What age do people plan on retiring?

I think you are right, but there are other forces at play here. The middle ground for this particular issue has gone because people are increasingly live beyond their means. Even on a good wage, most people still live paycheck to paycheck. Good wages are not what they used to be, and the cost of things, particularly housing is an astronomical proportion of your wage. It is not fair, but it is the hand we are dealt. I am not saying there is an easy possibility to retire early if you are scraping by on minimum wage. But at the same time many young, early career people do not consider or take the actions you need to take to get an early retirement. Maximising your pension and consistently sacrificing £200-300 of your disposable income to a S&S ISA for a period of 25+ years IS what it takes. When you're 23 and have just started earning bit of disposable income of course you want to enjoy some luxury. That's human. But the amount of "luxury" we enjoy is a function of our increasingly consumerist society. Anyone with disposable income knows how effective the internet is at parting you with your money. Those that retire early either come from means, or fought that consumerism and paid themselves first. Those that start earlier will find it easier. If you have £0 disposable income and you can't reduce your costs then the only hope is to improve your career prospects.