Americans should work past 65 to avoid ‘retirement crisis,’ says BlackRock CEO. What to do if that doesn’t work for you

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink caused a stir when he encouraged Americans to keep working past age 65.

The billionaire, who chairs the world’s largest asset manager, kicked off his 2024 letter to shareholders by telling his readers it is “time to rethink retirement” if they want to dodge America’s looming “retirement crisis” (1).

Top Picks

“What’s the solution here?” Fink asked in the letter. “No one should have to work longer than they want to. But I do think it’s a bit crazy that our anchor idea for the right retirement age — 65 years old — originates from the time of the Ottoman Empire.”

He’s not alone in thinking the current retirement age is “a bit crazy.” Another proponent of raising the retirement age, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, said Congress should require people to work longer before collecting retirement benefits (2).

So, why don’t they like the retirement age in the U.S. and are they right to think that way?

Here’s a look at why some like Fink believe more Americans should work past 65, why others disagree and how you can shore up your finances for retirement.

“How do we afford longer lives?”

What worries Fink most are the numbers, especially when it comes to population.

“The demographics don’t lie,” he wrote in his annual letter. “It’s not just that more people are retiring in America; it’s also that their retirements are increasing in length.”

In other words, a lot more Americans are living longer.

In fact, the number of Americans over the age of 65 is estimated to rise from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050 — an increase of 42%. Their share of the population is projected to rise as well, from 17% to 23% of the total U.S. population (3).

This increase, Fink claimed, is already having a “massive impact on the country’s retirement system” — specifically the nation’s Social Security coffers, which are quickly running out as they are pressed to pay for more and more retirees with each passing year.

At some point, these funds could dry up entirely — and sooner than you think.

According to the latest estimates by the Social Security Administration, the program could be depleted as early as Q4 2032 (4). And if that happens, Social Security benefits will have to be slashed, leaving future generations to lean more heavily on alternatives like 401(k)s.

Fink doubled down on his beliefs in last year’s shareholder letter, writing, “The problem will only get harder and nastier as the oldest Gen-Xers start to retire. They’re the first generation primarily dependent on 401(k)s. And the 401(k) trend is growing with Millennials and Gen Z (5).”

In this year’s letter, Fink praised the Social Security system for its tremendous achievement — poverty prevention for millions of Americans each year — but argued that the program is in desperate need of an overhaul (6).

“Social Security provides stability, but it doesn’t allow most Americans to build wealth in a way that grows with their country,” he wrote.

His suggestion? Shifting a portion of the funds into a diversified mix of stocks and bonds rather than relying solely on U.S. Treasury bonds. Some lawmakers have proposed a strategy to do just that.

In the meantime, however, Fink and others are left asking, “How do we afford longer lives?”

The obvious solution is to raise the retirement age.

Do the numbers actually add up?

However, there are some, like labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci, a renowned thought leader on U.S. retirement issues, who see the numbers differently.

In an interview with Bloomberg’s Sonali Basak, Ghilarducci slapped down Fink’s suggestion to raise the retirement age, arguing that a deeper dive into the data around American life expectancy is needed to accurately reflect working longevity (7).

“Not everyone is living longer,” she said. “There is a slice of the population that have had good healthcare [and] have had the kinds of jobs that enhance their health and their well-being and their skills. They’re living longer.”

She added, “But there are some parts of our economy, of our America, where actually the longevity is going down. Deaths of despair, the suicides, the opioid addiction [and] even the kinds of jobs that people have are foreshortening their lives.”

Some of the numbers back her up. Life expectancy in the U.S. can vary by as much as 20 years — depending on factors such as your race, ethnicity, income and where you live — according to a recent study published in The Lancet (8).

For certain groups of Americans, working longer might not even be an option.

It’s not fair — but some don’t have a choice

Another part of America’s so-called retirement crisis that Ghilarducci thinks experts — “including Larry Fink” — overlook is the fact that “most people cannot decide when they retire.”

According to her, many older Americans are often forced to retire because of health issues — like bad knees, metabolic disorders and stress — or to take care of an aging spouse.

