When you think of traditional retirement, it’s hard not to conjure images of a final day of work and then days of leisure spent in the garden, on vacations, and with loved ones. However, traditional retirement isn’t on the radar for nearly 60% of Baby Boomers after it was revealed that a number of people plan to have a job in retirement.
Thanks to a survey from Voya Financial, we know that the same percentage is true for Generation X workers and around half of Millennials. Across all generations, it means that just under 55% of workers expect to continue working in some capacity even after ‘retiring.’
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Traditionally, the idea of retirement was to enjoy some time away from the working world after contributing for many years. Now, the very definition of retirement is shifting. Should we be surprised by the result? Well, it’s important to note that the survey was taken this year (which has already been a year of economic uncertainty, the likes of which we’ve never really known). Even with this said, and the worry of high unemployment, the stock market is recovering and is now comfortably above previous lows.
Motivation to Continue Working
Why do people want to remain employed? At the top of the list, 56% of workers want a job in retirement for their mental health. For 40%, the reason was because of a potentially volatile market; working later will protect against unexpected costs. It’s interesting to see that, of the two popular reasons, one is financial and the other is health-related.
With the global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, there were concerns that retirement savings would be destroyed. In reality, over half of the respondents said that saving for retirement was more of a priority than remaining free from debt; there is a preference for future financial health rather than current financial health.
With all of this in mind, it seems that workers understand the importance of retirement savings and having a healthy retirement account. Even with the pandemic, workers are still sticking to their plans.
