There's a whole movement of people who are saving half of their paychecks in an attempt to retire in their 30s or 40s. But on the flipside, there are plenty of people who may be making plans to work well into their late 60s or beyond.
Recent data from Atticus finds that 69% of Gen-Xers expect to delay retirement. And that's actually a good thing for these reasons.
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1. You may wind up with extra savings
Building a retirement nest egg is a tricky thing. It's hard to find the money for 401(k) or IRA contributions when you've got a mortgage to pay and kids to put through college.
The upside of delaying retirement is that it not only gives you an opportunity to contribute more to your savings, but it also allows you to leave your savings untapped for longer. The result, either way, is more money in your pocket.
In fact, let's say that instead of retiring at age 65 like many of your peers may be planning to do, you decide that you'll work until age 70. Let's also imagine you have a $500,000 nest egg at age 65 earning an average annual 5% return (that's a conservative one, but it's best to play it somewhat safe when retirement is right around the corner).
Even if you don't add another dollar to your savings, if you leave a $500,000 nest egg alone for five more years, you could grow it into about $638,000. That's a huge difference.
2. You may be able to set yourself up with more Social Security
The monthly benefit you're able to collect from Social Security will hinge on a few factors -- your earnings history, the number of years you worked, and the age at which you sign up to start getting your money. You're entitled to your complete monthly Social Security benefit based on your personal wage history at full retirement age. If you're a member of Gen X, it means your full retirement age is 67.
However, if you delay your Social Security claim a year beyond full retirement age, you'll snag an 8% boost to your benefits. And you can continue snagging that boost up until age 70. The result? A higher guaranteed monthly payday for life.
3. You may end up liking retirement even more
Although retirement is often hailed as a glorious period of life, there can be challenges having nothing to do with money, or a lack thereof. The fact of the matter is that not working at all can be boring. And many retirees inevitably suffer an identity crisis because they're so tied to their former jobs.
The upside of delaying retirement is that you have more time to figure out what you want that stage of life to look like. And also, if you retire when you're a bit older, you may not have the same energy you did a few years back. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, because at that point, you might appreciate slowing down. If you retire at too young an age, you might find yourself feeling overwhelmingly restless because you have the energy to keep working but you've chosen not to.
You may be a member of Gen X who's thinking of delaying retirement not because you want to, but because you feel you have to. But try to look at the bright side of things. Working a bit longer could leave you with more savings, more Social Security, and a lot more personal satisfaction.
