about 70% of her income — she was able to travel to 54 countries during a nearly three-year break from work.
“By being Coast FI, I enabled choice in my life and the option to take roles for a variety of reasons,” Nichols says. “It doesn’t have to be compensation-based.”
For many Americans, the traditional retirement age of 65 is starting to feel outdated. Some experts suggest raising it to reflect longer life expectancies, while others argue benefits should begin earlier for those facing health challenges or financial hardship.
For those living through these changes, however, the idea of a fixed retirement age is increasingly seen as arbitrary. Some feel pressured to retire before they are ready, while others resist the notion of stepping away simply because they’ve reached a certain age.
Across generations, one theme remains consistent: life is unpredictable, and tying happiness to a specific retirement milestone can be risky. Instead, many are focusing on finding purpose both within and beyond their careers — whether that means working into their 80s or stepping away decades earlier.
