The number of retirees, aged 65+, has increased by more than 50% since 2008, from 20M to almost 31M.

The retirement age population has grown by 4% of the total population in the last 14 years.

The retired 65+ population has grown a little faster than the total 65+ age group. The initial pandemic impact in 2020 was a 5% increase in the retirement rate, indicating about a 2.6M increase in early retirements in 2020.

The retirement rate in 2020 was about 2% higher than the trend, indicating an extra 1.2M extra retirees. The percentage of retired individuals has since fallen back below the trend line.

The “retired” measure returned (close) to its trend line by June, 2022.

Early estimates of the impact of the pandemic on retirement age workers indicated 2-3 million “extra” workers retired during this time.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/18/business/labor-shortage-boomers-millennials-nightcap/index.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/retirement-covid-pandemic-unretire-labor-shortage/

https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/economic-synopses/2021/10/15/the-covid-retirement-boom

https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2021/december/excess-retirements-covid-19-pandemic

https://www.axios.com/2021/10/29/millions-of-baby-boomers-retired-early-during-the-pandemic

Later estimates indicated about 1M early retirements, and then a reversal in late 2021 – 22 as individuals chose to defer their retirements due to the uncertain economic conditions.

Amid the pandemic, a rising share of older U.S. adults are now retired

https://www.plansponsor.com/study-shows-baby-boomers-pushed-workforce/

Click to access OWAG_spring_2022.pdf

Bloomberg noted that new Social Security filings did not increase, so even though there were some retirement candidates with adequate resources to delay claiming Social Security benefits, it was unlikely that there were 3M extra early retirees.

CNBC documented the late Pandemic swing towards more potential retirees deferring this step.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/09/economic-fears-further-retirees-pandemic-era-plans-to-keep-working.html

The Washington Post documented the early retirees returning to work and the variability of retirement choices versus the long-term trend lines.

The Washington Post’s approach shows a peak of 2 million extra retirees, falling back to about one-half million in 2022.

Summary

The US economy, political system and social norms have supported the number of aged 65+ retirees growing from 20 million to more than 30 million since 2008. Some of the increase in “retirees” at the start of the pandemic was not voluntary and some retirees have returned to work in the last year as the labor market remains tight and workers worry more about economic conditions. However, overall, an extra 10 million individuals have chosen to retire from active employment and enjoy their retirement years.