Most Americans aspire to the “American Dream,” which begins with home ownership, gathers wealth over time, and ends with being able to retire in comfort. Throughout my working life, retirement opinions and expectations have evolved. I’m quite sure most people’s dreams also evolve.

Research in the modern era reveals that Americans overwhelmingly aspire to a comfortable retirement at lower than traditional retirement ages. While easy to understand, that goal is often overzealous and naïve. Factors such as increasing lifespans, inflation, medical costs, and crushing taxation have combined to render early retirement unpredictable and financially risky.

Many hard-working and financially responsible American taxpayers establish what they call “their number” as a savings amount they believe to be adequate to fund their own retirement. When they arrive at that savings goal, they believe in their ability to walk away from the daily grind. If they are younger than most retirees, they feel as though they won the retirement planning game. It may not be that simple.

Those who succumb to early retirement temptation can be of any age, and many may be in their 50s or early 60s. (There is also a cult-like group aspiration called “FIRE,” for Financial Independence, Retire Early.) With today’s average longevity increasing, a retirement period could end up being decades long. With high and ever-rising prices, unaffordability of health insurance, and looming lifetime medical costs, many people will come up short.

In most of these cases, a significantly higher Net Worth (and hence a higher retirement income) may be attained by working longer. Every year of earning income and delaying retirement account withdrawals leads to a more comfortable financial future. When the retirement day actually arrives, the “rest of ever” will be shorter, but the lifestyle will be rewardingly improved.

For Americans under age 70, delaying claiming Social Security monthly benefits adds 8% annually to their eventual monthly benefit. In addition, those of ages 62+ also receive credit for all Cost of Living Increases (COLAs) from that day on, regardless of filing status. There is no added benefit to claiming Social Security benefits past age 70.

Over half of Americans aged 50+ and get involuntarily retired, whether through job loss or health issues. This is a separate issue, and many of them get covered through public or private disability income programs.

Don’t wind up thinking you “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” done things differently. Professional financial advisors can assist the planning process to improve satisfactory and comfortable results.