Future Retirees Picture a Retirement ‘Filled with Adventure’ Compared to Past Generations
Close to half of 2,000 survey respondents are envisioning a different life in retirement compared to previous generations, finds research from Edelman Financial Engines (EFE).
According to findings from the firm’s “What Money Means” report, 14% of respondents liken pop culture depictions of retirement to their own vision.
Instead, future American retirees are picturing a retirement “filled with” adventure (37% of respondents), active living (31%), and passion projects (31%), EFE reports. While 39% of respondents would be happy with a typical retirement of past generations, 45% “want something that looks different in their future,” while 16% aren’t sure.
This affinity for adventure living was particularly true for higher-income workers, at 56% for multi-millionaires and millionaires, respectively, compared to 36% for those earning less than $100,000 annually.
“For too long, the retirement industry has treated this stage of life like a finish line,” said Ralph Haberli, chief executive officer at Edelman Financial Engines. “That mindset is outdated. Americans are telling us what we all already know to be true: they want to live fully, prioritize health and wellbeing, and pursue passions that bring meaning.”
For some respondents, time and health have more value than money, EFE reports. Sixty-three percent of respondents say they would rather never have to worry about their health versus never feeling anxious over money again, and 58% would rather have five healthy years added to their life expectancy instead of having $1 million dollars added to their retirement account.
Wealthier respondents were even more likely to prioritize health over wealth, with 77% saying they would rank their own wellbeing higher than money.
For working respondents, some would rather choose a shorter work week over a $20,000 raise, with 44% of full-time employees saying they would prefer to work one day less for the same salary. The remaining respondents said they would go for the $20,000 pay increase.
Others are prioritizing their own personal time over working a higher-paying career, with more than four in 10 respondents having declined a job opportunity to maintain their same level of personal time. Parents were even likelier to express these sentiments, with more than half willing to pay to relive a day with their kindergarten-age child, and nearly a quarter willing to sacrifice a “significant” share of their retirement savings to do so.
“People aren’t just telling us they want more time – they’re telling us they want more time with the people that matter most, and that has financial implications,” said Michael Liersch, chief planning officer at Edelman Financial Engines. “What often goes unrecognized is that those changes need to be reflected in a financial plan so that money is used in a way that will help people move forward, not backward.”
Additional insights from Edelman Financial Engines’ report can be found here.
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with nearly a decade of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado.