“This represents one of the most significant declines in retirement rates across all age groups, suggesting that individuals in this cohort are increasingly delaying retirement,” the report read.
The survey findings also indicated similar declines happening in other older age groups, such as those between 65 and 69 years old.
It found that the proportion of retirees in that age group declined from 89.5% to 65.5% for women and from 73.2% to 60.8% for men between 2003 and 2023.
The decrease also happened for workers aged 55 to 59, according to the report. About 40% of women and 23% of men had already retired during this stage by 2003, but this dropped to 14.5% for women and 12.3% for men by 2023.
Reasons for delayed retirement
Kyle Peyton, senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, said the shift matters because it marks a change in how people transition out of the workforce.