A sizable percentage of Americans don't expect to stop working
-- ever.
That's according to the
2011 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey
Report
from the Society of Actuaries, which found that 35 percent of
pre-retirees surveyed in 2011 do not expect to ever leave the
workforce. That is up from the 29 percent of pre-retirees who
reported the same in 2009.
Financial concerns among retirement worries
For the vast majority of pre-retirees who don't expect to
retire, remaining active and engaged during their senior years is
of importance. Of the 35 percent not expecting to retire, 89
percent said staying active was one reason to remain working.
However, financial concerns also weighed heavily on the minds of
many pre-retirees. The survey found 45 percent of those not
expecting to retire believe they will be financially unable to do
so.
Pre-retirees not expecting to retire also gave the following
reasons for being unable to stop working:
- The need for additional income: 87 percent
- The need to preserve or increase assets: 80 percent
- To maintain benefits offered through employment: 61
percent
Actual retirement ages differ from expectations
Although many pre-retirees have a negative view of their
retirement prospects
, their expectations differ significantly from the reality of when
older workers are actually retiring.
"There is a big gap in the age at which pre-retirees expect to
retire and actual retirement ages of those who have retired from
their primary occupation," said Carol Bogosian, an actuary and
retirement expert, in a written statement issued by the Society of
Actuaries."This may be partially due to involuntary retirement and
health problems."
In the Society of Actuaries report, half of pre-retirees say
that will wait until at least age 65 before leaving the workforce.
Only 12 percent felt they would be able to retire early. However,
51 percent of retirees surveyed for the same report said they left
employment before age 60.
Those findings echo a
similar report
published by the MetLife Mature Market Institute earlier this
spring. That report found the average retirement age for those born
in 1946 was 59.7 for men and 57.2 for women.
"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 issued with the
institute's findings. "Half of all Boomers feel confident that they
are on track or have already hit their retirement goals."
While it's unclear whether this pattern of early retirement will
persist, the fact that many baby boomers have been able to retire
early may suggest to current workers that their retirement
prospects aren't as bleak as they seem.