Planning to Retire Later? You’re Not Alone

The Insured Retirement Institute conducted research that found 64.4% of Baby Boomers and 70.0% of Generation Xers say that work in retirement will be a source of retirement income. Data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) supports this as part of a long-term trend.

The Insured Retirement Institute conducted research that found 64.4% of Baby Boomers and 70.0% of Generation Xers say that work in retirement will be a source of retirement income. Data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) supports this as part of a long-term trend. EBRI shows participation in the labor force for individuals age 65 and over, the traditional retiree group, increased from 10.7% in 1986 to 17.9% in 2011. This data shows that working in later ages is a trend, which pre-dates the “Great Recession”.

Key Findings

• IRI research found about one-third of Baby Boomers (34.9%) and one-quarter of Generation Xers (25.1%) reported they are planning to retire at age 66 or older. Yet a significant percentage of individuals in both generations (30.8% for Baby Boomers and 26.7% for Generation Xers) state they did not know at what age they would retire.
   
• In 2012, 50% of surveyed retirees report they retired earlier than planned. The most cited reasons are, 51% due to health issue or disability, 21% due to changes at their employer or downsizing, and 19% due to family care giving responsibilities.
   
• Working a few extra years beyond full retirement age can have a significant positive impacton retirement readiness. According to one study, 66% of individuals are ready for retirement at age 66. If those individuals waited until age 70 to retire, their retirement readiness increases to 89%.
   
• Among workers age 50 and older, 38% expressed an interest in a phased retirement program. Of those interested, 78% stated such a plan would encourage them to work past their expected retirement age.
   
• IRI research found 64.4% of Baby Boomers and 70.0% of Generation Xers stated that work in retirement will be a source of retirement income.
   
• According to a study, 75% of retirees stated the method in which they retired was to stop work all at once. This implies that those retirees who wish to work in retirement may experience a period without work as they search for employment. The current economic situation will pose serious challenges for seniors who wish to find work in retirement.

The fact that this pre-dates the recession is significant because people were already realizing that they did not have the money to retire at what we once thought was the typical retirement age. Yet, if you start young and follow a lot of what we write, you should be well on your way to retiring when you want. 

(image: retiree / shutterstock)