Federal workers delay retirement as savings gaps persist

How many years of federal service did you have or will you have when you retire? Most of you are now retiring under the Federal Employees Retirement System, or FERS. Before we explore your FERS retirement, let’s look at some recent survey results from the 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey. The RCS is the longest-running survey of its kind, measuring worker and retiree confidence about retirement, and is conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research. The 2025 survey of 2,767 Americans was conducted online Jan. 2 through Feb. 3, 2025. All respondents were ages 25 or older, including 1,042 workers and 1,005 retirees.

One key finding of the survey is that workers are planning to retire later. While the median expected retirement age for workers has held steady at 65, a growing share report planning to retire at 70 or beyond. Most retirees—three in five—report retiring earlier than 65, with a median retirement age of 62. While over two in five retirees who retired early say they did so because they could afford to, nearly seven in 10 retirees indicated the reason was something out of their control.

Some troubling responses included:

• Only 41% of workers have calculated how much money they would need to cover health expenses in retirement

• Only 44% of workers thought about how much money they would withdraw from retirement savings and investments

• Only 46% of workers planned for emergency or large expenses in retirement

• Only 51% of workers reviewed their Social Security benefit at their planned retirement age

• Only 52% of workers estimated the amount of income needed each month in retirement

On the other hand:

• 65% of workers discussed with their partner or spouse when they hoped to retire and what it would look like

• 58% of workers thought about the age they would claim Social Security

• 55% of workers thought about how they would occupy their time in retirement

Additional survey responses:

• How confident are workers that they will have enough money in retirement?

  • 78%: Very or somewhat confident

  • 22%: Not too or not at all confident

• Workers without a defined benefit or defined contribution plan:

  • 33%: Very or somewhat confident

  • 67%: Not too or not at all confident

• Workers who feel prepared for retirement: 69% confident

• Retirees who felt prepared: 75% confident

• Workers with a major debt problem who are confident about financial security: 36%

• Workers’ total savings and investments (excluding primary residence):

  • 32%: Less than $25,000

  • 7%: $25,000–$49,999

  • 12%: $50,000–$99,999

  • 13%: $100,000–$249,999

  • 37%: $250,000 or more

How would your answers compare with the survey?

According to a Congressional Research Service report from December 2023, 98% of current civilian federal employees were enrolled in FERS, which covers employees hired since 1984. Two percent were enrolled in CSRS, which covers employees hired before 1984.

More than 2.7 million people received civil service annuity payments, including 2,226,760 employee annuitants and 475,562 survivor annuitants. Of these, 56% received annuities earned under CSRS, and 44% received annuities earned under FERS.

The average civilian federal employee who retired in FY2022 was 62.3 years old and had completed 25.1 years of federal service. Average monthly annuities: CSRS, $5,447; FERS, $2,126. FERS annuities are supplemented by Social Security benefits and the Thrift Savings Plan.