Retirement age in the US for men and women: features and rules for calculating

Pension provision in one form or another exists in most states. In developed countries, pension systems are deeply thought out, bear the imprint of historical development and take into account various characteristics, in particular, the average life expectancy of the population.

Retirement age in different countries

Record-holders for long-term life are Japanese, which is associated with a sufficiently high age threshold, giving the right to receive a pension - 65 years. And no differences are made on the basis of gender - both men and women retire at the same age. In Europe, the retirement age varies considerably. For example, in Germany it is 65-67 years, in France - 60, in Sweden - 61-67. Countries of the post-Soviet space set the thresholds significantly lower than in Europe, which is due to the distinctive features of the standard of living of the population. For example, in Russia and Belarus, women can retire at 55, and men can retire at 60. However, the most thoughtful, logical and loyal to the population is the US pension system.

Features of calculating retirement age in the United States

The retirement age in the United States varies depending on the year of birth. So, Americans, born in 1937 and earlier, go on a well-deserved rest in 65 years. Those who were born later and before 1955 are entitled to retire at 66 years of age. And the one who was born in the 60s of the twentieth century, can begin to receive a pension from 67 years. This increase in the bar is due to the rapidly growing life expectancy. It should be noted that the retirement age in the US for women and men is the same.

The possibility of an earlier retirement

However, it should be noted that the pension system in the US is flexible enough, so if a citizen wants to retire earlier than the designated time, he can do it rightfully after reaching the age of 62 years.

At the same time, only those Americans can receive a pension in full, whose annual income level does not exceed the statutory bar. Otherwise, help will be assigned, the calculation of which will be carried out according to the retention rule of fifty cents from the pension for every dollar that will be earned above the fixed bar.

The level of income of American pensioners

The conditions of the pension system in the United States are such that after coming to a well-deserved rest, Americans receive about half of their earnings during the period of work. In fact, the average pension in the United States varies between 1100-1500 dollars per month. Of course, there are categories of citizens whose pensions are above the average. This is a teacher, firefighters, police, etc. Also different in size is the pension of residents of megacities, where the standard of living is generally higher than the national average. So, annual pension payments, for example, in New York make more than forty thousand dollars for the citizen.

There is also a lower level of the pension, at which the elderly American is included in the social income program and receives from the state a surcharge before reaching the minimum allowable size. So, last year an acceptable minimum was 733 dollars. Thus, if a citizen has the right to a pension under the pension scheme of $ 400, the state will pay him $ 333 as part of the social income. The way in which quality of life is organized for older citizens in this country creates a completely positive attitude of a person to such a concept as the retirement age. The pension in the US is perceived not as a person's support in the declining years, but rather, as a new opportunity, a new stage in life.

Opportunities and options for using pension savings

Nevertheless, getting almost half as much compared to the period of work activity, it is unlikely that American retirees would look so happy and carefree. There is no doubt that the US Social Security pension scheme, called Social Security, remains to this day one of the most rational in the world. However, the quality of life of older Americans consists of many other options for implementing and investing retirement savings, which are realized with the help of a large number of different retirement plans.

The peculiarity of this type of pension provision in the United States is that, from a monthly income, a certain amount is transferred to the account of one of the pension funds, while it is tax free, which greatly expands the accumulation capacity. To retirement, in addition to state payments, an employee earns income in the form of his own deferred funds. And he can start using them much earlier, receiving money in the form of loans from his own savings, deferred for the future (pension) period. Then he calculates with the fund (and, in fact, with himself), as for a normal loan. Often Americans from these means buy real estate, pay for the education of children, etc.

The reasons for earlier retirement

Which retirement age in the US is more preferable for the population? Recently, among older Americans, there is a tendency for an earlier retirement. Despite the fact that when they reach the age of 62, they are not entitled to a full pension, but approximately three quarters, many quite consciously take the appropriate decision. What are its causes? In each case, they are different. Among the early retirees is a group of those who lost their jobs during the crisis cuts and now can not find it for objective reasons - employers are reluctant to take older workers. In this case, early retirement is the most convenient option.

There are among the citizens who decided on a premature retirement, and those who are simply tired of work. Often these are workers whose work was predominantly physical or assumed long-term mental stress. The remaining early pensioners are those who managed to accumulate enough funds and do not see any sense in further labor activity. From an economic point of view, this is entirely appropriate.

Thus, the flexibility of the pension system deprives the depressive component of such a concept as the retirement age in the United States. For men, as for women, when reaching a certain pension savings plan, early retirement is the more effective solution. This makes it possible to start a really diverse and interesting life in the declining years, without limiting ourselves in the choice of entertainment.