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In '06, nearly 30% of Americans 65 to 69 were in the workforce vs. 18% in '85, reports the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The increase in older workers reflects the erosion of traditional pensions, inadequate retirement savings and rising health care costs. But many simply don't want to quit. A Thrivent Financial survey found 43% of adults 45 to 64 plan to work full- or part-time in retirement. A '06 study by McKinsey & Co. found 40% of current retirees were forced to retire earlier than they had planned. Of those, 44% cited job loss or downsizing as the reason they were no longer working. When Social Security established 65 as the full retirement benefits age in 1935, average U.S. life expectancy was just 61.7 years. Today, the average 65-year-old man will live 19.2 more years, and the woman 21.8 more. People are realizing they'll live longer if they keep active. (USA Today 8/31/07)

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