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For much of the 1960s, the full retirement age for Social Security was 65 for both men and women, a key fact in understanding what was the retirement age in the 1960s. This established a standard that has since undergone significant changes.
While the average retirement age in 1950 was nearly 69, this figure reflected a workforce with little choice, not the formal policy. A closer look reveals what was the age of retirement in the 1950s under the Social Security Act and how benefits were initially structured.
While the full retirement age for Social Security was set at 65 in 1935, certain legacy pension systems for federal employees did allow retirement at 55. {Link: Congress.gov https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R44670}
In 1950, Social Security's full retirement age was 65, which was established by the original 1935 Social Security Act. However, the average age people actually retired in the 1950s was slightly higher, hovering around age 68 for men and 67 for women, reflecting economic and cultural norms of the era.
Before the passage of the Social Security Act, a concept like the 'average retirement age' was not formally tracked or even widely applicable for many workers. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the landmark legislation that set the full retirement age at 65, though monthly benefits would not begin until years later.
In 1920, the average life expectancy for men in the United States was just over 53 years, while for women it was nearly 55. The question of *what was the retirement age in 1925* is complex because no universal, government-mandated retirement age existed. For most Americans, retirement was not a guaranteed stage of life, but rather a privilege or a necessity dictated by physical health and financial circumstances.
With a national life expectancy hovering around just 50 years, the concept of a standardized retirement age simply did not exist in 1910. Instead, the answer to the question, **what was the retirement age in 1910?**, is a sobering look at a time when most people worked until they were physically unable to continue.
