The Benefits of Working Longer Delaying retirement for a couple of years—or even a few months—is the most effective way to improve your retirement security. April 29, 2021 John Rouse, vice president of operations for the Aquarium of the Pacific, plans to keep working until he's at least 68. Photograph by Jose Mandojana Financial planners and analysts have long advised workers who haven’t saved enough for retirement to work longer. But even if you’ve done everything right—saved the maximum in your retirement plans, lived within your means and stayed out of debt— working a few extra years, even at a reduced salary, could make an enormous difference in the quality of your life in your later years. And given the potential payoff, it’s worth starting to think about how long you plan to continue working—and what you’d like to do—even if you’re a decade or more away from traditional retirement age.