I don’t know the numbers, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that many people are retiring at 62 and collecting the smaller Social Security benefits. These people have been unemployed and can’t find a job, so they opt out of the labor force.
I’d like to see the numbers and the breakdown, but have no idea where to look.
The ratio of those over 55 in the workforce actually ticked up’—in other words, older Americans are being forced to return to work in a poor economy to make ends meet while many younger Americans simply aren’t working at all..
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3161815/posts