Amid this dramatic shift, another sea change was afoot: As seen in the accompanying graphic, «The Gap Between Life Expectancy and Retirement Ages,» over the past half century the average life expectancy has increased significantly
while the average retirement age has decreased.
To take one example, in the state's teacher pension system, the average age of participants is 44 years,
while average retirement age is 60.
Not exact matches
Since 1965, the
average retirement age has dropped almost two full years,
while life expectancy at
age 65 has increased four years.
The 60 - year - old who is retiring will affect the
average retirement age this year,
while the other's decision won't be recorded until 10 years later.
While a couple at
age 65 can expect one spouse to live to be 85, on
average, couples who can not afford to wait or who have reasons to plan for a shorter
retirement, may want to claim early.
Ottawa's median
age of 39.2 is below both the provincial and national
average,
while those over the
retirement age of 65 only comprise approximately 13.2 % of the population.
On
average, workers
aged 30 to 49 are saving $ 200 a month for
retirement while those
aged 50 to 59 are adding a mere $ 78 to their accounts.
And more than half reported saving just five per cent or less of their paycheque versus the 10 per cent recommended by financial planning experts,
while 79 per cent expected to delay
retirement until
age 60 or older, up from an
average of 70 per cent over the past three years.