If anyone needs a bit of rest and relaxation after a lifetime of hard work, it’s laborers in physically demanding jobs.
Yet few “physical workers” feel they are on track to meet their estimated retirement income needs (31 percent U.S., 21 percent global), according to a global research report released today.
And it’s a problem.
The term “physical worker” includes a wide variety of occupations, according to a report from Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement (ACLR) and Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS).
These workers self-identified as having jobs that involve extensive or sustained periods of physical activity, e.g., agricultural roles, construction and building trades, metal workers, miners and drilling, manufacturing and machine operators, military personnel, emergency responders, cleaning crews, etc., the study notes.
Among those who self-identified as physical workers, a “portrait” emerges:
- Most physical workers are men (66 percent U.S., 60 percent global).
- Most physical workers are under the age of 40. In the U.S., they have a median age of 36 (age 37 global), with 45 percent under the age of 35 (43 percent global).
- About half of physical workers have an undergraduate degree or higher (49 percent U.S., 50 percent global).
“Workers in physically demanding jobs tend to be younger,”. The good news is that time is on their side so that they can take steps to improve long-term employability and retirement prospects,” Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of Transamerica Institute and TCRS, and executive director of ACLR, said in a statement.
Retirement preparations require reinforcements
In addition to relying on government and employer benefits for retirement income, physical workers in the U.S. and globally expect approximately 30 percent of their retirement income to come from personal savings and investments.
Therefore, it is imperative that they consistently save throughout their working careers. In the U.S., almost half (47 percent) of physical workers are habitual savers who always make sure they are saving for retirement. Globally, only 35 percent are habitual savers.
Physical workers in the U.S. are also more likely to be planning for retirement, although the survey findings underscore an opportunity for improvement among all.
In the U.S., 28 percent have a written retirement strategy (19 percent global) and 46 percent have a plan but it is not written down (45 percent global). Twenty-two percent of physical workers in the U.S. do not have a retirement strategy at all (33 percent global).
In the U.S. and globally, physical workers expect to retire at age 65 (median) and approximately three in 10 expect to fully retire after age 65 (28 percent U.S., 29 percent global).
However, the survey findings reveal it may be easier said than done.
Only 18 percent of physical workers are currently age 55 or older (U.S. and global).
Even fewer are currently age 65 or older (6 percent U.S., 5 percent global), suggesting that as they grow older, they are either shifting into jobs that are less physically demanding or leaving the workforce.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
