35% of Workers Have Pushed Retirement Later. At 73, His Current 401(k) May Delay RMDs Even While His IRA Cannot.

Tip: Try a valid symbol or a specific company name for relevant results 35% of Workers Have Pushed Retirement Later. At 73, His Current 401(k) May Delay RMDs Even While His IRA Cannot. Retirement keeps moving further away for a sizable share of American workers.

According to MyPerfectResume's 2026 Retirement Reality Gap Report, a national survey of 1,000 U.S. workers, 35% said they had pushed their expected retirement age later over the previous three years. Rising living costs were the biggest obstacle to retiring earlier, cited by 64%. Picture one of them at 73.

He is still clocking in because the paycheck helps, his current 401(k) keeps growing, and retirement can wait another year. Then a required minimum distribution (RMD) notice arrives from the custodian holding his traditional IRA. Why does money have to come out while he is still working?

Because working longer can postpone RMDs from one retirement account without doing anything for another. For someone in this age group, traditional IRA RMDs generally begin at 73 whether he is employed or not. A workplace retirement plan can follow a different clock.

If the plan allows it, a worker generally can postpone RMDs from the 401(k) maintained by the employer he is still working for until after he retires. The exception does not apply if he owns more than 5% of the company. **The 4% Rule is Broken, Built On A World That No Longer Exists** Every retiree knows about the 4% rule, but it frames retirement as a slow liquidation and still causes retirees with seven-figure accounts to agonize over a dinner out. There's a different way to run the math that makes more sense today.

Build an _income floor_ — dividends, interest, and Social Security that cover your essential bills every month — and you never have to sell shares into a down market just to pay them. Our free reader guide, **_The 4% Rule Is Broken_**, walks through it in about 15 minutes. That makes the 35% delaying retirement trend more than a labor-market statistic.