Freedom 67 — bear market causes North Americans to postpone retirement
More Americans expect to work after age 67 to make ends meet. Photo by Getty Images
A flurry of recent polls on both sides of the border shows the bear market and sagging economy are causing most North Americans to postpone Retirement, many past the traditional range of 65 to 67.
More than half (54%) of Americans are postponing Retirement by at least a year and 24% say they will work at least five extra years, according to a survey from the U.S. division of Sun Life Financial. In Canada, a similar survey released Wednesday from the same firm showed almost half of working Canadians aged 30 to 65 plan to work beyond the traditional Retirement age here of 65. That's a departure from the average retirement age of 61 that has been the norm until recently. The reason is of course uncertainty about having enough money to retire "comfortably."
All this jibes with a Desjardins Financial Security survey late in 2008 that found most Canadian workers over the age of 40 are delaying Retirement by almost six years. And a just-released poll by Angus Reid found a third of Canadian seniors 60 or over are postponing Retirement if they're not already there. Details in today's Financial Post.
Unretirement — working 20 hours a week after 67
Sun Life's American poll, periodically updated as its "Unretirement Index," finds the number of Americans who expect to work at least 20 hours a week after age 67 is largely unchanged, but "their reasons for continuing to work have dramatically changed." Over the last three months, the reason has shifted from staying "mentally engaged" to "earn enough money to live well."
Tellingly, given the medical system south of the border, the number choosing to extend their stay in the workforce because of employer-provided health benefits has risen from the sixth primary reason to the third most cited reason. That's in effect a variant of a financial reason. See here for more on the concept of UnRetirement: Americans can click on the American option; Canadians on the Canadian one.
Among Americans aged 40 to 49, 77% plan to work past the traditional retirement age of 67 in order to receive health-care benefits — the new figures show this percentage spiking 16% higher than three months earlier. About 28% of those in their 40s expect to work five years longer than originally planned and 87% plan to keep working after 67 in order to earn enough money to live well.
Guerrilla Frugality kicking in …
The Sun survey also finds 67% of all Americans are now reducing their spending and 55% reducing their debt. Of those focused on cutting back spending, 75% are spending less on entertainment; 74% eating out less often; 68% are cutting back on gift-giving, 53% are putting off large purchases, 37% are cancelling previously planned vacations and 34% are delaying medical procedures.
… but most not yet pulling money from retirement accounts
Surprisingly, 90% have not had to withdraw money from long-term retirement plans like IRAs, 401(ks) or annuities. However, confidence in government benefits like Social Security and Medicare continues to fall, especially among workers in their 30s and 40s. 70% of 30-somethings and 66% of 40-somethings do not believe Social Security will be there when they reach 67.
The very phrase "Retirement" needs to be retired
Increasingly, I'm seeing various financial institutions backing off the whole concept of Retirement, at least one suggesting that the very phrase "Retirement" needs to be retired. And yet, the vast majority of marketing materials and advertising from banks and mutual fund companies still emphasizes the phrase Retirement. Obviously, I'm biased, but I believe a far better phrase is Financial Independence, which I contract to Findependence in my novel about this topic.
–55 + 5? –
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