Even though today's older workers are eligible to retire and collect Social Security in full at either age 66 or 67, a growing number of employees are pushing themselves to work well into their 70s. But while it's one thing to extend your career a bit longer, it's another thing to plan on working indefinitely -- yet that's where a growing number of Americans are.

According to the latest U.S. jobs report, nearly 19% of adults 65 and over were working at least part-time during the second quarter of 2017. In fact, 32% of Americans aged 65 to 69 were employed in some capacity. But what's more telling is that last quarter, 19% of 70- to 74-year-olds were also working. As a point of comparison, back in 1994, only 11% of folks in their early to mid-70s were still employed.

This data is consistent with a study released last year by Bankrate, which found that 70% of Americans plan to work as long as they can. And while those surveyed had different reasons for sharing this sentiment, it's clear that working in retirement may soon grow to become more so the norm than the exception.