The average retirement age continued to decline in the 1990s after having leveled off during the preceding 10-15 years. The resumption of the decline is attributed largely to a rise in the labor force participation rate of older men and women between the mid-1980s and 2000. (Author/JOW)

From 1965 to 1995, the United States, Germany, Japan, and Sweden all experienced a decline in the average age at which workers retire and an increase in the duration of retirement. Sweden and Germany particularly face elder dependency burdens, which may increase in the United States in the coming decade. (JOW)