How the Pandemic Impacted Retirement Rates

With all this talk of the pandemic prompting the “Great Resignation,” it’s interesting to note that there has not been a significant number of older Americans filing for Social Security.

According to a CNBC report, while the pandemic prompted many workers ages 55 and over to leave the workforce, not all have officially retired and there has only be a “small increase” in Social Security retirement benefit claims. Data from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that the average retirement rate before the pandemic was 12.2 percent, compared to 13.3 percent post pandemic.

However, the number of workers age 70 or older who retired during the pandemic jumped almost six percent. Experts believe that’s because Social Security benefits are structured so that the longer beneficiaries wait to claim retirement benefits, the bigger their monthly retirement checks will be — but that stops at age 70.

Regardless of your retirement age, The Seniors Trust is working hard to make sure you get what you deserve. It wants Congress to enact the Social Security Expansion Act, which would provide beneficiaries with bigger monthly benefit payments, a fairer cost-of-living adjustment, and it would secure the long-term solvency of Social Security.