Nearly half of retirees leave work earlier than planned, cutting savings growth and increasing drawdown costs by six figures.
Retirees are leaving the workforce three years earlier than expected, with the average retirement age at 62 instead of the planned 65. This gap reduces savings accumulation and extends the drawdown phase, adding over $200,000 in spending that longer careers would have avoided.
A 2026 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found 46% of retirees exited earlier than planned, while 76% of early retirements in 2025 were due to uncontrollable factors like health issues, job loss, or caregiving. Only 6% of retirees worked longer than expected, per a separate 2024 survey of Americans aged 45 to 80.
Workers can mitigate early retirement risks by maximizing catch-up contributions and delaying Social Security, which increases monthly benefits by about 8% per year of delay.