Politicians and bureaucrats may be wanting us to work longer, but the majority of Aussies still plan on retiring before they are eligible for the pension. Are their plans realistic?
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Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that on average, Australians are planning to retire between their 65th and 66th birthdays, despite Australia's current pension age being 67.
Men are intending to work slightly longer than women, but the average difference of six months has narrowed significantly from two years a decade ago.
People working in forestry, agriculture and fishing are planning to work the longest, with an average retirement age of 68.3 years.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, miners planned to retire at an average age of 63.7 years.
The bureau's head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said while the average age people planned to retire had risen slightly, it hadn't changed much in recent years.
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"This average has been between 65.0 years and 65.6 years for close to a decade," he said.
But don't start planning long cruises for your 66th birthday just yet - Mr Jarvis said while people's planned retirement age hadn't changed much, actual retirement ages had risen more significantly.
"In 2022-23, people who had retired in the past 20 years said that they did so, on average, at 61.4 years.
"This average has risen from 58.5 years in 2014-15 and from 57.4 years in 2004-05."
The most common factors influencing older workers' decisions to retire were financial security (36 per cent), or personal health or physical abilities (22 per cent). 14 per cent of retirees said reaching eligibility age for a pension was a major factor.
Retirees from the arts and recreation services industry retired later than all other industries, with an average age of 64.4 years.
Those in accommodation and food services retired the earliest, with an average age of 58.5.
As of 2022-23, the government pension was still the main source of income for 43 per cent of retirees.
Over the past decade the number of people who reported no personal income has fallen from 25 per cent to 12 per cent, with women reporting no personal income dropping from 37 per cent to 18 per cent.
"The number of women who reported their partner's income as their main source of retirement funds has dropped from 44 per cent to 31 per cent."
