Numerous positive and negative developments in the lives of seniors — including higher costs of living, inflation, longer life expectancy and higher education levels — have resulted in fewer retirement-age adults remaining in the U.S. workforce, according to a new report The number of people increased. loan tree.
Analysis is based on U.S. Census Bureau According to LendingTree’s Household Intention Survey data.
22% of adults aged 65 and over continue to work, with nearly a quarter choosing self-employment as a means of delaying retirement. While the overall share of older workers nationwide has dropped by half a percentage point over the past two years, the numbers have increased significantly in some parts of the country, particularly in New Jersey.
It found that of the 22% of seniors who are still working, “nearly a quarter (24.2%) are self-employed, almost three times the number of U.S. professionals aged 25 to 39 (8.1%).” “At the same time, half (50.5%) of the older working population is employed by private companies and 10.3% is employed by the government.”
Currently, the proportion of seniors in New Jersey who say they continue to work has increased significantly, rising by more than 66% from the March 2022 figure, to 33.8% as of March 2024. The two states grew by 37.4% and 32.2% respectively.
The largest decline is in Iowa, which will drop 36.5% from 27.1% in 2022 to 17.1% in 2024. Of.
The survey results show that the overall proportion of self-described “retired” has also declined.
“Among all Americans, the share of U.S. adults who reported being retired fell from 16.8% in March 2022 to 16.2% in March 2024,” the results show. “Overall, the share of retirees fell in 30 states, New Jersey (23.0%), North Dakota (22.9%) and Connecticut (19.9%) led the way. However, Vermont, Alaska and Maine saw the largest increases in the proportion of retirees, at 22.6% and 19.9% respectively. 13.9% and 10.7%.
Matt Schultz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, said the findings were driven by the financial realities faced by this group.
“These increases could be a worrying sign that more and more older Americans are finding themselves in need of extra income during their so-called golden years,” Schultz said. “Inflation could have a negative impact on these people’s plans for retirement. assumptions have a significant impact.”
