Retirement has always been a complex subject, with very few people wanting to even talk about it. In fact, according to Statista.com, only 17% of Americans think they have enough money saved to retire.

There is a lot to factor in when it comes to your life after retirement. For instance, there are people who will still depend on you long after you retire, and there are bills which won’t stop arriving just because you retired. Depending on what age you are right now and when you decide to start saving for your retirement, there are statistics that should guide you to make the right decision.

Most retirement stats show a typical trend of most people starting to save for their retirement when they are getting closer to their career’s end. But one has to stop and wonder: will they save enough when the clock ticks on their career? The other question that arises is that if they haven’t saved enough, is it just too early for them to retire?

So, just how much money do you need to retire comfortably in the US today? The answer may lie in a similarly titled infographic we found on medalerthelp.org.

Retiring Early vs. Late Retirement

Well, the choice of whether to retire early or late is one's personal decision. However, the stats tend to suggest that retiring early isn’t as common as retiring when you reach ”full retirement age.” The main reason for this could be that most people have no alternative sources of income. Hence they rely solely on their basic salary. Therefore, they are left with no choice but to see out their career until the end of the employment duration.

According to an article by DQYDJ.com, the average retirement age in the United States of America is 59.88 years. Accordingly, women make up nearly 55% of the retirees in this group, while men make up around 45%. On the other hand, Sri Lanka has the lowest average retirement age of 55 years.

The full retirement age in most countries is 66 years. More so, 90% of employed Americans are set to retire by this age. A report on Fidelity.com advises that a person should save 1x of their starting salary at the age of 30 years and then 10x by the time they hit 67 years. However, half of Americans will start saving for retirement after the age of 36.

It becomes apparently clear that late retirement is more of a condition, while early retirement is a matter of choice. For more in-depth information on this subject, including how much you should save by which age and how much Americans have actually saved for their retirement, take a look at the following infographic.