Surprising reason more Aussies are working into their 70s   
The traditional retirement age of 65 is vanishing as new data reveals a quarter of Australian men are now working well into their 70s.


News.com.au
September 18, 2025

Australians are forgetting gold watches and retirement parties in their 60s, and instead are choosing to work for decades longer, new research shows.

Fresh analysis of ABS figures by KPMG reveals workers are staying put well into their 70s, but it’s not the cost-of-living crisis driving this trend.

The figures show male workforce participation above 70 has more than doubled in two decades, jumping from just 10 per cent to 25 per cent today.

KPMG Urban Economist Terry Rawnsley dismisses cost-of-living fears as the culprit, calling it a persistent myth.

“This trend has been building for 20 years – there wasn’t a massive surge when cost of living went crazy in 2022 and 2023,” Mr Rawnsley said.

“There’s definitely a broader social shift happening.”

Older people these days are transitioning into retirement rather than stopping suddenly.

KPMG’s stats also show retirement has become a “blurry transition” rather than a hard stop.

Workers are increasingly moving from full-time to part-time roles, taking career breaks, then returning to the workforce months or years later.

“Working into your 70s on a laptop in the office is much easier compared to physically demanding jobs,” Mr Rawnsley said.


According to the economist, this is overall a good thing as workers “may not want to muddle around the garden for 30 years” but instead save for a more lavish retirement.

“There’s a number of winners — government save on payments, there’s also literature that if you’re active and working you’re likely to be healthier,” he said.

“Businesses benefit from experienced workers for longer and then there’s people getting more money in to renovate the kitchen, go on a holiday and help the kids as well as pay taxes while they are doing that.”

But while older Australians today have the choice of working later, Mr Rawnsley predicts rising house prices might mean younger people are forced to work well past 65.   


“We see in the data a lot of people had almost paid off their mortgage in their 50s, but that has now pushed out to their 60s, so these bigger loans are part of the reason people in the future might work longer,” he said.

“They might want to clear the mortgage, get a bit of retirement nest egg going and then transition into retirement.”

Blue collar workers buck the trend, typically retiring in their 60s due to the physical toll of their roles.   

The increase in white collar workers who can work longer in life could explain this evolution of retirement.

“Given the physically demanding nature of work faced by blue collar workers, it is very challenging for them to continue working into their 70s,” Mr Rawnsley said.

“Pulling out a laptop in your 70s is much easier compared to laying bricks at that age.”

whiteknight wrote on Sep 18^th, 2025 at 8:06am:


Better still, I want the same pension benefits and retirement rorts politicians are getting!!

I got out at 59.

Nobody on their death bed has ever said: "I wish I had spent more time at work".

greggerypeccary wrote on Sep 18^th, 2025 at 3:54pm:


I got out at 61 nearly 62 at the end of June 2019.

And, yep - I've never heard anyone say: "I wish I had spent more time at work".