“My Retirement Plan Is to Die at My Desk” — Employee Blasts 65-Year Minimum Age

A woman posted a viral clip highlighting how ridiculous she thinks the retirement age of 65 is, especially in relation to the average life expectancy of folks in the US, which is 76.4 years old.

A TikToker named Kuru (@kuruthegemini) sparked a conversation about retirement ages, and how most Americans won't really get to have much time to enjoy their lives once they're done working for good.

Some users on the platform argued that the age should be lowered. France, for instance, has seen mass riots from individuals who protested the country's government's attempts to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old.

Kuru says in her video: "Y'all they really said, they really said work till you're 65," Kuru then erupts into laughter as she folds over her desk and begins spasmodically guffawing, then wheezing.

She continues to find absurdity in the retirement age of 65, "And then, and then you most likely only live till 76," she barely gets out as she laughs further before sadly uttering, "11 years to play...oh, Earth math."

Several viewers who responded to Kuru's video remarked that they, too, had dismal outlooks for retirement. One person said that they didn't really have much of a retirement plan at all: "My retirement plan, die at my desk."

Someone else joked that there are enough people being born on planet Earth that if governing bodies and corporations just crunched the numbers they could probably shave a solid 30 years off of the retirement age: "Pretty sure there are enough people being born every second to shift retirement age to like 35"

There was one TikToker who replied that since it's evident governmental leaders have failed their constituents it's up to the people to ensure that they're scheming every single chance that they get to rectify the inequities that have been levied against them: "That’s why we gotta scam at any chance possible cause ain’t no way"

Another remarked that corporate greed, plain and simple, is to blame for what they believe to be such a disproportionately late retirement age: "In all seriousness, this needs to stop. we were never meant to work this much if at all. the greed needs to stop."

The age of retirement in the United States has long been set at 65 years: that's when eligible citizens are able to collect their social security benefits and retirement funds from their employers/retirement investment portfolios.

According to CNBC, some 18.9% of retirees were either still working or were actively seeking employment despite being old enough to retire. And unless someone has set up some kind of fund that would ensure they've got some extra money on the side when they're ready to ride off in the proverbial sunset, it seems that most Americans would probably need at least a part-time job in order to make ends meet.

That's because the average monthly social security payment as of August 2023 is $1,705.79. If you're living in a paid-off home with relatively low annual property taxes, you might be able to get by on that, and if this amount is in addition to any other savings /retirement plans/pensions you set up, you could have yourself a nice monthly payout.

However, due to the ever-rising heightened costs of living, and record-setting inflation rates the United States has been experiencing since 2021, it's not difficult to imagine that there's a significant portion of the US population who may not feel all that confident that their social security checks are going to be able to cover their month-to-month living expenses.