People here are confusing a few VERY IMPORTANT distinctions:
(a) "Retirement" -- from an employer-employee job. "Retirement" for the Boomers and earlier was leaving that cradle-to-grave arrangement you had with an American employer, pension, paid over-time, etc. That concept of retirement died when those jobs went to China/India/etc.
(b) Leisure Time The older Boomers and their parents who got cabins, took cruises, went golfing, to the lake resort, etc. If people don't get leisure time any more, expect these industries to largely die. Who's going to be the next generation of people to take cruises, buy cabins? The Chinese?
(c) Multiple income streams. It is possible to retire TODAY, for anyone, in the complete sense of the word if you have multiple incomes streams. Rental properties, billboards, a route of vending machines, a laundromat or whatever other streams you have. If you draw enough cash from sources other than 9-5 M-F dayjob, you can retire at any time. So you might retire from a day job, but continue working for yourself. Or become a capitalist and let others work for you.
(d) The age at which you can draw SS, medicare, etc. This is a legal/political definition of retirement. And you can be certain that the powers-that-be will hoard the bennies to themselves and force Gen-X/Y to work until they're 90 if need be.
Empirically speaking, our society has never been so productive, automated. Robotics in manufacturing, global communications, etc. Strictly speaking, we should be LOWERING the retirement age. This "economic crisis" is simple thievery to squeeze more labor/time/life out of people sadistically, and for its own sake. We don't need as many people working today, period.