Work Longer, Not Forever
We keep hearing: We will have to work longer before retiring in order to shore up our nest eggs. But how long is "longer"? New research indicates the numbers might not be as bad as you think.</br></br>The benefits of working longer are obvious. If we postpone the day we walk away from the office, we will give ourselves a better chance of adequately funding a retirement that easily could last two or three decades.</br></br>What's more, all the evidence argues for working longer. Going forward, people who retire in their early 60s will find that Social Security benefits will replace less of pre-retirement salaries (because the age at which you will be eligible for full benefits is gradually rising to 67).</br></br>Medicare premiums and taxes on Social Security are slated to climb. And the median 401(k) balance in households between the ages of 55 and 64 is only $60,000.</br></br>But is longer ...forever? A new study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College offers some answers.