In 1935, the United States Congress passed the Social Security Act to provide financial support to those 65 years and older. Full retirement age would slowly rise to 67 by 2022 after legislation passed in 1983. Meanwhile, it grew more common for women to work than to not, especially in the 1970s.

We can see how this changed the scales of who works and for how long through employment rates by age and time.

Employment Rate, 1930-2022

Employment increased over the years. People are working at older ages, seen in the trend line moving up at older ages.

It’s useful to look at rates for men and women separately since it was a lot less common for women to work in the earlier decades.

Male Employment Rate, 1930-2022

As we got in to our 60s, more men shifted to retirement after the Social Security Act, but the trend has gone the other direction as men work more years than their predecessors in the same age cohort.

Female Employment Rate, 1930-2022

It is far more common now for women to enter the work force, so you see an increasing trend line for the full age range.

Now compare men and women in the same view.

Male and Female Rate Comparison

After the steady rise of working women from 1930 to 1990, the trends from 2000 to present for men and women follow each other and the differences appear to level out.

The upward trends after 1990 are the lines to watch going forward. People live longer and need a source of income to support themselves. Combine that with uncertainty around Social Security availability in the future, and there could be challenges on the way.