The Average Retirement Age in 2025: US vs. China

Chris Adam

Sat, May 3, 2025, 10:00 AM 4 min read

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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.