Despite dire predictions to the contrary elsewhere, a recent
study finds that most retirement-age Baby Boomers are leaving the
workforce on time.
While other surveys have indicated that many workers are
planning to delay retirement due to financial concerns, a
study from the MetLife Mature Market Institute
finds most Boomers who have hit age 65 are either partially or
fully retired. Of those not yet retired, most say they still plan
to retire at the same age they had planned a year ago.
The study's results stand in sharp contrast to surveys published
earlier this year that found that many workers feel their
retirement will be delayed or even never achieved. The
PwC US's 2012 Financial Wellness Survey
found 53 percent of workers expect to delay retirement and a
February CareerBuilder survey
indicated that 11 percent of mature workers never expect to
retire.
Average retirement age younger than 60
Conventional wisdom may have people working until the bitter
end, but the MetLife study paints a very different picture when it
comes to actual retirement practices. For Baby Boomers born in 1946
-- the first to reach of that generation to reach retirement age --
the average age of retirement is less than 60. Men born in this
year retired, on average, at age 59.7 while women left the
workforce at 57.2. Overall, 59 percent of those surveyed were
either partially or fully retired by age 65.
"Many of the Boomers weathered the recession well and have been
able to stop working," said Sandra Timmermann, director of the
MetLife Mature Market Institute, in a statement. "Half of all
Boomers feel confident that they are on track or have already hit
their retirement goals."
Almost two-thirds of the survey respondents report they are
already
collecting Social Security benefits
, and more than 60 percent feel confident in the system's ability
to pay adequate benefits over the course of their lifetime. Still,
only 43 percent are optimistic about the future.
Boomers not feeling old
Although they may be entering their retirement years, most
65-year-old Baby Boomers do not feel old yet. The MetLife study
found, on average, individuals in this group won't consider
themselves old until they reach 79.
Other findings from the study relate to family, health and
assets:
- 71 percent of survey respondents are married or living in a
domestic partnership
- 84 percent are parents and 83 percent are grandparents
- 93 percent own homes, up from 85 percent in 2008
- 20 percent say they are mentally sharpest today, compared to
31 percent who said their mental peak was in their 40s
- 85 percent consider themselves healthy
If the prevailing attitude among younger workers is that
retirement will never come, Baby Boomers may be proving them wrong.
The first of this generation appear to be retiring earlier than
expected, and according to the survey results, it doesn't seem to
be an unpleasant experience. A resounding majority -- 96 percent --
told MetLife they like retirement at least somewhat.