These Americans were forced to retire well before 70. Here’s why.

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Randy Seacat expected to retire at 75 if at all.

The labor market had other plans.

Seacat lost his customer support job at Amazon Web Services in late 2020 at age 58. He has not found work since, even after applying for more than 1,700 jobs and sitting through 51 interviews. Now 61, he submitted application No. 1,746 the other day but still has no job.

“I’ve never had a problem having a job in my lifetime,” he says. “I do really great on the phone interview, but when they find out how old I am, the door slams. It’s over.”

If you’re one of many Americans who think you’ll work till 75 or 70, or even 65, think again.

The average American retires at 62, according to two annual surveys of working and retired Americans, published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Sixty-two is not particularly old. The average over-50 worker expects to retire at 67, according to Transamerica. The average life expectancy is 77 ½. Our president is running for reelection at 81.