“This idea that workers can just decide to work longer is a myth because most people cannot decide whether or not to work,” she stressed.

And the numbers suggest she is right. A 2025 report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 59% of those surveyed didn’t retire when planned. All told, 52% retired earlier than intended and 7% retired later (9).

While an early retirement might sound good on paper, fewer than 1 in 4 retirees did so because they were ready financially. The majority of early retirees were forced into retirement due to personal health reasons or a loss of employment.

All of this points to the fact that you may not have much choice over your employment later in life.

However, there are some things you can control.

How to shore up your finances for retirement

If you want to have enough to live on in retirement, you could focus on factors like how you manage your finances, when you decide to take Social Security and how you save and invest your money.

Here are four practical steps to help you achieve financial security for the long haul.

Ask an expert

The process of shoring up your finances can start by meeting with a professional advisor who can help set you on the right track.

Research from Vanguard shows that working with a financial advisor can add about 3% to net returns over time (10). That difference can become substantial.

For example, if you started with a $50,000 portfolio, professional guidance could mean more than $1.3 million in additional growth over 30 years, depending on market conditions and your investment strategy.

Finding the right advisor is simple with platforms such as Advisor.com. The service connects you with licensed financial professionals in your area who can provide personalized guidance.

A professional advisor can also help you determine how many years you have left to invest before retirement and assess your comfort level with market fluctuations — two key factors in building the right asset mix for your portfolio.

Through Advisor.com, you can schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your retirement goals and long-term financial plan.

Invest in ETFs

From there, a solid way to slowly build that nest egg is with a diversified portfolio of ETFs. That’s because ETFs invest in a broad range of stocks, which can be based on your risk appetite and how close you are to retirement.

A great place to start your portfolio is by investing spare change from everyday purchases through a micro-investing app like Acorns.

With Acorns, you can link your bank account or credit card and the app will round up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the excess into a smart investment portfolio. For instance, if you buy dinner for $23.45 at a restaurant, Acorns will round up the expense to $24 and automatically invest the 55-cent difference into a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts at firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.

And if you sign up now with a recurring contribution, you can get a $20 bonus investment from Acorns.

Tap into a gold IRA

Beyond investing in the stock market, your retirement fund might also benefit from diversifying into alternative assets.

A diversified portfolio shifts performance pressure away from any single asset or asset class, so investments have better protection from any relevant market volatility.

For instance, a gold IRA is a retirement-specific option for building your nest egg with an inflation-hedging asset. Gold is known for its safe haven properties and it’s often an asset that investors run to during times of market turbulence.

Last year, the price of the precious metal surged by 65% (11). And though the Iran war has triggered a price drop, many analysts expect gold to recover — and even hit all-time highs by the end of 2026 (12).

If you’re curious about adding precious metals to your broader investment strategy, a gold IRA from Goldco lets you hold physical gold and other metals while still getting the tax advantages of an IRA.

Goldco is widely regarded as one of the leading companies in the space, with a 4.8/5 rating on Trustpilot and an A+ from the Better Business Bureau. They also offer a guaranteed buyback program, meaning they’ll repurchase your metals at the “highest price” according to market value if you ever decide to sell.

If you want to explore whether precious metals could be a helpful hedge for your portfolio, you can download Goldco’s free gold & silver guide to see if it’s a good fit for you.

Build your emergency fund

If you’re concerned about potential impacts to the availability of Social Security in your retirement, consider beefing up your own coffers so you won’t be overreliant on that monthly check to make ends meet.

After all, increased medical expenses can hit hard when you get older and don’t have a steady paycheck to cushion the blow. That’s why an emergency fund is crucial — and why it’s wise to maximize the returns on your stash with a high-yield account.

A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.

A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%.

That’s 10 times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s May report (13).

Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000/month minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%.

With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8 million FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.

Americans should work past 65 to avoid ‘retirement crisis,’ says BlackRock CEO. What to do if that doesn’t work for you

Top Picks

“How do we afford longer lives?”

Do the numbers actually add up?

It’s not fair — but some don’t have a choice