Benefits of Working Longer

Many Americans aspire to retiring early. Social Security ages frequently guide employees decision on when to retire. For older employees it might be 65, for those younger employees it might be 67. A number of factors go into the calculation of "if" employees have saved enough to retire early. For most that depends on when they started saving, how much they saved, and if they left it alone not selling in difficult markets or continually borrowing from their account.

But what about employees that want to work longer? What are the benefits? There are obvious financial benefits. Fewer years to fund in retirement, income to allow for catch-up savings in later years, enhanced timelines allow for increased market risk, delaying required minimum distributions assuming they aren't 5% owners.

According to findings published in the journal SSM Population Health, working longer can also help to delay cognitive decline. According to the study of more than 20,000 Americans ages 55 to 75, continuing to work longer in life is protective against cognitive decline. Those who postpone retirement tend to boast strong thinking skills than their retired counterparts. So the news isn't all bad if you got off to a late start saving for retirement. What we have tended to see is folks retiring from one job but continuing to work in another capacity thus improving both their financial picture as well as their social and cognitive skills.