Employees Rethinking Retirement: Survey

According to a UBS/Gallup Index for Investor Optimism report entitled ‘Rethinking Retirement’, more than half (57%) of investors expect to retire after the age of 62. In 2002, only 47% believed this would be true, while in 1998, the number was only 36%.   Of today’s retirees, only 32% say they retired after the age of 62.

Current investors views of working in retirement may be out of line, the survey says. Although 89% of non-retired investors expect to do some kind of work after retirement, only 56% of current retirees said they did such work.

Non-retired investors and already retired investors agree on one thing: post-retirement leisure plans. Seventy-four percent of non-retired investors expect to pursue a long-awaited hobby when they retire, and seventy-six percent of current retirees said they did just that.

“With the average lifespan longer than ever, Americans must plan for the realities of retirement,” said Mary Farrell, Chief Investment Strategist for UBS Financial Services Inc., in a press release. “Today’s 65 year-old retiree can expect to spend 18 or more years in retirement, pay more for healthcare and is likely to have less secure income than previous retirees. Strategic planning is crucial to ensure investors don’t outlive their assets.”

The ‘Rethinking Retirement’ survey was conducted of 612 non-retired investors and 412 retirees, c ommissioned by UBS and conducted by The Gallup Organization during August 2004 . This same survey was conducted in 2002 and 1998, with the goal of ascertaining investor views about retirement and how these views align with current realities.