Average Retirement Age in 2025: US vs. China

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Retirement has become a big topic over the last few of years. Specifically, the future of Social Security and support for retirees in the United States is a concern, as it’s no longer considered the norm to retire at age 65 or so.

But America is far from the only country looking at its retirement age and how to support its people once they reach an age to stop working a regular job.

Retirement in the US

Although people tend to be living longer in the U.S., the average retirement age is just around 62. Of course, many factors play into individual retirement ages, such as health, longer life expectancies, intricate early retirement planning and financial readiness.

The earliest age you can claim Social Security is also 62, but your benefit is lower than if you wait until full retirement age, which in 2025 is age 66 to 67. So if you were born in 1960 or later, full retirement benefits are payable at 67 years old. The average monthly Security benefit check for retired workers is $1,981, according to the Social Security Administration.

However, more workers in the U.S. have been putting off retirement — and it’s not just because of financial concerns. Many delay retirement, specifically college-educated older Americans, as they tend to work longer than others on average, due to generally being in better health.

This bodes well for those who can put it off, as the maximum Social Security retirement benefit in 2025 is $5,108 per month, but is reserved for those who delay claiming benefits until age 70. If you wait and have a history of consistently earning near or above the maximum taxable wage base, you can receive these full benefits to remain more financially secure for years in retirement.

However, the funding for Social Security is projected to run dry within the next decade. Without action, the program’s sole funding will come from payroll withholding, which only covers about 77% of benefits. Although no one has presented a detailed plan for alleviating the shortfall, it’s possible that the full retirement age could increase as part of a long-term solution.

Retirement in China

The situation in China sounds somewhat familiar to America’s. China is set to gradually raise its retirement age in the next five years as it deals with an aging population and a struggling pension system.

Though receiving benefits in China may look different than those in the U.S., the average life expectancy in the country has now risen just above America’s, to 78 years. This is a drastic increase from just 36 years at the time of the Communist revolution in 1949.

That being said, the average retirement age in China is about 60 for men and 50 for working-class women, and 55 for women in white-collar jobs. However, China is gradually raising its retirement age to address multiple concerns, which could push it closer to 63 for men and 58 for white-collar women. 

This is not new for China. In fact, this plan has been in the works for a few years as the pension budget dwindles, making monthly benefits a struggle for both the government and its workers. This is a relatable issue for the U.S. It’s estimated by the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences that the country’s main state pension fund will run out of money by around 2035.

There have been protests by elderly people against big cuts to medical benefit payments. Residents fear that local governments are tapping into individual accounts to deal with shortages in the state pension fund.

The bottom line is that no one is happy when the retirement age gets raised and they have to reconfigure how long they will need to work in order to stretch what they have saved for retirement. Sadly, it’s a reality countries are facing all around the world.

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

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